Tjenare kungen

The liberating power of rock'n'roll music has been the source of inspiration for many movies ever since its birth in the 1950s. Films like Almost Famous (2000), The School of Rock (2003) and That Thing You Do! (1996) can be named as English-language examples of rock movies but Sweden has produced its own stories on the subject as well. To name two, Ulf Malmros' 2005 punk rock tale Tjenare kungen (a.k.a. God Save the King) makes a very nice companion piece to Reza Bagher's 2004 film adaptation of the novel Populärmusik från Vittula (a.k.a. Popular Music) that also dealt with small town kids' desire to spread their wings through music.

The story, based on a 2001 novel by Britta Svensson, is set in 1984. Punk rocker girl Abra (Josefin Neldén) lives in a small town and dreams of becoming a rock star but the town's narrow-minded atmosphere is hard for rebels like her. After meeting a fellow rock fan Millan (Cecilia Wallin), Abra moves to Gothenburg and starts a band called Tjenare Kungen ("Hello King") with her but nothing comes easy for the would-be rock stars: finding members for the band in an era when punk rock has gone out of fashion to make way for synth pop and glam rock, putting up with an uptight boss at a sausage factory, sorting out romantic feelings towards a handsome guy named Dickan (Joel Kinnaman)...

It can be imagined that the project has been a nostalgic one for the director Ulf Malmros who was in his late teens during the film's era. Perhaps this is why the 1980s atmosphere is so pleasantly recreated in the story: punk, rock and pop hits of the time are constantly playing, the fashion is flashy and hairstyles are as unappealing as expected. Still, everything is photographed with sunny, warm brightness that makes the film visually very pretty and youthful. The main actresses Neldén and Wallin look so cute in their roles that they can only be loved but Johanna Strömberg and Malin Morgan do their parts decently too as the self-declared fashion designer-keyboardist Gloria and the experienced older rocker chick Isa respectively. The latter is also the only significant adult character in the story; otherwise the perspective belongs entirely to the young to whom grown-ups are nothing but dead weight.

The plot is nothing strikingly original or imaginative: questions of selling out, romantic shyness, triangle drama and temporarily falling out with one's best friend are all ordinary youth flick material and would not carry the film far if it was not for the sympathetic young actors. Some scenes struck me as particularly clichéd; namely, the wedding gig (yeah, right) and the big finale (seriously, who didn't guess right away what the climax would be?). The brief saxophone jam scene was hilarious though, precisely because it was cut so short with perfect comic timing.

Regarding Nordic peers of Malmros' film, an obvious comparison can be made to one of my favourite Finnish movies Pitkä kuuma kesä (1999), although TK focuses on girls instead of guys and stays more clean-cut with much less alcohol use and bad language. Anyway, all things considered, Tjenare kungen is definitely an entertaining, fun and even delightful little movie, easily worth a look especially by fans of the music and fashion of the 1980s.

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".

This must be one of the worst movies from 2005 in Sweden, bad actress/actors, a lousy and very predictable script makes this movie so boring I can't find words. The only good thing I found to be of a positive thing, was the music, which makes you remember the 80's, but other from that, there wasn't anything in it for me.

From 10 minutes in to the movie, you've already figured out how it's going to end. I also mentioned the actresses/actors being bad, I got that feeling where you're pi*sed off at them, thinking, no, that's not how you behaved during that era plus their performances aren't convincing on any plan.

No, this is not a movie I can recommend, you'll find more substance in a Chuck Norris movie than this crap, don't rent/buy this movie!

And with that I mean, I sat in a theater watching this movie, and within 10 minutes I was ready to leave, I don't know, I just couldn't relate at all with the story...

The real confoundment came to me when leaving the theater (To this date, I have never walked out on a movie for better or worse) and my friends totally loved it. It was like I was watching some other movie altogether...

Don't get me wrong with saying that and giving it a 3... I just think that I wasn't intended as part of the audience, because yes, it's beautifully shot. Yes it contain a bunch of exceptional characters, yes, it has some hilarious scenes and all that but the story never connected to me... I don't know, I just honestly don't know. It could be that all of the pal's that was at the theater had a background as struggling garage-bands. I didn't. You might love it...

This all got to me as a surprise. I totally loved Malmros's last film, Smala Sussie, which had a wacky plot about movie-lovers/makers, a category of people that I feel included of, and I think I now can say that those that didn't love Smala Sussie probably was in the same seat as I am with this picture... I just don't get it. To me it was a movie about a struggling band with far too much Moodysson (a filmmaker that I never understood the greatness of) thrown in it... It's a shame and pity... I wanted to love it, but in the long run didn't care when the credits rolled...