Show Me Love

"Though they're smash hits back home in Sweden, writer/director Lukas Moodysson's wry, bittersweet human comedies struggle to find audiences in the States. So it's little surprise that the director's first film, the much-acclaimed coming-of-age tale Show Me Love (originally titled Fucking ?m?l), comes to DVD in a stripped-down, bare-bones package that offers nothing in the way of extras -- save for a theatrical trailer and a handful of previews for other Strand Releasing films. That said, the film gets a crisp, letterboxed transfer that does a good job of showcasing Moodyson's grainy, gritty shooting style and his fondness for light and dark contrasts between scenes. The Dolby 2.0 audio track -- the only option offered -- decently conveys the soundtrack's pervasive, earnest use of pop music; a negative is that some dialogue tends to be so quiet as to be inaudible. Worse, viewers fluent in Swedish don't have the option of turning off the subtitles, however unobtrusive they may be. Credit Strand for bringing this gem to the U.S. home video market -- it's just a shame they don't have the resources to give Show Me Love the full treatment it deserves."