''Fucking Åmål'' (released in some countries as ''Show Me Love'') is a 1998 Swedish romantic

comedy drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film written and directed by

Lukas Moodysson Karl Fredrik Lukas Moodysson (; born 17 January 1969) is a Swedish novelist, short story writer and film director. First coming to prominence as an ambitious poet in the 1980s, he had his big domestic and international breakthrough directing the ...

in his feature-length

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

. It stars

Rebecka Liljeberg Rebecka Månstråle Liljeberg (born 13 May 1981) is a Swedish former actress who starred in the Swedish film '' Show Me Love'' (''Fucking Åmål'') (1998). Early life and career Rebecka was born in the town of Turinge, Sweden to an 18-year-old ...

and

Alexandra Dahlström Lena Marina Alexandra Dahlström (born 12 February 1984) is a Swedish actress and film director. Career Dahlström gained international attention in 1998, after starring as "Elin" in the film '' Show Me Love''. For this, she won the Guldbagge ...

as two seemingly disparate teenage girls who begin a tentative romantic relationship. The film was released theatrically in Sweden on 23 October 1998, and first premiered internationally at the 1998

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

. The film received an overwhelmingly positive reception and won four

Guldbagge Award The Guldbagge Awards ( sv, Guldbaggen, en, Gold scarab) is an official and annual Swedish film awards ceremony honoring achievements in the Swedish film industry. Winners are awarded a statuette depicting a rose chafer, better known by the nam ...

s (Sweden's official film awards) at the 1999 ceremony. Its international awards include the

Teddy Award The Teddy Award is an international film award for films with LGBT topics, presented by an independent jury as an official award of the Berlin International Film Festival (the Berlinale). In the most part, the jury consists of organisers of gay ...

at the 1999

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

, and the Special Jury Prize at the

34th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The 34th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival took place from 2 to 10 July 1999. The Crystal Globe was won by ''Yana's Friends'', an Israeli comedy-drama film directed by Arik Kaplun. The second prize, the Special Jury Prize was won by '' Sho ...

. The Swedish title refers to the small town of

Åmål Åmål () is a locality and the seat of Åmål Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 9,065 inhabitants in 2010. It is situated on the western shore of Vänern. In 2005 Åmål received second prize in the international competition ...

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1 ...

, western Sweden. However, only a few scenes were filmed in Åmål, and they were not included in the final version. The main shooting took place in the nearby town of

Trollhättan Trollhättan () is the 23rd-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Trollhättan Municipality, Västra Götaland County. It is situated by Göta älv, near the lake Vänern, and has a population of approximately 50,000 in the city proper. It is loc ...

, the location of producing company

Film i Väst Film i Väst (English: "Film in West") is a film company located in Trollhättan, Sweden, nicknamed "Trollywood"), founded in 1992 by the Älvsborg County Council. Lars von Trier used its facilities in his movies, such as ''Dogville'' and ''Mand ...

's studios.

Plot

Two girls, Agnes and Elin, attend school in the small town of

, Sweden. Elin is outgoing and popular but finds her life unsatisfying and dull. Agnes, by contrast, has no real friends and is constantly depressed. Agnes is in love with Elin but cannot find any way to express it. Agnes's parents worry about their daughter's reclusive life and try to be reassuring. Her mother decides, against Agnes's will, to throw a 16th birthday party for her. Agnes is afraid no one will come. Viktoria, a girl in a wheelchair, shows up and Agnes shouts at her in front of her parents, telling her they are friends only because no one else will talk to them. Agnes, overcome with anger and depression, goes to her room and cries into her pillow shouting that she wishes she were dead, while her father tries to soothe her. Viktoria leaves and Agnes's family eats the food made for the party. Elin arrives at Agnes's house, mainly as an excuse to avoid going to another party, where there will be a boy (Johan, played by Mathias Rust) she wants to avoid. Elin's older sister, Jessica, who comes with her, dares her to kiss Agnes, who is rumoured to be a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

