Welcome contribution to the genre
Possibly it is America’s moral outrage over the weapons that arose after Michael Moore’s “Bowling for Columbine” with Universal to fish up this very typical low budget did Swedish youth movie. The story focuses on seven “lost” teenagers of the event get a gun and in different ways trying to use it to finish the unfortunate, tragic chapter in their lives.
These are important topics covered, ranging from bullying, peer pressure, teenage depression, child abuse and alcoholism. We monitor everything from a single guy with no friends constantly beaten, harassed and humiliated by classmates to immigrant girl who just wants to fit in but suffers with her mother who is beaten by her drunken boyfriend.
The topics are interesting and handled forthright and uncompromising. The biggest problem is that most made in the past in both good and bad movies. It is not entirely unpredictable what will happen and it has some credibility problems in how they do not even age youths appear to have no trouble handling a firearm, and not just not react particularly strongly to the consequences of their deeds.
The film’s strong point is the young people and their stories. Tom Ljungman and his contemporaries opponents never feels theatrical actress (as many of their mature colleagues from echange de maison) but as genuine teenagers a little rebellious involuntarily in the movie, like a documentary. All is not entirely sympathetic but it is easy to sympathize with – and identify with – their broken thoughts, uncontrollable emotions and stubborn pride, not to make himself vulnerable.
Putting a gun in their hands feels like something of a cliche but it’s exciting and above all scary to see how easy it is to solve their problems as long as you manage to squeeze by that first shot. The feelings are bursting with everything from giddy euphoria to shock and fear as a trembling child hands fingers on the trigger and are followed by that mighty blow.
The film could have been a youth film in class if you do not persist to destroy it with pretentious, grand music taken from any Hollywood movie. The best scenes relies on the actors and let the atmosphere come from the game and defenses, but just as often, unfortunately, attempts to dramatize the desperate situations with an unseemly orchestral soundtrack.
The same is true often mow. First ten minutes is pure bad when trying to introduce the characters in the title sequence cut like a trailer / MTV video while almost a parodic way, throw in classy slogans. Fortunately, it turns into the normal film but also where cutting is a little too awkward and clumsy at times, and dare not stay in key scenes, which means that it takes a while to get to know several of the main characters. It gets pretty rough, but takes in the second half of the film.
“7X – Birds of a feather flock together” is perhaps no future classics, but one of the best Swedish films of the year (which is not saying much …) and a good, hard-hitting messages of youth and violence debate. As an educational film for young people is excellent but the 15-year limit seems like a big target miss. It is not too violent (especially compared to the 11-årsfilmer as “Predators” and “Quantum of Solace” ), but perhaps worth cut down on the teens themselves do not get to see a movie they obviously should.
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