"We Are the Best" I an exhilarating drama/comedy by Swedish director Lukas Moodysson that tells the story of two outcast, tomboyish 13-year-old girls in 1980's Stockholm who, sick of being told punk is dead, decide to start a punk band. It's a floundering effort in the beginning for best friends Bobo and Clara, neither having any real musical training and owning none of their own equipment, just having their genuine passion to songs like "Hate the Sport." To improve their prospects they enlist in the help of a another girl, an older one names Hedvig who has musical talent but outwardly appears to be opposite of them: an obedient, conservative-dressing, Christian girl. But Hedvig actually has more to relate with Bobo and Clara than it initially seems, being an outcast and wanting more from the staleness of life.The turns these three characters make together are fun, sometimes heartbreaking, and always a joy to watch. The strong, distinctive performances by Mira Barkhammer, Mira Grosin, and Liv LeMoyne (as Bobo, Clara, and Hedvig respectively), and the fascinating way the film gets them to act against one another in different situations (none of which feel ham-handed or forced) are what really makes this film work. The parents and other authority figures are well-done, and not riddled with the sort of clichés you sometimes get from adult characters in movies centered around youth. But it's all about the kids, these outcasts, who don't pander to fit in while attempting to rock and to have fun, through setbacks and all.Wildly entertaining, insightful, and true to its creed, "We Are the Best" is a blast with a guitar, bass drums, and yelling, and even better when it comes to the human spirit. It's a story that should leave you smiling.

While We Are the Best! may not be the best film of the year, it was my favourite film of the year. I can't remember the last time a film contained so much genuine warmth and pleasure. This heart warming and beautifully written story about the aimlessness of being a teenager had me smiling from ear to ear for the entirety of the running time. Unlike Boyhood, which provides the perspectives of both children and parents over an extended period of time, We Are the Best!, is a time capsule of a film, giving us the subjective perspectives of three young girls during a key part of their childhood. Veteran Swedish writer and director Lukas Moodysson, provides us with a glimpse into the lives of these young girls as they form a punk band despite two of them having no musical experience. They are indeed terrible, but the film isn't about punk music, it's about the punk attitude that perfectly captures the defiance of being a teenager. A loving ode to growing up, We Are the Best! Is easily the most charming film of the year.

For full review: http://ericsgoodstuff.blogspot.com/2014/12/film-we- are-best.htmlOne token of a great movie is that it helps you expand your circle of humanity. I've never found MMA cage fighting to be enjoyable, and yet while watching Warrior I was on the edge of my seat. You might never have associated punk music with the fragile yet hilarious stage of life of coming-of-age of preteens but through these girls' characters you come to love punk music for the opportunity it provides them to grow up and accept new people. Although they might resist the notion, the love these girls develop for each other is just the same that a group of cheerleaders might. We Are The Best reiterates the fact that you already knew that life for punk rockers is pretty much the same as it is for the rest of us. Roger Ebert said, "The movies are like a machine that generates empathy." This is something I'm always looking for and We Are The Best takes you into the space of being a 13 year old. From a goofy dad that wants to embarrass you by bringing a clarinet to your punk band rehearsal to the joy of serendipitous friendships turning into lifelong relationships, this movie reminds you of yourself - whether you've had the same experiences or not - in a fresh way.

'Punk is dead' as they say in the film which is set in 1982. Punk fans from 1977 have moved on to Joy Division and young people are dancing in tacky attire to The Human League! Not these three passionate young 13 year old girls Bobo, Clara and Hedvig. They still think punk is very much alive and want to form a band, even though the founding members Bobo and Clara cannot play (They later recruit Hedvig who is a classical guitarist). A simple premise like this makes for one of the most enjoyable films this year so far.Bobo and Clara are outsiders in their school. Bobo is the shy, androgynous type, whereas Clara is the outspoken type with naïve anti-establishment views. After a minor punishment in gym class for not joining in, they vent their frustrations at the seemingly unnecessary part of the school curriculum by writing a song titled 'Hate the Sport'. They pretend to be in a band when they are at their local youth club and manage to book a room where there is instruments. Since they cannot play a note between them, they need to recruit someone else. When watching Hedvig play classical guitar to a chorus of boos from the audience at a school concert, they recognise she is an outsider as well. There is discussion over whether Hedvig's Christian views would be fitting with their image. Clara amusingly thinks of it as a challenge to turn her from Christian into a punk.The three girls boast the usual mixture of cynicism towards mainstream cultural ideals and a positive enthusiasm for changing the world. The actresses do a stellar job in making the conversations and interaction seem very believable. The film is often very funny and very relatable to anyone who was some kind of passionate outsider as a teenager. The parents of the girls are also well observed. Here we have burned out and embarrassing hippy parents who are sickeningly liberal and a single mum who floats from man to man to suppress her loneliness. They may have at one time been enthusiastic and idealistic in their formative years much like the central characters, but life has made them 'uncool'! The dialogue seems ad-libbed most of the time and done very well. The scenes are expertly edited so the conversations are not drawn out so much which happens often with improvised dialogue. It also has a social realism aesthetic to it which I feel is needed for a film like this it really encapsulates the energetic, youthful optimism which is also realistic.After years of apparently making dark art films, Director Lukas Moodysson has made something here which encapsulates the spirit and energy of youth and punk. I feel it is Directed by someone who really understands punk as not just a genre of music, but a passion and attitude which lives in the hearts and minds of, in this case, the dis-enfranchised youth. The fact that it is based on his wife's comic book in which she writes of her own experiences as a teenager, it seems like a personal project too. I could not stop grinning throughout the whole film as I found it a particularly joyful experience. The film gives way to poignant moments like the scene when Hedvig plays an acoustic version of a song by Swedish punk band KSMB. It was a scene which made me nearly cry and really gave the lyrics a new perspective with the acoustic guitar. It made me want to go home and write a songs expressing my general vitriol towards the bureaucracy of sport, but could not come up with something as good as this. As they say 'We are the Best!'. And it's true!