Movies
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday January 19, 2009
Miss Sweden
(2004) SBS, 10.55pmMoa is 19 and lives on the fringe of a small Swedish town. Her friends are all vegetarians, social activists and committed to animal rights. Moa tries hard to fit in but she doesn't "feel" it. Could she be immune to political rectitude? More importantly, is she unlucky in love? She falls for all the wrong blokes and still can't differentiate clearly between sex and love. The truth hits hard when she realises she is little more than a cartoon figure to her acquaintances - a dog to be teased and goaded. She decides to confront her friends with her true feelings about them - a move that leaves her pretty much on the outer. But with the freedom to act without peer group pressure, she finds possibilities emerging - including Andre, who seems to genuinely care about her. She's still plagued by doubt so she junks him and turns to Jens, a troubled young bloke who is able to illuminate in her an awareness of her own capabilities. They move in together and as her self-esteem grows, so too does the respect of her friends. Alexandra Dahlstrom, who was terrific in Show Me Love, again shows great promise. Some of the themes parallel the tribulations of 17-year-old Mille in Anders Gustafsson's sensitively realised Scratch (2003), which dealt with choice and the evils confronting teenagers.20 Centimetres (2005) SBS, 12.30amWhat a great double bill this would make with the recently screened 9MM. The billboard guys would love it! Like Bree Osbourne in Transamerica, Marieta is a pre-op transsexual yearning for a better life and . . . a vagina. She works as a prostitute and lives with Tomas, a dwarf of indeterminate gender, who manages to squander her savings every time she gets close to acquiring sufficient funds for gender reassignment surgery. Marieta is good-hearted nonetheless and frequently takes care of her neighbour's son, Paulita. The neighbour, Berta, deeply enmeshed in shady activities, frequently demands Marieta's time. But time is an ill-defined commodity for her. She suffers narcolepsy and falls asleep at the drop of a hat. Each time Marieta zones out, the film segues into full-tilt musical numbers which illuminate her dreams of stardom once she has done away with the last vestiges of her male physicality. But what will she decide when she meets and falls for Raoul, who fancies her and, in particular, that part of her that she so desires to remove? Not exactly up there with early Almodovar. While there are a couple of priceless moments, the campy numbers and the jokes, along with the acting, are pretty pedestrian.
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald