Show Me Love Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

Show Me Love Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 30, 2023

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Arrow Video's The Lukas Moodysson Collection.

When The New York Times is touting someone as "Sweden's most praised filmmaker since Ingmar Bergman", attention should probably be paid, even if some reading that description and then looking at the name of its referent might still be asking, "Lukas who?" Lukas Moodysson achieved a fair degree of success right out of the gate with his first feature Show Me Love (which had a somewhat more visceral original title, as can be seen on the poster I've included as the "cover image" of this listing), but unlike some "overnight successes", he has never seemed content to rest on his laurels, and has frequently thrown caution at least partially to the wind, resulting in a rather audacious array of films that vary from bright and breezy to decidedly dark, dour and depressing (maybe that's where the Bergman angle might be most relevant, and, yes, that's said in jest, at least kind of). Arrow Video has now aggregated a really appealing collection of seven Moodysson films, along with the label's usual penchant for some outstanding supplemental material, handsome packaging and non disc swag.

Somewhat hilariously in terms of this film's original title and other names with diacriticals like umlauts and similar accoutrements, fans of Law & Order may recall that when Elisabeth Röhm left the series, her character exited by asking if she was being fired for being a lesbian, a really gobsmacking moment that seemed to come out of nowhere. There are both diacriticals and lesbians in Show Me Love (this review will utilize the "international" title for the film), a rather sweet and low key offering that features two teen girls attempting to figure out "who they are", all within the confines of growing up in a stifling community (the original title refers to a town, not a person, just to be clear, and is meant as a disparaging comment about the town).

Agnes (Rebecka Liljeberg) is an obviously troubled young girl with few if any friends, and a penchant for self harm. When her family attempts to cheer her up with a birthday party, Elin (Alexandra Dahlström), a popular and outgoing girl, shows up almost as a joke, though she commendably soon feels guilty about her behavior and returns to make amends with Agnes. The two girls form a somewhat halting friendship which soon enough blossoms into something more. There's frankly not a ton of narrative drive in Show Me Love, and the film attains its energy from the naturalistic performances of its young cast. It's rather fascinating how Moodysson is able to hint at some of the really dark aspects of the perils of maturation, at least somewhat similarly to what he does in the much more troubling Lilya 4-ever, while still keeping the general atmosphere rather light and breezy, all things considered.

Show Me Love Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Show Me Love is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow lumps all of the films together on their page devoted to the transfers in the hardcover book included with this set, as follows:

All seven films in this collection are presented in their original aspect ratios (1.85:1 for Fucking Åmål, Lilya 4-Ever, Container, and We Are the Best!; 1.66:1 for Together; 1.78:1 for A Hole in My Heart; and 2.35:1 for Mammoth) with their original 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo audio mixes. Container is presented with both Swedish and English narration options in both 5.1 and 2.0.

Fucking Åmål was restored in 2K by the Swedish Film Institute and approved by director Lukas Moodysson and cinematographer Ulf Brantås. The appearance of the film is the result of an unusual production process. It was shot on 16mm film prior to cutting and then to 35mm duplicate negative which was lit for the final screening copy. For the digital restoration, the original camera negative has been used as source material; this also meant that the optical printer work had to be cut and recreated.

Together was restored in 4K from the original camera negative by the Swedish Film Institute and approved by director Lukas Moodysson and cinematographer Ulf Brantås.

The high definition video masters for the other five films were supplied to Arrow Films by TrustNordisk in association with Memfis Film. Additional restoration work on the digital video master for Container was carried out by R3Store Studios, London.

As alluded to above, Show Me Love has a somewhat unusual appearance that is not necessarily limited only to things like grain structure, clarity and fine detail levels. Those are all actually rather nice in my estimation, though more reminiscent of 16mm than 35mm, as can probably be gleaned from some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review. But the palette also has some rather interesting oddities (that I'm assuming are intentional), including shifts at times toward either yellows or greens, which can give things a slightly alien quality. There's quite a bit of dimly lit material throughout the film which can also tamp down detail levels at times, but in the more brightly lit moments, things pop appealingly and general and fine detail levels also noticeably improve. My score is 4.25.

Show Me Love Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Show Me Love features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 audio options in the original Swedish. While this film doesn't have the ostensible music underpinnings of other Moodysson efforts like Together and probably most saliently We Are the Best! , there is a really fun soundtrack at play in the film which features a wealth of variant source cues (the film's "alternate" title is in fact culled from a nice tune sung by Robyn over the closing credits). The surround track noticeably opens up the soundstage for all of the music, but also for some other elements like random ambient environmental effects that attend some of the outdoor scenes in particular. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Show Me Love Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Lukas Moodysson on Fucking Åmål (HD; 18:11) is the first part of an extended series of Zoom like interviews Moodysson participated in with film programmer Sarah Lutton (each film has appropriate sections devoted to that production as a supplement).


• Being Elin with Alexandra Dahlström (HD; 17:31) also features Sarah Lutton as an interviewer.


• Did You Know She's a Lesbian? (HD; 21:50) is an "appreciation" of the film by Dr. Clara Bradbury-Rance, author of Lesbian Cinema After Queer Theory.


• Talk (Bara prata lite) (HD; 14:32) is a 1997 short by Lukas Moodysson.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:26)


• Image Gallery (HD)

Show Me Love Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Show Me Love is a fantastic intorduction to Lukas Moodysson for those who may be previously unacquainted with him. There's a lightness of touch here that still is able to deliver some occasionally troubling material (as in Agnes' self harm), and Moodysson's facility with younger performers is instantly recognizable. Technical merits are solid and the supplements very enjoyable. Highly recommended.