. Elin fulfills the dare and then runs out with Jessica, only to soon feel guilty for having humiliated Agnes. After becoming drunk at the other party, Elin gets sick and throws up. Johan tries to help her and ends up professing his love to her. Elin leaves Johan and the party, only to return to Agnes's house to apologize for how she acted earlier. In doing so, Elin stops Agnes from cutting herself. She even manages to persuade Agnes to return with her to the other party. On the way, Elin shares her real feelings about being trapped in Åmål. She asks Agnes about being a lesbian and believes that their problems could be solved by leaving Åmål and going to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

. On impulse, Elin persuades Agnes to

hitchhike Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Nomads hav ...

to Stockholm, which is a five-hour journey by car. They find a driver who agrees to take them, believing them to be sisters who are visiting their grandmother. While sitting in the back seat, they have their first real kiss. The driver sees them and, shocked at the behaviour of the two 'sisters', orders them to leave the car. Elin discovers that she is attracted to Agnes but is afraid to admit it. She proceeds to ignore Agnes and refuses to talk to her. Elin's sister Jessica sees that she is in love and pushes her to figure out who it is. To cover the fact that she is in love with Agnes, Elin lies, pretending to be in love with Johan, and loses her virginity during a short-lived relationship with him. Elin eventually admits her feelings, when, after a climactic scene in a school bathroom, they are forced to '

out Out may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 * ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander * ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...

' their relationship to the school. The film ends with Elin and Agnes sitting in Elin's bedroom drinking chocolate milk. Elin explains that she often adds too much chocolate until her milk is nearly black. She must fill another glass with milk and mix it and that her sister Jessica often gets mad that she finishes the chocolate. Elin has the last word saying "It makes a lot of chocolate milk. But that doesn't matter."

Cast

as Elin Olsson *

as Agnes Ahlberg * Erica Carlson as Jessica Olsson * Mathias Rust as Johan Hulth * Stefan Hörberg as Markus * Josefine Nyberg as Viktoria * Ralph Carlsson as Agnes's father, Olof * Maria Hedborg as Agnes's mother, Karin * Axel Widegren as Agnes's little brother, Oskar * Jill Ung as Elin's and Jessica's mother, Birgitta

Title

The original title of the film, ''Fucking Åmål'', refers to the girls' feelings about their small town: In a key scene, Elin shouts in desperation "''varför måste vi bo i fucking jävla kuk-Åmål?''" (which roughly translates to "why do we have to live in fucking bloody cock-Åmål?"). According to Moodysson, the problem with the original title started when the film was Sweden's candidate for the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, though eventually it was not chosen as a nominee. The Hollywood industry magazine ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' refused to run an advertisement for ''Fucking Åmål''. Thus, American distributor

Strand Releasing Strand Releasing is an American film production company founded in 1989 and is based in Culver City, California. The company has distributed over 300 auteur-driven titles from acclaimed international and American directors such as Apichatpong Wee ...

asked for a new title. Moodysson took the new title from the song at the end of the film, by Robyn.

Distributors A distributor is an enclosed rotating switch used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines that have mechanically timed ignition. The distributor's main function is to route high voltage current from the ignition coil to the spark plugs ...

in other native English-speaking countries then followed suit. * german: text=Raus aus Åmål, translation=Out of Åmål .e. leaving the town} * es, Descubriendo el Amor ("Discovering Love") * pt, Amigas de Colégio ("School Friends") * cs, Láska je láska ("Love is Love") The Czech title is based on a

Lucie Bílá Lucie Bílá (born April 7, 1966 as ''Hana Zaňáková'') is a Czech pop singer. According to her label, EMI Czech Republic, the singer has sold over one million albums. She won the Czech musical award, Český slavík 13 times, the highest ...

song of the same name, which references homosexuality. * russian: Покажи мне любовь (, "Show Me Love") *

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: ''F- Åmål'' *

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

: ''Show Me Love'' * French (Canada): ''Qui Aimes-Tu?'' ("Who do you love/like?")

