Girls Lost
Girls Lost (Swedish: Pojkarna) is a 2015 Swedish drama film directed by Alexandra-Therese Keining. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.[1] Taking inspiration from Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel Orlando: A Biography, the film draws on elements of magical realism to explore notions of fluid sexuality and identity.[2]
| Girls Lost | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Film poster | |
| Directed by | Alexandra-Therese Keining |
| Written by | Alexandra-Therese Keining |
| Starring | Josefin Neldén |
Release date |
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| Country | Sweden |
| Language | Swedish |
Plot
Best friends Kim, Momo and Bella are sexually harassed, bullied and assaulted by boys at school while their teachers do nothing. When they discover a flower whose nectar can temporally turn them into boys, they venture out after dark to test the transformation. Where Bella and Momo are more bewildered and tentative, Kim is elated by the newfound freedom of her male persona.
While at a party hosted by Tony, Bella chokes when taking a hit from a joint. When the boys start laughing, Kim joins in. Momo, angry at Kim's behavior, takes Bella home. The next day, Kim tells Momo she feels like there is a zipper down her back and another person inside her, if she only had the courage to pull.
On a positive note, their experiences as boys give Bella and Kim the confidence to confront their bullies and negligent teacher.
Even though the flower begins to die, Kim continues to take its nectar so she can become a boy and spend time with Tony, a troubled teen and petty thief. The night Tony teaches Kim how to drive, he pulls a gun out of the glove compartment and tells her the best way to commit suicide.
Momo asks Kim if she is in love with Tony or if she wants to be him, and Kim admits that she's drawn to Tony because "he doesn't know who he is either". Momo tells Kim she's in love with her, and asks if Kim wants to be a boy, or be with boys. Kim doesn't answer.
One night, Tony and Kim's relationship implodes when Kim attempts to kiss Tony. Tony responds by punching Kim, throwing lighter fluid on her and threatening to set her on fire. She runs away only to be met by Bella, in her male persona. Bella says that she understands what Kim meant by the zipper, but that it was different for she and Moma. They wanted to be girls. Even so, Bella offers to stay in her male persona for Kim. Rather than respond, Kim flees with Bella following.
Kim arrives at a warehouse where Tony and other local young people go to party. Kim finds Tony attempting to rape a girl on a dirty mattress. Kim tells Tony to stop, and when he doesn't, Kim kicks Tony until Bella intercedes. When Kim refuses to stop taking the nectar, and rebuffs Bella's love overtures again, Bella burns down the greenhouse and the flower.
Kim, devastated, packs a bag, leaves a note for her mom, tapes another to Bella's window, then visits Moma to apologize and say goodbye. Moma gives her the ravaged the roots of the plant. Kim drives out of the city and is last seen parked on a rural road, crying and contemplating with a gun in her hand.
Cast
- Tuva Jagell as Kim
- Louise Nyvall as Momo
- Wilma Holmén as Bella
- Josefin Neldén as Gympaläraren
- Simon Settergren as Kassabiträdet
- Lars Väringer as Sten
- Mandus Berg as Tony
- Emrik Öhlander as boy Kim
- Alexander Gustavsson as boy Momo
- Vilgot Ostwald as boy Bella
- Olle Wirenhed as Bella's father
References
- "Sandra Bullock's 'Our Brand Is Crisis,' Robert Redford's 'Truth' to Premiere at Toronto". Variety. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- "Interview: Alexandra-Therese Keining talks Girls Lost". FilmDoo. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2018.