We Are the Best! (2013)

Many years ago, when I was looking for god only knows what kind of movies (I thought it was movies based on true stories but apparently I was wrong), I stumbled upon We Are the Best! (Swedish: Vi är bäst!), added it to my watchlist and completely forgot about it. Now it has popped out again so I finally checked it out. 

Set in 1980s Stockholm, the film tells the story of Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) and Klara (Mira Grosin), two 13-year-old tomboys who love punk. Sick of being told that punk is dead, they decide to form their own band. There's a problem though, they don't know how to play so they decide to ask another girl at school, Hedvig (Liv LeMoyne), who is not a punk but is still an outcast, to join them as she actually knows how to play. 

And that's it for the plot. It's quite thin, as you can tell, but it's not a problem at all since We Are the Best! is a coming-of-age and coming-of-age movies don't need great plots to keep the audience interested and engaged. 

To do that, you need solid and interesting characters and this film has them. Bobo is neglected by her single mother and pretty much ignored by everyone but her best friend Klara, and, for this reason, she ends up being a little self-centred. Klara tries to mask and hide her insecurities and vulnerabilities behind a tough look --the Mohawk you can see in the poster and punky clothes. The most interesting by far though is Hedvig. She is the one that grows the most in the film, as the friendships with Bobo and Klara lead her to question "her" values --it's actually Hedvig's mother who imposed her values and beliefs into her. In spite of her changes, she still manages to stay true to herself. It's truly a shame that the film focuses more on Bobo and Klara than Hedvig. It's a different story for the adult characters though, they are shallow to say the least.

Svensk Filmindustri

Surprisingly good are the performances from the leading trio. Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin and Liv LeMoyne all give such natural and realistic performances, it doesn't feel like they are acting.

All of that being said, We Are the Best! didn't work that well for me. There's something about it that just was off for me. It wasn't as charming as it was supposed to be, it was often dull and you don't really learn anything from it, whether it is what's like to be a teenager or a punk.

The Square (2017)

After reading several positive reviews about it and after its Oscar nomination, I decided to check out The Square. I didn't have very high expectations though because the only film of Ruben Östlund I had seen before was Force Majeure, a fine movie that however didn't live up to the hype. I guess he is not my type because I didn't love this one either. 

The film follows a few weeks in the life of Christian (Claes Bang), the curator of a modern art museum in Stockholm who, while looking for those who have stolen his phone and wallet, struggles at creating the hype and launching a new work of art, The Square.

And that's the main problem I had with The Square, the plot. Or rather, the lack of one. Though it starts off in a very interesting way, the "plot" (it's a disjointed plot, by the way) soon starts wandering, it becomes an assembly of subplots, most of which are left unresolved and ditched quite fast for another shallow subplot --Elisabeth Moss's character and subplot just don't fit.There isn't a single developed plot, and at some point, I didn't care anymore about what was going on. 

The main character, on the other hand, is interesting and keeps the film moving. Christian is arrogant, self-centered. He is not kind nor understanding towards many (if not most) of his fellow citizen. He doesn't really care about anything --he isn't even worried when his kids are fighting. He is detached, disconnected from life and everything and everyone that surrounds him. He is both a victim and perpetrator of injustice. He is a very unlikable character and yet Claes Bang gives such a good performance, he makes you sympathize with him.

TriArt Film

Then there's the satire. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work. It takes on modern art and modern society, from political correctness to freedom of speech, but it never dwells too deep into it. That and the most satirical scenes go on for too long. The dinner with the museum donors where the performer is acting like an ape is interesting and intriguing at first, then becomes uncomfortable and at last annoying. 

Still, The Square manages to highlight a huge problem in our society, the fact that people do not help those who are clearly in need unless the victim(s) makes it unbearable for them. In the dinner sequence, a woman is begging for help while being sexually assaulted by art (the ape-man) and everyone keeps their head down. When he starts screaming, then, but only then people help her. 

Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Original Title

Ladri di biciclette

Genre

Drama

Director

Vittorio De Sica

Country

Italy

Cast

Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell, Elena Altieri, Gino Saltamerenda, Vittorio Antonucci, Giulio Chiari, Michele Sakara, Fausto Guerzoni, Carlo Jachino, Massimo Randisi, Ida Bracci Dorati, Peppino Spadaro, Mario Meniconi, Checco Rissone, Giulio Battiferri, Sergio Leone, Memmo Carotenuto

Storyline

In postwar Italy, Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani) has been workless for two years when he is offered a job hanging up posters. But soon his bicycle is stolen and, along with his son (Enzo Staiola) walks the streets of Rome looking for the bicycle.

Opinion

What can I say about "Bicycle Thieves" that hasn't been said already? Okay, maybe I should approach this differently. What can I say about this film that does it justice? Well, let me see. It is a simple yet powerful film. It is a heartbreaking masterpiece of Italian neo-realism. It is simply one of the best films ever made. A film that every movie lover should watch.

In only 1 hour and a half, Vittorio De Sica does a lot of things. He shows how important yet hard it is to find a job in the immediate postwar, he shows a country, Italy in this case, in a moment of transition and he beautifully portrays the relationship between a father and his son, all while telling the simple story of a man fighting against society while pursuing justice.

De Sica also does make a great social commentary of a country that either isn't working or is working against you, and captures the Italian reality very well. Sadly nothing has changed ever since, it's the same reality we, Italians, face today, with unemployment through the roof and men deprived of their dignity.

De Sica masterfully directs every scene and with an emotionally detached camera shows the postwar Italy in a dramatic yet authentic way, without pointless pity. So "Bicycle Thieves" is not just the drama of a man, but the drama of a whole nation that despite everything still has hope for the future.

At last but not least there's the cast. I didn't say actors because De Sire chose real people, not actors, to portray the character in the film, providing the film with further realism. As I was saying, the cast does a wonderful job, from Lamberto Maggiorani in the role of the family man to, and especially, Enzo Staiola who plays Maggiorani's son with such genuinity.