The Swedes are full of gender wisdom. They know that men take up too much space on public transportation and that the best way to get men to do their share of child care is to pay them. They have a legitimate Feminist political party! But what do they have to offer miserable middle-school girls? A Swedish coming-of-age movie that hits the U.S. this month says that the best way to stop hating yourself (and annoy self-important, older dudes in the process) is to start an all-girls punk band — especially if you can’t play your instruments. Slate film critic Dana Stevens praises the movie for sparing viewers a trite, self-esteem-boosting practice montage followed by a talent-show-winning performance. Instead, director Lukas Moodysson — “working from a script co-written with his wife Coco, based on her graphic novel,” swoon — shows “how little it matters if the band ever improves.” “It’s the mere existence of the band — the sense it gives the girls of their collaboration as a special, secret source of power and belonging — that equips its members with the unflappable conviction expressed in the title,” she writes. The movie is called We Are the Best!
