No film I’ve seen so far this year has provided the sheer moviegoing pleasure of “We Are the Best!’’ — Lukas Moodysson’s joyous portrait of a trio of teenage girls who aspire to be punk rockers in 1982 Stockholm.
This adaptation of a graphic novel by his wife Coco is great return to form for Moodyson, a humanist who earned a formidable reputation as a Swedish John Hughes for such films as “Together’’ (2000) before turning to more somber fare.
The main character here is Bobo (Mira Barkhammer), the bright, androgynous and somewhat shy daughter of a ditsy single mom who is egged on to rebel by her more-vocal mohawk-wearing fellow outcast Klara (Anna Rydgren).
Despite any qualifications other than a vaguely anti-establishment attitude, they start a garage band at the local community center and compose a hilarious anthem that finds equal fault with Ronald Reagan and the school athletic program.
Mocked by the boys, they recruit skilled guitarist Hedvig (Liv LeMoyne), a beautiful but awkward girl who’s alienated from their classmates because of her devout Christian upbringing.
This is a highly episodic film with some great vignettes — the girls’ encounter with an all-male punk band, and a wonderful scene where Hedvig’s mother reacts in an altogether unexpected way to Klara’s decision to crop her daughter’s hair.
The film’s memorable climax is the band’s appearance at a Christmas concert (held in late January) at a suburban community center before an audience that, at least initially, is less than enthusiastic about their music.
The lead performers — ages 11 to 14 when this shot — are flawless and utterly natural. Their scenes, individually and together, including several arguments, are like eavesdropping on adolescents.
“We Are the Best!’’ takes great pains to vividly depict a specific time and place of often eyeball-gouging ugliness — but its wryly funny depiction of teen angst is universal.
Don’t miss it.