Play (2011)

An astute observation based on real cases of bullying. In central Gothenburg, Sweden, a group of boys, aged 12-14, robbed other children on about 40 occasions between 2006 and 2008. The ... See full summary »

Director:

Ruben Östlund

Writers:

Erik Hemmendorff, Ruben Östlund

Stars:

Anas Abdirahman, Sebastian Blyckert, Yannick Diakité

9 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anas Abdirahman	...	Anas
Sebastian Blyckert	...	Sebastian
Yannick Diakité	...	Yannick
Sebastian Hegmar	...	Alex
Abdiaziz Hilowle	...	Abdi
Nana Manu	...	Nana
John Ortiz	...	John
Kevin Vaz	...	Kevin
Jacob Ottander	...	Pojke i köpcenter
Herman Troeng	...	Pojke i köpcenter
Tobias Åkesson	...	Tågvärd
Peggy Johansson	...	Tågvärd
Humberto Guandinango Espinosa	...	Panflöjtsbandet
Luis Alonso Tuquerez	...	Panflöjtsbandet
José Jaime	...	Panflöjtsbandet

Storyline

An astute observation based on real cases of bullying. In central Gothenburg, Sweden, a group of boys, aged 12-14, robbed other children on about 40 occasions between 2006 and 2008. The thieves used an elaborate scheme called the 'little brother number' or 'brother trick', involving advanced role-play and gang rhetoric rather than physical violence.

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Plot Keywords:

sweden | bullying | friendship between boys | child protagonist | urban setting | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Sweden France

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

11 November 2011 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Gra

Company Credits

Production Co:

Coproduction Office, Coproduction Office, Film i Väst

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

Scene and Air from 'Luisa Di Montfort, OP.82'
Composed by Michael Bergson
Performed by John Ortiz and Alexandra Linde

User Reviews

Atypical, but dullish and excessively documentary

Liberal upbringing, indifference in society, uncontrolled immigration from different continents, worship of fine goods - and so there are issues depicted in the film in question, mostly characteristic to Western societies. As children and teens are among most vulnerable strata, the topics mentioned above are reflected in an intensified and crooked manner. - for them, attempts for self-determination and acts of bullying are often intertwined.

Play is focused on one incident, but similar rackets occur and have occurred for decades, thus it is not astonishing or so; moreover, it is no secret that immigrant youth is more criminogenic than local one - it is nothing to do with racism, those evildoers could have easily come from the Balkans or Eastern Europe - by way of example of Sweden where youth gangs organized by race or ethnicity have become a serious issue in big cities.

Anyway, the depiction here is protracted and arid, some scenes are lacking reason, and the ending is numb. The cast is not impressive either, I would not recognize most of them in case I see them in other movies.

Thus, a mediocre movie to me, but it would be probably educational for families with children in multi-ethnic communities.