Too much of everything

good back-story, and good acting

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Åmål is a provincial town in Sweden. Brash popular Elin Olsson finds life infuriatingly boring. Agnes Ahlberg has a loving family but her school life is tough. Her only friend is wheelchair bound Viktoria. They are picked on by Elin's friends. Agnes is secretly in love with Elin and so is a boy named Johan. Agnes' parents throw a birthday party for her and only Viktoria shows up. Agnes has a tantrum insulting Viktoria who leaves. Elin shows up with her older sister Jessica as she tries to avoid Johan. Elin kisses Agnes on a dare and leaves. Elin goes to the other party where she gets terribly drunk. Elin is guilt ridden, and goes back to apologize to Agnes just in time as Agnes tries to slit her wrist. Elin falls for Agnes but fears being found out.It's the raw emotions of teenage coming-of-age stories. It is hormone-filled. It is the scariest of fears and the highest of love. The two girls are perfect. Love is messy and ultimately uplifting. Agnes at her birthday is painfully raw emotionally. This is one of the best teen love movies.

Two teenage girls in small-town Sweden. Elin is beautiful, popular, and bored with life. Agnes is friendless, sad, and secretly in love with Elin.The film is among the top ten of the BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14. Now, that is a bit odd. Not sure all parents would improve of the potty mouth in this film for their kids under 14. Not saying they have not seen worse, but to actually put it on the list? Wow.Some people have made this out to be a film about lesbian love. And, to some extent, that is true. But it is more than that, because it covers the general feeling of being a kid in the 1990s in a small town with nothing to do. Sweden feels an awful lot like Wisconsin (or anywhere else). How seriously did kids in the 90s take those "in" and "out" lists? Did they really care that pasta was out and couscous was in? Maybe so.

Internationally acclaimed director Lukas Moodysson's 1998 film "Show Me Love" is a brilliantly scripted teen drama/comedy that has been compared to "American Pie" in its real life depiction of teenagers. This was Moodysson's second feature film and one of Sweden highest grossing films ever.The story really touches on a wide variety of human truths that apply to teenagers as well as parents all around the world. The basic culture of high school is the same no matter where you live. In the small town of Amal, like many American towns, teens have little to do and are bored to no end. Agnes is just turning sixteen and her family moves quite frequently, leaving her with few friends. She is a social outcast and rumored to be a lesbian. Her parents are loving and supportive but not in a fake, condescending way. They are not your typical teen movie parents who are usually either absent or played as out of touch buffoons. On the other side of the spectrum there is Elin, the most popular girl in school, but does this mean her life is some how easier? Not by a long shot. Being beautiful has its downside. Elin and her slightly older sister Jessica have your basic love hate relationship. They hangout with each other all the time but constantly argue and fight only to make up.Against her wishes Agnes's mom throws her a birthday party, with her only her guest being her pseudo friend Viktoria who is confined to a wheelchair. The party is a disaster as Agnes, unprovoked, blows up at Vicktoria. As Elin and Jessica leave one party they look for another, and decide to crash Agnes's. Elin ends up kissing Agnes on a dare from her sister leaving Agnes used, confused and angry. In the middle of a half hearted suicide attempt, Elin returns and the girls walk, talk, and goof off. Can a movie about teen lesbians be made without being exploitive or clichéd? Yes, Moodysson's characters are as real and as honest as it gets, he never goes for the cheap laugh or the tired stereotypes. These are real people and it makes the film so much richer. The other question would be, can Agnes and Elin be open with there feelings for each other at school? Elin is very hesitant and blows off Agnes for a big part of the story, deciding to hook up with Johan instead. Johan is another well put together character who all to often buckles under peer pressure and never makes up his own mind. This leads us to the paradox of being a teenager, everybody wants to be unique and different, while wanting to belong and fit in with everybody else. Then there is the age old question of what is normal? The movie ends with a very metaphorical scene at the school when Agnes and Elin decide if there relationship is worth going forward.High school can be and usually is the most volatile time in a person's life and often lays the foundation of who we are as adults. Will Agnes and Elin's relationship last? Who knows, but the bigger message of this movie is over coming what other people think of you and becoming your own person.

I applaud this film because of:1) The sheer bravery of the film-makers honestly portraying two teenage girls who grow to love each other.2) The uncompromising commitment the actors, screenwriter and director have to the subject matter. The writer did not start to write a lesbian-themed movie and then get scared; you know, where one of the girls winds up being simply confused, or proves to be dysfunctional and looking for attention, or turns out to have a low libido or is trying to provoke an ex-boyfriend.3) Most importantly, the authentic casting. Faced with this script, a skittish, hand-wringing casting director from the U.S.A. would have hired women in their mid-twenties to play these roles and the result would have been laughably ludicrous. "Fucking Amal" was courageously cast with real teens and the film rings true because of it.4) The low-tech production values actually add to the movie's appeal by giving it a gritty realism.5) The two main actresses, Rebecca Liljeberg and Alexandra Dahlstrom, are positively adorable human beings and their acting is so realistic they give the movie a so-real-you're-there feel.There are three small negatives which keep the movie from rating ten stars:1) The two main characters whine and complain too much in the first half of this film. I know they're supposed to be hormoned out and they live in a boring, no-account hamlet; but too much is still too much.2) Even considering this movie is about teens, there is too much interpersonal cruelty in the script for the film's own good. I appreciate that they were trying to make a bravely realistic movie, but even slightly more love and tenderness would have drawn the audience in still more.3) "Fucking Amal" would have improved if there was more intimacy between the two young women. The characters are old enough to feel deep love and also experience sexual longing for the one they're in love with. Even a little sexual intimacy toward the end of the film would have assured the viewer that the girls intend to authentically live out their love for one another.Overall a courageous, fabulous film. Maybe someday Hollywood will make a teen film this real!