We Are the Best!

(Vi är bäst!, Lukas Moodysson, Sweden/Denmark 2013, 102 min., DCP, Swedish w/subtitles)

12 Notes on Film: Punk | Rochester Premiere. An adaptation of the popular autobiographical Swedish graphic novel Aldrig Godnatt (Never Goodnight) written and illustrated by Coco Moodysson, We are the Best! is a return to form, recalling the warmer, more optimistic tones of director (and husband of Coco) Lukas Moodysson’s first two features Together and Show Me Love. Set in 1982 in Stockholm, it explores the bonds that develop between three girls who, provoked by complacency and benevolent sexism, decide to form a punk band despite limited talent, lack of instruments, and everyone saying that punk is dead. Featuring a soundtrack of vintage Swedish punk, We Are the Best! is both an homage to the punk movement as rebellion, a glimpse into its own constricting emphasis on purity, and a celebration of music as a source of empowerment.

Please note 8:30 p.m. start time.

“Captures the DIY empowerment of punk rock [and] the bond of female friendships . . . in one blissful swoop. . . . A joyous time capsule.” – Village Voice

Organized in collaboration with Bop Shop Records.