I must admit being confused about this film. I was certainly not bored during its 102 minutes, but I was expecting some real contents, for instance the dramatic developments mentioned in the film announcement.
The young characters in the film acted believably and consistently, which may not come as a surprise as many of them were playing themselves. Similarly, the various landscapes and especially the skating "facilities" were beautiful. That alone makes this movie worth seeing.
But that is where my positive experiences end. The promised "two boys around one girl" drama fell short. It was hardly noticeable, only a little bit near the end (what did I miss?). Further, the coming painful separation due to some moving to university and others staying behind, could only be deduced from the synopsis, and was not a visible element in the movie. This is just logical, in my opinion, since these pains are bound to be felt half a year later, when people discover they are growing apart, and that contacts are doomed to falter, despite earlier vows to never let that happen.
All in all, I'm surprised to read that this film won several prizes. I obviously must have overlooked an important piece of the puzzle. For instance, the purpose of the subdivision in four parts was puzzling, as I saw no essential scene changes or other markings that something different was coming up.
I saw the 1st screening (out of 4) at the Rotterdam filmfestival 2011. The number of attendants at that time was unusually low (75 max), and around 1/3 left half way. As said, I was not bored. Hence I had no reason to leave prematurely, vaguely hoping that something essential had been saved to the end. If it was there, I missed it.
The young characters in the film acted believably and consistently, which may not come as a surprise as many of them were playing themselves. Similarly, the various landscapes and especially the skating "facilities" were beautiful. That alone makes this movie worth seeing.
But that is where my positive experiences end. The promised "two boys around one girl" drama fell short. It was hardly noticeable, only a little bit near the end (what did I miss?). Further, the coming painful separation due to some moving to university and others staying behind, could only be deduced from the synopsis, and was not a visible element in the movie. This is just logical, in my opinion, since these pains are bound to be felt half a year later, when people discover they are growing apart, and that contacts are doomed to falter, despite earlier vows to never let that happen.
All in all, I'm surprised to read that this film won several prizes. I obviously must have overlooked an important piece of the puzzle. For instance, the purpose of the subdivision in four parts was puzzling, as I saw no essential scene changes or other markings that something different was coming up.
I saw the 1st screening (out of 4) at the Rotterdam filmfestival 2011. The number of attendants at that time was unusually low (75 max), and around 1/3 left half way. As said, I was not bored. Hence I had no reason to leave prematurely, vaguely hoping that something essential had been saved to the end. If it was there, I missed it.