Show Me Love

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Fucking Amal is a coming-of-age comedy set in a sleepy little Swedish town called Amal -- the most boring place on earth according to one of its residents, the adolescent girl Elin. Meanwhile, one of her classmates, Agnes, is quietly in love with Elin, but no one knows about it except her computer. The title comes from Elin's frequent comment about her new home town. The two share a kiss as the result of some cruel manipulation from Elin, but Elin soon returns to apologize, and the two spend a lengthy evening on the town together - an evening that culminates with a makeout session. Then, to cope with her burgeoning feelings for Agnes, Elin turns to a local boy, Johan, and dispenses with her virginity. In his first feature film, Lukas Moodysson shows the pains of growing up, particularly for a lesbian. Fucking Amal was screened as part of the "Panorama" section of the 49th Berlin International Film Festival in 1999 and received the Teddy Award for Best Gay/Lesbian Film. ~ Gonul Donmez-Colin, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Surround
• Screen: Letterbox for TV

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Alexandra Dahlstrom - Elin
       Rebecca Liljeberg - Agnes
       Erica Carlson - Jessica
       Mathias Rust - Johan
       Stefan Horberg - Markus
       Josefin Nyberg - Viktoria
       Ralph Carlsson - Olof, Agnes' Father
       Maria Hedborg - Karin, Agnes' Mother
       Axel Widegren - Oskar, Agnes' Brother
       Jill Ung - Birgitta, Elin's Mother
       Lisa Skagerstam - Camilla
       Johanna Larsson - Elin's friend
       Elinor Johansson - Elin's friend
       Jessica Melkersson - Elin's friend
       Lina Svantesson - Elin's friend

• Director:

  Lukas Moodysson

• Producer:

  Lars Jönsson

• Screenwriter:

  Lukas Moodysson

• Cinematographer:

  Ulf Brantås

• Composer (Music Score):

  Broder Daniel, Lars Gullin, Robyn

• Editor:

  Michal Leszczylowski, Bernhard Winkler

• Production Designer:

  Heidi Saikkonen, Lina Strand

• Costume Designer:

  Maria Swenson

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Nils Nilsson

REVIEW:

• Show Me Love -- the Americanized title of this exemplary coming-of-age story -- might be sweeter, but this film's original title, Fucking Amal, a cry of desperation against a stifling small town, comes closer to its spirit. A highly believable account of high school life, it presents a world where unkindness begets unkindness and the need to fit in often conflicts with characters' better moral and emotional instincts. First-time director Lukas Moodysson's decision to shoot in an almost Dogma-like style only adds to the verisimilitude. The characters are true both to their age -- moody and desperate one moment, childlike the next -- and backgrounds, with the contrast between the two heroines' economically diverse home lives keenly noted. For all the ground-level, documentary-like observations, Moodysson's main concern is a story of thwarted love between two girls, and with extraordinary skill he captures the rush and fear of first love -- when everything seems at stake -- finding sweetness and escape amidst the ennui. Moodysson also earns points for the best use of the music of Foreigner ever put to film. ~ Keith Phipps, Rovi