Reception

Political controversy

Even before the film was completed, it created controversy in the town of Åmål. Local politicians campaigned to get the title changed because they argued that it would show the town in an unfair way and even undermine it as an economic centre. Further pressure was brought on the makers of the film, the

studio, who are partly financed by Swedish local authorities, including Åmål. However, the local complaints had no effect on the content or release of the film. Since the release, the town of Åmål has tried to embrace the publicity generated, despite the fact that the town's name is missing from the English title. In the early 2000s the town founded the pop music "Fucking Åmål Festival."

Critical and commercial response

''Fucking Åmål'' received the highest audience figures for a Swedish film in 1998–9, with a total audience of 867,576 and a total audience for the whole of Europe of 2,100,000. Some reports outside Sweden stated that in Sweden the film had outgrossed the

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

film ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unite ...

''. In fact, ''Titanic'' had over twice as many viewers as ''Show Me Love'' in Sweden in 1998. Based on 43 reviews collected by the film review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, 91% of critics gave ''Show Me Love'' a positive review. It is among the top ten of the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14. The film received consistently good reviews, including the realism and credibility of its portrayal of what it is like to be a teenager in a small town in the 1990s. In addition, the efforts of the young actors were praised. Jan-Olov Andersson at

Aftonbladet ''Aftonbladet'' (, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. History and profile The newspaper was founded by Lars Johan H ...

felt that Dahlström's and Liljeberg's imaginative appearance and interaction was "sensationally credible", and Bo Ludvigsson at

Svenska Dagbladet ''Svenska Dagbladet'' (, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. History and profile The first issue of ''Svenska Dagbladet'' appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the ...

wrote that it was "a warm, strong and confident film about the courage to be human". Ludvigsson also believed that ''Fucking Åmål'', with its storytelling drive, leave and authenticity, was well above most of the Swedish films of recent years. Anders Hansson at

Göteborgs-Posten ''Göteborgs-Posten'' (lit. "The Gothenburg Post"), abbreviated GP, is a major Swedish language daily newspaper published in Gothenburg, Sweden. History and profile ''Göteborgs-Posten'' was first published in 1813, but ceased publication in 1 ...

thought that director Moodysson with fairly ordinary elements created "a film with unusual rise".

Autostraddle Autostraddle is an independently owned online magazine and social network for lesbian, bisexual, and queer women ( cis and trans), as well as non-binary people and trans people of all genders. The website is a "politically progressive queer femin ...

placed it at number one on its "Top 10 Best Lesbian Movies" list.

Cultural impact

According to Russian singer Lena Katina, producer

Ivan Shapovalov Ivan Nikolayevich Shapovalov (Cyrillic: Иван Николаевич Шаповалов, born 28 May 1966) is a musical producer based in Moscow, Russia. He is best known for being the founder and former executive producer/manager for t.A.T.u. ...

was inspired to create the pop duo t.A.T.u. after the release of this film. The track " Show Me Love" is featured in their album ''

200 km/h in the Wrong Lane ''200 km/h in the Wrong Lane'', also titled ''t.A.T.u.'' in Japan, is the second, and first English-language, studio album by Russian music duo t.A.T.u., released on 10 December 2002, by Interscope Records. It is the duo's first studio albu ...

''.

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack was released through

Metronome Records Warner Music Sweden AB (previously Metronome Records) is a Swedish record company and label, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. Metronome Records was established in 1949 by Anders Burman, Lars Burman, and Börje Ekberg and was based in Stockholm ...

and consists of songs in

and

Swedish language Swedish ( ) is a North Germanic language spoken predominantly in Sweden and in parts of Finland. It has at least 10 million native speakers, the fourth most spoken Germanic language and the first among any other of its type in the Nordic cou ...

. Swedish band

Broder Daniel Broder Daniel ( Swedish for ''Brother Daniel''), often abbreviated as BD, was an alternative rock band from Gothenburg, Sweden. They formed in the late 1980s and then consisted of classmates Henrik Berggren and Daniel Gilbert. The band claims th ...

