Show Me Love [Fucking Åmål]

Lukas Moodysson, Sweden, 1998, 90 minutes

Welcome to Åmål, a small town in middle-of-nowhere Sweden. When you consider that Sweden is a country with only nine million inhabitants in the first place, it is easy to appreciate that Åmål might not be the most exciting town in the western world. This is why it's the perfect setting for this delightful story of two schoolgirls who try to discover who they are and how they fit into the wider picture. Rebecca Liljeberg is endearing as Agnes, a lonely lovesick lesbian, and Alexandra Dahlström is heartstopping as Elin, your average foxy high school slut.

Things start to get interesting as different emotions transpire and are put to the test. Åmål is the perfect showcase for all the action, an intimate community naively anxious and unaware of the outside world. The feelings of claustrophobia and paralysis towards Åmål are echoed in the development of the relationship between the central characters. Certain images of Åmål stick in your mind long after watching the film.

Homosexuality is often tricky subject matter in film, least of all for its taboo, but it is carried here with charming warmth, drawing audience sympathy for the protagonists. However, it is through the sharply-observed depiction of teenage life in Sweden that Moodysson really hits the target. Complete with excessive drinking at parties, tasteless baseball caps and boy band fanaticism, the film is strikingly accurate and very funny accordingly.

Hopefully by now you will have escaped the delusions that Åmål is somebody's name or that the Swedish pornographic industry still thrives as it did in the seventies. Fucking Åmål, or Show Me Love for the conservative British audience, is a sweet little drama that attracted a significant cult fanbase on its original release, and for that alone endures repeated viewing.

Review by Rob Hayward
Written for EUFS Programme Spring 2001

Åmål is a small dead-end town in south Sweden. A place any teenager would want to move away from as soon as possible. Shy and introverted Agnes is indeed not very happy in Åmål where she and her family have just moved to. She hasn’t really made any friends yet, moreover she has a huge crush on out-going and popular Elin, who is every boy's wet dream.

Agnes' parents make her have a party for her sixteenth birthday to invite all her friends- and only one guest comes to celebrate. However, later the same evening Elin and her sister Jessica show up. For Jessica only has to take a look on Agnes' bookshelf to declare that Agnes is a lesbian. Prodded by her sister Elin kisses Agnes - and the two sisters will run away giggling, leaving Agnes behind - feeling humiliated and even more depressed.

But Elin feels remorse about what she did and returns to Agnes' house the same night. They end up spending most of the night together, talking, sharing their thoughts and eventually kissing. The next morning they are back in their every day's teenager life - which has different rules than the night had. While the despondent Agnes feels betrayed, Elin's inner fight begins.

Fucking Åmål depicts the emotional roller-coaster everybody has once gone through as a teenager - no matter what gender or sexual orientation. The film manages to concentrate on the social surroundings of its characters rather than showing the charm of cute teenage girls in love. Agnes' biggest problem is not the coming out - that will happen in passing - her problem is that she has fallen in love with somebody who seems beyond reach.

The way Elin and her friends are depicted very naturally shows teenagers and their life, their problems. If it wasn't about Elin's problem to stand by her feelings, the topic of coming out was almost peripheral. Fucking Åmål managed not to make coming out - for once, finally! - the main problem of a movie, it is rather brought up commentary-like by Elin's (compensating) behaviour (and the deterrent, broad choice of "real blokes").

More than any teenage (high school) or coming of age film you have seen before Fucking Åmål manages to illustrate how you really felt when you were a teenager.

Review by Sarah Stark
Written for EUFS Programme Spring 2001