A child of divorced parents, “Oskar” (Kåre Hedebrant) is frequently the victim of a trio of school bullies and at night, in the snow-covered park near his Stockholm home, he dreams of finally fighting back. One such night, he encounters the curious girl-next-door and over a period of evenings the pair start to become friends. She is “Eli” (Lina Leandersson) and she is quite a mysterious young girl. She is twelve, like him, but has no idea when her birthday is and she is also particularly adept at solving the Rubik’s cube (I usually had to dismantle mine and rebuild it!). All the while, their community is being rocked by the discovery of some exsanguined bodies, and so might “Oskar” be able to put two and two together and is he in even more danger from his new friend that from his school-day antagonists? We know all along who is doing what to whom, so a mystery this isn’t. What is is, though, is a characterful story of young love as both have their demons to address. There’s a little bit of ketchup now and again, but this isn’t really a gore fest either. Indeed, for much of the film the dirty work is being done by her equally enigmatic guardian “Håkan” (Per Ragnar) leaving the story to focus more some of the less tangible clues she drip feeds her new friend. She “isn’t a girl” can mean so many things? She’s just twelve but for how long has she been “just twelve”? Perhaps she sees in “Oskar” a new guardian? From his part, “Oskar” must begin to decide for himself whether the revenge he seeks on his tormentors is the right course of action, or whether he ought to move on with his life and build upon the positivity of his innocent, and reciprocated, attraction to “Eli”. Both of these actors deliver really quite engagingly throughout; their dialogue is measured and authentically childlike and even through the plot deals with some fairly gruesome topics, those never derail the amiability of the film and there’s even a little comedy woven into the proceedings too. The chilly landscape, the dark evenings, the nearby woods and the consistent pacing of the tale create a warmth untypical of this genre and it’s a surprisingly sensitive and addictive watch. If you’re looking for Peter Cushing or Brad Pitt, then maybe not - otherwise, this is a good watch.
