Le temps d'un été

This coming of age story has a distinctly Nordic kink, with a quirky sense of humour and an unabashed celebration of the carefree and the individualistic. Sporting a beautiful and well balanced cast, Screwed doesn't shy away from all sides of characters' personalities, nor the lumpy parts of them dealing with the challenges in their lives. It does however handle their travails with warmth and sensitivity, and allows the cast's performances to shine and leave us with little choice but to fall in love with this motley crew, warts and all. Snuggle up with this summer romance for a dose of feel-good, sans saccharin, lumpy bits not removed.

This is way too long, but it still offers quite a watchable look at the lives of two teenagers who don't have their demons to seek, and who manage to bring out the best, and some honesty, from each other. "Miku" (Mikko Kauppila) and his brother "Sebu" (Juho Keskitalo) have a party at which their parent's house gets pretty trashed. His dad is pretty laid back, but his mother is livid and so off to a remote cabin they go for the summer vacation. Initially bored, "Miku" meets up with the handsome "Elias" (Valtteri Lehtinen), a confident lad who knows exactly what he wants from his new friend. It doesn't take them long, nor are we left in any doubt as to the nature (no need for nurture here) of the rest of the story. It does offer us a little depth to their characters, with the harridan of a mother actually having a few mitigating worries of her own, and with the former having both a mother and a sister who might give cause for concern. It's too dialogue heavy, and the sex scenes are photographed in such a clumsy fashion as to really stifle the natural nature of the story. That said, the scenery is beautiful, there is a bit of comedy to lighten the mood now and again, and the two young men offer us just enough to keep it going.

Nice little Finnish movie. Would have been even better with a more polished production and some (mainly the mothers) not so over the top characters.

I was bored, and this is what you feel while watching a movie with no end purpose. There are other films out there that say the same story better. This has nothing to add up.

5 stars only for the acting.

The story might seem familiar on the surface, but it is astonishingly well executed--with a special flavor, a unique sensibility. Highly recommended.