Sounds Like Teen Spirit Review

by SWS on 02-Jun-09 11:31

Review by Lusy Talula Bernard.

Firstly i must confess that I am not a film maker or a film reviewer. I am in fact, an art student and therefore the things that i appreciate or acknowledge may be completely different to those which regular users of this site may.

The film, Sounds Like Teen Spirit, could have gone down the path of evil pushy parents torturing their children into performing and living the life they never led etc, and certainly when we met some of the contestants towards the end it was evident that some parents are like that. But no, the theme of this movie was re-unification of a war torn continent and i think they told a rather lovely story and with a beautiful light sense of humour.

In the film we follow the stories of several groups and individuals from all over Europe, all hopeful to be winners at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Our emotions are tormented as much as the children's, particularly as they are announcing the scores and they play "The Winner Takes It All" by Abba. We see their hearts being wrenched out, we see they jump for joy, and we are there with them every step of the way. Our emotions are particularly fraught because we have seen inside their homes, met their familes, friends, and heard their prayers.

But to lighten the mood a little these stories are interspliced with almost novelty information, presented in such a manner that it feels a little like a Powerpoint slide show of diagrams and archive footage. Don't let that description disturb you however, when it is not in Powerpoint mode (which is most of the time) this film rocks. The documentary makers didn't really have to work hard at all to show just how mature, brave and brilliant these kids are. Nor did they need to work hard to show that they got on with each other, because they did, and rather than being a back biting competition it felt more like a holiday camp where everyone was best of friends.

I would give it more than just a "wait for it on the telly" rating, just for the simple fact that these kids are amazing and really interesting people. My only quibbles with the film were the powerpointy bits, and the fact that although unification of Europe (through song) was quite evidently the theme, we saw very little interaction between the children. Instead i felt that some bits were just put in for a quick laugh rather than to follow the core ideal.

Overall I would say it is a thoroughly enjoyable film but the contestants make it so, not the film makers.

I hope you enjoy.

Tagged:South West Screen Film Club, Film

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