My Tribute to "Fucking Åmål"
"Fucking Åmål" is a small low budget production about two girls (14 and 16) living in the small swedish town Åmål and their first love. Everything is just like in any other province town: the boring school, the problems of the teenagers and the parents, who dont understand their kids any more. So why is this movie different and affecting so many people ?
Its is not the lesbian love between the two girls Agnes and Elin. Its the universal elements of the film. There is the bored elin, tired by the school lesson, by her friends and family. Always trying to escape: examining the drugs of her mother, but its only vitamin pills etc., wants to go to the next rave instead of the local party of a friend, but rave is already on the out-list of a magazine. Her sister says: "I never understand you, because you always do the opposite, of what everybody else does.". Finally they decide to go to the birthday party of Agnes.
Agnes is an outsider, she has no friends and she already knows that she is lesbian and feels to be nasty. Far from beeing that, she is interesting and intelligent. She already developed a special interest in books and music. She writes a diary about her love to Elin. But Elin doesnt even know her until she arrives at Agnes party.
The film contains some metaphorical elements. The first kiss between Agnes and Elin is like the kiss in a fairy-tale, where the princess is kissed by a prince. But this time it is more ambiguous: at first it is a kisse of death. But later everything is fine. Like the things in a fairy tale, this never happens in real life.
Remember when you where young ? Lots of parties with too much alcohol, drunken girls vomiting in the toilet, cruel jokes about outsiders and you never find your coat in the pile. You are bored to death, always trying to get the next and larger kick. If alcohol doesnt work any more, you start taking other kinds of drugs.
The bridge
