Fucking Åmål

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Fucking Åmål

Directed by	Lukas Moodysson
Produced by	Lars Jönsson
Written by	Lukas Moodysson
Starring	Alexandra Dahlström, Rebecka Liljeberg, Erica Carlson, Mathias Rust
Distributed by	Sonet Film
Release date(s)	October 23, 1998
Running time	89 min.
Language	Swedish
Budget	SEK 9,000,000
IMDb profile

Fucking Åmål is a Swedish movie that was distributed in most English-speaking countries as Show Me Love (and in other countries under similarly toned-down titles such as Raus Aus Åmål, Descubriendo el Amor, Amigas de Colégio etc.). The title refers to the small town Åmål in western Sweden. The film was not actually filmed in Åmål but in Trollhättan.

The movie from 1998 was written and directed by Lukas Moodysson and was his first full length film. It stars Alexandra Dahlström as Elin and Rebecka Liljeberg as Agnes. It won four Guldbaggar (Golden Beetles) at the 1999 Swedish Guldbagge Awards. It has also won several other international awards, among them the Teddy award at the 1999 Berlin Film Festival.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film tells the story of two girls, Agnes and Elin, who go to school in the insignificant town of Åmål ("fucking" is a word Elin uses to describe it). Elin is outgoing and has many friends, but finds her life unsatisfying. Agnes, by contrast, has almost no friends. Agnes has a crush on Elin, but cannot find any way to express it. Elin goes to Agnes' birthday party, mainly as an excuse to avoid going to a different party, where there will be people she wants to avoid. Elin's older sister, Jessica, who comes with her, dares her to kiss Agnes, which she does. Elin discovers that she is also attracted to Agnes but is afraid to admit it. They eventually discover each other's feelings at the end of the film, where they literally come out of a restroom to "out" their relationship to the whole school.