Gutta Boys

Arne, Bønna (Bjørn Tore), Petter and Eivind are twelve years old and best friends in school. We will follow the guys as they test the limits of right and wrong, friendship and loyalty. Bønna is the toughest boy among them but also suffer from emotional stress since his parents recent divorce, and is a risk taker, not always thinking about the consequenses of his actions. Arne is the calm boy who follows Bønna wherever he goes. The two other boys are more easily scared and run away as soon as things are getting tough. The boys constantly get into all sorts of troubles, and the adults among them are more or less helpless or absent. The film is divided into several episodes, that give you the opportunity to watch one episode at a time instead of the whole 175 minutes. This is a descent Norwegian film about boys in the threshold between childhood and adolesence. I enjoyed it throughout the film (and watched all episodes without any break…!).

 Actors:

Arne = Jonas Olsen 

Bjørn Tore = Bjørn Skalpe Bjørnli

Petter = Sondre Vegheim

Eivind = Olav Endresen Haukeli

Director = Arild Andresen

Year = 2006

This review had not been possible without the support from cvmc.net.

                

Preparing for the big jump from the highest cliff on the island…In the beginning of the film we are told that Arne has been sick and when being in hospital he wrote a list of special things he would do if he got better….jumping from the cliff into the cold sea was one of them!

 

Upcoming reviews (during july/beginning of august):

1. Country Teacher

- A very new Czech film about a middle aged teacher who is going to the countryside to work in the local school, at the same time struggling with his own acceptance of his homosexuality and with his falling in love with a teenage boy. A very rare and good film!

2. Nachttocht

-A Dutch coming-of-age story about a boy who is falling in love with his sports/canoe-teacher, who in turn is falling in love with the boy´s mom. A very nicely done and rare triangle drama about love and friendship. Similar to ”Country teacher”, though with totally different twists and also much older (but equally good!).

3. Gutta boys

- A Norwegian TV-series about a group of boys in a coming-of-age drama.

4. Russian film (rare)

- A rare film (so rare I have forgotten the title but will of course update you with that information later), about a boy who is struggling to survive a hazardous boat trip.

5. My uncle Antoine

- Considered to be the best Canadian coming-of-age film, and is about the developing consciousness of a young boy as he learns to deal with both sexuality and death.

6. Malena

- An Italian coming-of-age-story about a young boy who encounters the beautiful Malena, the dream of all men. Said to be an intense and very interesting film.

7. City of Men

- A Brazilian TV-series about kids in the slum of Rio de Janeiro.

8. Captain Abu Raed

-A new film, not yet released in my country, about an older man finding a new task in life and becoming a sort of father figure to a group of boys/children. Seems interesting on the trailer, more info will come later.

And some bonus reviews…..

1. ”Close to Leo”

2. ”This boys life”

3. ”The wizard”

4. ”Saving Shiloh”

Benny´s gym

This is one of 5 short films covered in one DVD, coming from the Norwegian Filminstitute. For a very nice trailer with English subtitles go to Ikarus, the text about the film there is in German, but you´ll find the trailer in the end. It´s enjoyable!

Direct link to the trailer. You can buy the complete film at the Norwegian Filminstitute.

Don´t forget to check out much more at Ikarus!

Another good Norwegian film is ”Sons” .

The 5 short films are:

”Lykke til, pappa” /”Ice”

”Bennys gym” /”Benny´s gym”

”Der nede sorger de ikke”/ ”Down there they don´t mourn”

”Elva bak huset” /”Behind the house”

”Stikk” /”Sting”

 

Alfred is 12 and is constantly bullied

by the other boys at school. Alfred is good at drawing and one of the bullies, Benny, begins to show interest in his artistic abilities. He wants to get a tattoo and persuades Alfred to secretly give him one. This is the beginning of a friendship between Alfred and Benny that is initially involuntary, but gradually becomes quite warm. A friendship that must be kept secret at all costs.

 

 

ORIGINAL TITLE: BENNYS GYM
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: NORWAY 2007
DIRECTOR: Lisa Marie Gamlem
PRODUCER: Christian Fredrik Martin, Asle Vatn
SCRIPT: Lisa Marie Gamlem
PHOTO: Marius Motzow Gulbrandsen
CAST: Atdhe Belegu, Kim Erik Tena Eriksen
RUNTIME: 24 min.
PRODUCTION: Friland
INT. SALES: Norsk filminstitutt

 

”Benny´s gym”

”Der nede sorger de ikke” /”Down there they don´t mourn”

Synopsis: We meet two classmates who can´t adjust to life at school. Even if he has lived there for a year now, Thomas still hasn´t been accepted by his classmates. Karsten is an oddball liked by few. The film is about the day when they, for various reasons, sneak away from their swimming lesson and destroy the carpentry room. This is a film about how inner angst shows itself in physical destructive behaviour.

”Stikk”/ ”Sting”

Synopsis: Alexander is 13 years old, small, thin and gets bullied in school. But one day a new guy comes to his class and encourages Alexander to get revenge! 

”Elva bak huset” /”Behind the house”

Synopsis: A dark story about the first time you see someone like yourself.

Sons (Orig. title:Sønner)

Lars is working at the public swimming pool in a town in Norway. One day he notices that the older Hans is playing with the teenage boys in the pool. Though Lars has absolutely no proof of any sexual offense he gets outrageous. When he gets no support from his workmates he instead settles off for a personal crusade against Hans. Soon he discovers that Hans is actually picking up the schoolboy and teenager Tim in his car. Tim then gets involved in a strange game he can’t handle. This Norwegian film about the dark secrets of abused childhood is very well made and the cast is excellent.