"A Bunch of Five" works best if you imagine a less depressive and teen version of "Of Mice and Man" involving youth gangs, drugs and violence. But it's also a tale about an undying and unusual friendship between Jonas and Emir. 14 year-old Jonas (Maikel Andressen Abou-Zelof) is very protective of Emir (Jalal Zahedjekta), an older, bigger but heated and troubled kid who tends to be a violent type who always goes for people's heads when he has to fight, himself a victim of violent abuses when he was younger, hit on the head by his father and now a burden to everybody due to his stupid acts. All Jonas have to do is to keep Mir, as he call, under control. And both are part of a group of teen robbers who keep doing their business as usual until the day Emir gets mixed up with two different tasks given by his uncle (to beat up one guy and give drugs to another) causing a catastrophic problem for everyone involved.
Although highly inconsistent, erratic and mildly unbelievable to some (but such gangs were part of Norway's past as strange as it may look), the movie delivers an effective story about friendship and companion, though often eclipsed by the movie's rush in presenting non fulfilling thrilling moments (well filmed but losing in effect sometimes - except the video store robbery and the police chase right after it, those were great). There's nothing new in terms of what kind of crimes they commit, the obstacles the group has to face against the police, drug dealers and other criminals, and even against themselves - obviously you can see those happening in plenty of other movies. And "Schpaaa" is an easy ride, more preoccupied in providing suspense and action sequences than to really focus on the drama of educated kids who prefer to steal than to find something useful to do. Thinking of that, the movie can be unappealing to some because it's not gritty and harsh like "Pixote" was, a truly great film and I don't know why but while I was watching "Schpaaa" I kept remembering that movie. I guess that was a way to say that no matter what you put in those kind of movies, nothing will ever get near "Pixote" grandiosity.
At the end of the day, you still have a good watchable movie with pleasant performances by the young cast, specially the main characters. 8/10
