Tjenare kungen

(r#67)

Sorry, but I couldn't enjoy this... at all. The plot went on and on with no focus whatsoever. Whenever it seemed that the movie was going to end, our female lead Abra went into another fit of rage or had a mental breakdown. Ultimately this became insulting to the audience's intelligence as the plot was quite obviously deliberately drawn out and contrived. The subplot about the evil manager of the sausage company lead absolutely no where, and the acting left a *lot* to be desired.

The movie is just too pointless and emotionally devoid to be memorable. It is probably not among the worst of all time, or even in the same ballpark, but it's definitely not worth spending money on. I'm going to be fair and say I enjoyed director Ulf Malmros's earlier outing, "Den Bästa Sommaren" from 2000, but this just wasn't up to par. Avoid.

The plot is simple; Abra lives in a small town not to far away of Gothenburg. She has a punk band and her dream is to release a single and become famous. The band splits up after a member of the bands boyfriend abuses Abra. On a concert in her village she meets Millan a stage re-arranger (roddare). After an unfortunate event she escapes with the band and lies about that she really lives in Gothenburg. But in some miraculous way they believe in her. She lies about some other things and gets to live with Millan. They start a band together and their goal is to release a single before Christmas. The year is 1984 The movie has a great soundtrack with old Punk songs. And the camera shots are amazing. One thing that I really hated about the movie was that the movie is as Swedish as a Swedish movie can be.

When something is supposed to be sexy and in sex scenes we always see one of the woman's breast and the movie has a sugar sweet ending Malmros has done a great movie but a bit to Swedish and a too simple plot.

I bought this movie sight unseen and was pleasantly surprised. While it's storyline is similar to something like "The Secret of My Success" (small town person with ambition finds a life and success in the big city) and it's nostalgia factor is reminiscent of "The Wedding Singer", it manages to be warmer, more charming and ultimately more memorable than either of those films.

Furthermore, the soundtrack is just great. Alphaville, Roxy Music, ELO - and new songs by the lead character's band that are good enough to coax me into sending away for the CD.

It's a shame this hasn't made it to the U.S. I think it would do well here, despite the small inclusion of a few Swedish particulars that might need some quick explaining for some (particularly references to Sweden's social support system) and quick shot of a guy's weener - uptight folks can't handle that here. It also has a very American feel to it - and it's nice to see that we're one of many cultures that regrets some of its fashion choices in the past decades.

Distributors! Pick this one up! It's got hit written all over it!

I liked this movie and I found the actors/actress and the plot to be great. OK, it really brings back the memories of my own youth (14 and a punk back in 1984) but yet I'm trying to be objective. Great to see new good actors/actress and I hope to see most of them in the future (well I guess that Kjell will always find his way into your living room ? ..). A movie about teenagers may easily stumble in a lot of "klyshor" (translate that one for me??) but I think this movie held them off in a great way. Check it out.. What? 10 lines required... huh, what, am I writing a novel or what? Well, the movies surroundings and props are correct and accurate for the 80s and its always great to see an authentic "hocky frilla".

If you are familiar with Ulf Malmros' previous works, you know that a stylish movie about music and set in the 80s, is just up his alley. Malmros is without doubt Sweden's best director when it comes to using music to create mood.

For Tjenare Kungen, he has been given an historically big budget to buy tunes for. The result is - of course - as good as anyone could have hoped. With everything from Alphaville to Thåström, Tjenare Kungen swiftly transfers us back to 1984.

The entire movie is in fact an orgy in everything that made the 80s so special (?). A lot of time has been put into little - but oh so important - details like clothes and hair-cuts.

As with Smala Sussie, Ulf Malmros has once again found a bunch of very talented debutants. Josefin Neldén (Abra) and Cecilia Wallin (Millan) are both extremely believable and lovable as the two girls forming a punk band. When you leave the theatre, it is impossible not to have a little crush on Abra.

Tjenare Kungen is not ground-breaking in any way. It is a simple story that follows a formula proved to be good. It is not as heart-warmening as Den bästa sommaren, and the dialogue isn't as quirky and hilarious as in Smala Sussie. However, when you leave the theatre, you do it with a big smile on your lips. Knowing that you have just had one of your best cinematic moments this year.