This film about adolescent youth and a summer that changes much in their lives is a time document in more than one way. If you see through the sometimes awkward dialog, and if you're old enough, you'll have a good nostalgic trip both when it comes to eighties music, boomblaster cassette players, fluffy hairstyles, cars and bright colors. A real eighties treat, it is, when it comes to that.
It's summertime, and the two young buddies Matte and Kranken share most things, even a girlfriend. But Kranken keeps a weapon and some secrets from his buddies. Going on a summer vacation trip on an island, the summer is at it's brightest, but there's things lurking underneath. The Swedish summer isn't at all that trouble free.
The young actors featured are well cast, and it's not their fault that the story drags. They simply do their best, and mange to give a solid depiction of what it could be, being a teenager in Sweden 30 years ago. They have trouble less fun, free spirited sex, alcohol and also drugs. However, this summer their friendship will be put on a trial.
The ground basis for the story should be interesting enough, but the story struggles a bit in keeping up the pace. You really don't know where we are going, though a turning point might be when we see a gun, though we understand that much later. The film keeps you in the dark on purpose, and the police investigation going on is efficiently held as a mystery along the way. But we understand that the police is interested in one of the boys for some reason. Still it feels a bit forced.
The action sequences of this film is kept in the dark. It's also a bit amateurishly made. That ruins it a bit for me. I would still consider the average score here for this as being a tad underrated. I've seen way better films in this category, but still it's able to engage, though it's far for gripping you the way it should. The film is better than a 4 out of 10. A strong 5 is my conclusion.
