Three 14-year-old girls who are inseparable best friends are always mercilessly picked on by all the bullies at their school. Considered outsiders by their classmates, Kim (Tuva Jagell0), Momo (Louise Nyvall) and Bella (Wilma Holm) the girls very much keep to themselves. One day Bella finds a very strange looking seed that she plants to discover that it grows into a flower overnight. Completely shocked, the rather curious girls randomly decided to taste the plants sap thinking it may posses some magical qualities. They are right, and after a trance like sequence, they wake up to find out they are now boys complete with male genitals (‘it looks like a baby bird‘ says a startled Bella).
Emboldened they end up hanging out unrecognized with their classmates and are not only are they asked to join a football match, but are also invited to a party. They wake up next morning to find that their bodies are back to being female, but what has changed is their perspective on how they interact with others at school. Both Bella and Momo like the novelty of experiencing their lives as boys and want to try again, as does Kim but she becomes much serious about the whole transformation, believing that as she is much happier as a boy, that this is her real identity.
As her male counterpart, Kim (Emrik Öhlander) quickly forms a very close connection with small-time thief Tony (Mandus Berg) as he introduces ‘him’ to his life in the margins robbing a store and taking a joy-ride in the car. Kim develops a serious crush on Tony, and although it is not reciprocated it is obvious that Tony has feelings for ‘him’ too even though he does not want to acknowledge them. At the same time Moma professes her love for Kim and declares that she will either be a boy or girl whichever makes Kim happiest. That completely confuses Kim, and puts their friendship at risk.
This rather good Swedish movie written and directed by Alexandra-Theresa Keining based on an award-winning novel by Jessica Schiefauer puts a new slant on the whole body-transfer genre with its gendergueer aspect that adds an intriguing dimension to the story. A tad over-long at 106 min, it is nevertheless a compelling and somewhat gritty tale that includes some of the aspects that troubled teens have to deal today, such as sexual consent and even suicide. Highly recommended.
Labels: 2016, drama, genderqueer, lesbian, swedish
