Patrik 1,5

This is a lovely, gentle, intelligent and totally believable movie that explores so many different themes through the simple premise of a gay couple wanting to adopt a child and not getting exactly what they had expected. While the ending may be predictable - and completely satisfying! - it is the getting there that makes this movie so good. The movie explores homophobia, social expectations, delinquency, relationship dysfunction and more and does so in a way that is not preachy or overly emotional or sensationalised. It is all low-key and completely believable. This is combined with great acting, truly likeable main characters and an engaging story and makes for a wonderful movie.

I found this film to be a very satisfying experience, but then again, much of Swedish cinema has this effect upon me.

This is not so much a story about a gay couple attempting to adopt a baby boy (and being sent a surly, delinquent 15-year-old) as it is about family, relationships, fitting in, making compromises, and ultimately discovering that what you have may just be what you need.

Most of the movie takes place in a 'nice' suburban street, a kind of Stepford-meets-Pleasantville. Residents spend their spare time in the garden, socialising with others in the street, and being nice to one another. Enter a gay couple who are in the process of adopting a child. Not only does the neighbourhood have to adjust, but so do the couple themselves, and eventually the 'child' they adopt.

Gustaf Skarsgard carries this film almost single-handed. His character - Goran - is subtle, charming, patient and caring. He is the one who eventually forms a meaningful relationship with the 'son' who turns up at their door - wonderfully played by Tom Ljungman, who will be someone to keep an eye on in the future. It's hard to believe he was only 16 at the time of filming, as he creates a character in 3 dimensions.

I like people-movies, and this is definitely a people movie. It is not complicated or terribly deep, but it held my attention fully, and I was sorry when it ended.

Just one more comment........... There is a blue car which speeds down the street, and kids and dogs have to jump out of its way. This happens about 2-3 times throughout the course of the film, and is never explained. It reminded me of the motor cycle which sped through the town in 'Local Hero'; rather a nice touch, although not original.

9 stars.

A Swedish gay couple want to adopt a son. They want a baby who is around 1 year old. Through a misprint in their request (they put 1.5) they get a 15 year old boy. He's been in numerous foster families, has a history of violence and is a vicious homophobe to boot!

You can probably figure out the rest of the story--there are no real surprises here. Still, it was well-acted by all, had an intelligent script and never got too maudlin or syrupy. This movie could have tried to milk the audiences sympathies but it didn't. Everything is done in a matter of fact and low-key way. The only puzzling thing is that we see examples of homophobia that the couple face...and then that's dropped completely. What was the point of showing it then? Still this is a well-done movie showing gay adoption in a positive light. I saw it at the Provincetown Film Festival and the audience loved it! I give it a 7.

.....guy....this Goran....this Gustaf Skarsgard....this standout performer.

Once you've seen this little film, you will realize it is this actor who is the heart and the soul of this story-with-a-twist. Here's a performer whose every thought is readable in his face.....whose every emotion makes its way across to us. And you know what is extra special about this? It's that no one can just "act" these things; these are things you have to "be"....within yourself. In other words, I think the Skarsgard we see on screen is the very same man off screen---and who of us wouldn't want a someone like that?

And if Skarsgard is all of that, then it is Tom Ljungman, as Patrik, who is the zest and the vitality of this movie....the one who makes it all gel. Wherever Sweden was able to come up with such an accomplished SIXTEEN year old is beyond me. The only thing left to say about this young man is, "Gustaf Skarsgard, you'd better watch out; someone is hard on your heels."

Oh, and I don't think any of us would kick a Torkel Petersson (Sven) out of....ahem...., either.

Postscript for The Wonderful Director (Underbar Direktör): Dear Ella Lemhagen....The ONLY thing this most satisfied movie viewer could think of to change in this exceptional film would be the Closing Credits and its "Crosscountry Run." Of course, you know the place I mean (new viewers will have to see it for themselves). A full of Urin + Vinegar Patrik (Age 1.5) would be in the "leading lane".....followed closely by Daddy Goran.....then Papa Sven.....and bringing up the rear, daughter Isabell (who can even keep Patrik on his toes).

****

I can't remember the last time I was so completely charmed and moved by a film. What an absolute delight, and a wonderful achievement from everyone involved.

I'm very lucky because for my work I get to watch at least one or two films a day, but good lord, most of those films are tedious to watch all the way through even once - so it's very rare to encounter films that can be watched with pleasure over and over again. And I'm not talking about super-duper-once-in-a-lifetime films like Aliens that of course we can watch a million times, but films made on modest budgets by teams who obviously put their hearts and souls into making something beautiful and meaningful with limited resources.

Patrik 1.5 is an unusual romantic comedy in that it's about the love relationship between fathers and sons - a (non-sexual) love story between a man (Goran) who desperately wants a son and a boy (Patrik) who desperately wants a father. It's also a love story between the audience and Goran, played absolutely perfectly by Gustaf Skarsgard - I cannot believe that even the grumpiest conservative could not fall in love with such a beautiful, kind, caring, vulnerable but brave person, and I think it's depictions of regular guy gay characters like this in films that will have more influence in bringing about change for the better than the most strident political hectoring. What the film recognises and depicts so beautifully is that in any father son relationship, the sons, even very young sons, understand that sometimes they have to look after their dads (or father figures) - that's what it means to be a man. Perhaps the reason the film provoked so many tears for me is because it made me realise all the love that my deceased father needed that I was not able to give him.

Director Ella Lemhagen has done a fantastic job organising cast, crew and production staff to build a first rate film on a bargain budget. And of course that would not have been possible without the most crucial raw material, the complex and beautiful script by Michael Druker. The production design is superb, and the music, by Fredrik Emilson, is perfectly judged to enhance and colour the moments of poignancy and desperate unspoken longing.

And Gustaf Skarsgard - what to say? How is he not the most famous and adored of the Skarsgard acting clan? Usually I don't have much respect for actor children of established stars, because you always feel they got a leg-up into an exciting job that we'd all love to do but don't have the chance. But I don't get the impression that Gustaf Skarsgard is an entitled movie brat - I think he really surrendered himself into this role and let down all his defences to give people a beautiful cinematic, and emotionally cathartic, experience - and that's not something that many actors are capable of, or willing, to do, whether they come from acting families or not.

Anyway, for me this is one of those very rare films that scores 10 out of 10.