, who contributed three English language songs to ''Fucking Åmål'', saw a spike in popularity after the film's release. The band also released an EP titled ''Fucking Åmål''. ;Fucking Åmål / Musiken Från Filmen :Label:

:Format: CD, compilation :Country:

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

:Released: 1998

Awards and nominations

, - ! rowspan="24" , 1999 , rowspan="2" , Amanda Award , Best Foreign Feature Film , ''Fucking Åmål'', director

, , , - , Best Nordic Feature Film , Lukas Moodysson , , , - ,

Atlantic Film Festival FIN: Atlantic International Film Festival (known as The Atlantic International Film Festival until 2017) is a major international film festival held annually in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada since 1980. FIN is the largest Canadian film festival ...

, Best International Feature , Lukas Moodysson , , , - , rowspan="2" ,

, C.I.C.A.E. Award - Recommendation (Panorama) , Lukas Moodysson , , , - ,

- Best Feature Film , Lukas Moodysson , , , - , British Film Institute Awards , Sutherland Trophy - Special Mention , Lukas Moodysson , , , - ,

Manaki Brothers Film Festival The International Cinematographers Film Festival "Manaki Brothers" (known short as Manaki Film Festival) is an annual international film festival organized by the Macedonian Film Professionals Association (MFPA). The festival is held in Bitola, ...

, Special Jury Award , Ulf Brantås , , , - , Cinema Jove - Valencia International Film Festival , Golden Moon of Valencia , Lukas Moodysson , , , - ,

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mo ...

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, Lars Jönsson , , , - , rowspan="2" , Flanders International Film Festival Ghent , Student Jury Award , Lukas Moodysson , , , - , Grand Prix , Lukas Moodysson , , , - , rowspan="5" ,

Guldbagge Awards The Guldbagge Awards ( sv, Guldbaggen, en, Gold scarab) is an official and annual Swedish film awards ceremony honoring achievements in the Swedish film industry. Winners are awarded a statuette depicting a rose chafer, better known by the nam ...

, Lars Jönsson , , , - , Best Director , Lukas Moodysson , , , - ,

Best Screenplay Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation, ...

, Lukas Moodysson , , , - , Best Actress in a Leading Role ,

, , , - , Best Actor in a Supporting Role , Ralph Carlsson , , , - , rowspan="4" ,

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary) is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has becom ...

, Audience Award , Lukas Moodysson , , , - , FICC - The Don Quixote Prize , Lukas Moodysson , , , - , Special Jury Prize , Lukas Moodysson , , , - , Crystal Globe , Lukas Moodysson , , , - , rowspan="3" , Kyiv International Film Festival "Molodist" , Best Full-Length Fiction Film , Lukas Moodysson , , , - ,

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

, Lukas Moodysson , , , - , Youth Jury Award - Full-Length Feature Film , Lukas Moodysson , , , - , Verzaubert International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival , Rosebud - Best Film , Lukas Moodysson , , , - ! rowspan="3" , 2000 ,

Bodil Awards The Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by the Danish Film Critics Association. The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe. The awards are give ...

, Best Non-American Film , Lukas Moodysson , , , - ,

GLAAD Media Award The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their liv ...

, Outstanding Film – Limited Release , Lukas Moodysson , , , - ,

International Film Festival Rotterdam The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental f ...

, MovieZone Young Jury Award , Lukas Moodysson , ,

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1998 films 1998 comedy-drama films 1998 directorial debut films 1998 LGBT-related films 1990s coming-of-age comedy-drama films 1998 romantic comedy-drama films 1990s Swedish films 1990s Swedish-language films 1990s teen comedy-drama films 1990s teen romance films Best Film Guldbagge Award winners Coming-of-age romance films Film controversies in Sweden Films directed by Lukas Moodysson Films set in Dalsland Films shot in Trollhättan Films whose director won the Best Director Guldbagge Award Lesbian-related films LGBT-related coming-of-age films LGBT-related romantic comedy-drama films Political controversies in film Swedish coming-of-age drama films Swedish LGBT-related films Swedish romantic comedy-drama films Swedish teen drama films Teen LGBT-related films Teensploitation Zentropa films