Düsseldorf, Skåne

Saw this movie when it premiered in Göteborg film festival 2024.

This is a movie mainly about music, young love and complicated families. I get that the producer has invested a lot of energy and feelings into this movie but I'm quite split about it. On one hand it's nice music and a relatively interesting story and on the other hand it's a bit theatrical. I'm sure the main character is meant to be this way but it's a bit like the actor is on a stage, overly expressive. Also, he is a bit old for this role. The story is suited, even though it is quite simple, for the eighties and young people. The synth music is well chosen to work with the environment and the feeling that belongs to this time. There are a few a tad annoying anachronisms like the very old train that certainly doesn't belong to this time. It was probably difficult to find a suitable one, and then a museum train might be the best you can find, but it's still annoying.

While I was born a bit later than the protagonists (1976), I also had my formative years in the synth/punk/goth subculture.

I was a little afraid that it was only going to be a nostalgic film, and while it is, it's in a positive way. I expected the music to be spot on, but the film a little more cringe.

But I really loved it. I totally identify with both Fredrik and Nina, the opening scene where they are both expressing themselves, taking picture on black and white film, both showcasing the band and how important photography felt at that time hit me right in the heart.

And for me, an old EBM/synth fan, always feeling like a minority, the scene where they are just walking down the street*, being a group just gets my heart

(* it's in the trailer, so no spoiler)

This movie is not my youth. I did not grow up in the countryside in the eighties, but the concrete gray of Stockholm at that time is close enough.

But, the music is the same, the feelings are the same, and the struggle too. Looking back today I can see things I should have done otherwise, but I didn't at that time. It's easy to see things in retrospective but not so easy there and then.

I think the actors do a great job of portraying how life was growing up in a subculture in Sweden in those days. The highs, the lows, the emotional carousel.

This movie could have been double its length and it would still be great. But it's still great as it is now.

I will watch this movie again.

Not sure where to start, this movie should have been stopped at the drawing board. The script is boring, the casting is mostly bad, and there are a lot of pretentious chewing the scenery.

I can't figure out of its a movie about growing up, or if its a movie about mental illness. It is more like a school project than a real movie.

The score is ok, but the synth-setting appears not to be relevant for the story. It's all over the place.. The strange casting, where an actor in his late 20's are playing a teenager is just wrong.

I wish there was a documentary about the pitch meeting. Why was this movie even made??

I have been waiting for a film to use this place in time and music scene (synth in the 80:ies) as the setting for a story. This one does a fantastic job at this. And it manages to portray young love in such a heartfelt and moving way. It truly touched my heart.

The film is set in a rural setting in the southern part of Sweden in the year 1986. The main character struggles with his parents and uses music making as a way of dealing with all of this.

Both of the characters that play the lead parts of Fredrik and Nina are very believable and relatable and do a great job.

A lot of time and effort has been spent on making the look and feel of the eighties come across in an effortless way that supports the theme and storyline in every way.

And the chicken. Gotta love the chicken.

I recommend this one!