''Girls Lost'' ( sv, Pojkarna) is a 2015 Swedish

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Alexandra-Therese Keining Alexandra-Therese Keining (born 1976) is a Swedish writer, film director, and screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing scr ...

. It's based on the August Prize-winning novel ''Pojkarna'' (literary ''The Boys'') by Jessica Schiefauer. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the

2015 Toronto International Film Festival The 40th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 September 2015. On 28 July 2015 the first wave of films to be screened at the Festival was announced. Jean-Marc Vallée's '' Demolition'' starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Na ...

. The film draws on elements of

magical realism Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to: * Magical (horse) Magical (foaled 18 May 2015) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who excelled over middle distances and was rated in the top twenty racehorses in the world in 2018 and ...

to explore notions of fluid sexuality and identity.

Plot

Best friends Kim, Momo and Bella are sexually harassed, bullied and assaulted by boys at school while their teachers do nothing. When they discover a flower whose nectar can temporally turn them into boys, they venture out after dark to test the transformation. Where Bella and Momo are more bewildered and tentative, Kim is elated by the newfound freedom of her male persona. While at a party hosted by Tony, Bella chokes when taking a hit from a joint. When the boys start laughing, Kim joins in. Momo, angry at Kim's behavior, takes Bella home. The next day, Kim tells Momo she feels like there is a zipper down her back and another person inside her, if she only had the courage to pull. On a positive note, their experiences as boys give Momo and Kim the confidence to confront their bullies and negligent teacher. Even though the flower begins to die, Kim continues to take its nectar so she can become a boy and spend time with Tony, a troubled teen and petty thief. The night Tony teaches Kim how to drive, he pulls a gun out of the glove compartment and tells her the best way to commit suicide. Momo asks Kim if she is in love with Tony or if she wants to be him, and Kim admits that she's drawn to Tony because "he doesn't know who he is either". Momo tells Kim she's in love with her, and asks if Kim wants to be a boy, or be with boys. Kim doesn't answer. One night, Tony and Kim's relationship implodes when Kim attempts to kiss Tony. Tony responds by punching Kim, throwing lighter fluid on her and threatening to set her on fire. She runs away only to be met by Momo, in her male persona. Momo says that she understands what Kim meant by the zipper, but that it was different for her and Bella. They wanted to be girls. Even so, Momo offers to stay in her male persona for Kim. Rather than respond, Kim flees with Momo following. Kim arrives at a warehouse where Tony and other local young people go to party. Kim finds Tony attempting to rape a girl on a dirty mattress. Kim tells Tony to stop, and when he doesn't, Kim kicks Tony until Momo intercedes. When Kim refuses to stop taking the nectar, and rebuffs Momo's love overtures again, Momo burns down the greenhouse and the flower. Kim, devastated, packs a bag, leaves a note for her mom, tapes another to Momo's window, then visits Bella to apologize and say goodbye. Bella gives her the ravaged roots of the plant. Kim drives out of the city and is last seen parked on a rural road, crying and contemplating with a gun in her hand.

Cast

* Tuva Jagell as Kim ** Emrik Öhlander as boy Kim * Louise Nyvall as Momo ** Alexander Gustavsson as boy Momo * Wilma Holmén as Bella ** Vilgot Ostwald as boy Bella * Mandus Berg as Tony *

Josefin Neldén Kristina ''Josefin'' Neldén, (born 17 December 1984) is a Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in ...

as Gym Teacher *

Lars Väringer Lars is a common male name in Scandinavian countries. Origin ''Lars'' means "from the city of Laurentum". Lars is derived from the Latin name Laurentius, which means "from Laurentum" or "crowned with laurel". A homonymous Etruscan name was born ...

as Sten * Olle Wirenhed as Bella's father * Simon Settergren as Cashier

Reception

The film was nominated for three awards at the 52nd Guldbagge Awards. Tuva Jagell (in her debut role) was nominated for

Best Actress in a Leading Role The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. ...

while Sophia Ersson was nominated for Best Original Score and Alexandra-Therese Keining for

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

. The film received the award for best screenplay at the 2015

Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival The Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival ( tr, Antalya Altın Portakal Film Festivali), known for a few years from 2015 as Antalya International Film Festival, is a film festival, held annually since 1963 in Antalya, and is the second most impor ...

and won the prize for best children's film at the 2016 CPH PIX.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Girls Lost 2015 films 2015 drama films 2015 LGBT-related films Swedish drama films 2010s Swedish-language films Swedish LGBT-related films LGBT-related drama films 2010s Swedish films