Zoomerne – coming of age movie review

Hello, dear readers of theskykid.com! Maybe you have already heard of me – I am a guest author on this blog. Today I would like to present you with a newer coming-of-age release, called Zoomerne, or Zoomers  – which is  the international title.

Zoomerne is a film which is quite up-to-date, not only referring to the date of release, but also to the topic that the film is dealing with. Just let me briefly sum up the content. It is about two boys, Tim (Frederik Ludvig Mansa) and Alexander (Sophus Emil Løkkegaard), who are just on the edge of puberty. They are best friends and have at least one thing in common: they are looking out for pretty girls. Alexander, however, seems to be the guy who already knows a lot about getting in contact with girls. Tim acts rather shy and “nerdy”, as his schoolmates would say. One day Tim‘s mother goes on a business trip, leaving the key to her security store behind. The boys are making a plan. They will be trying to spy on almost everybody in the school to get to know the results of one important test that would come up soon. And, of course, Alexander is at the same time trying to help Tim, with the help of the professional equipment they are using for their “big brother” project. Will he be able to get to know a possible girlfriend, not messing it up for the first time?

Well, this film is just smooth to watch. Actually, the topic is not too exclusive or brilliant at all – but there is one thing that makes it better than many other films with an almost similiar topic. It is simple: it has been produced in Denmark! It may just be a “prejudice” – but generally films that are made for children, or have children as main actors – have some kind of bonus when they are coming from the northern hemisphere. And, in “Zoomerne“, we can also taste this special mood coming from the authentic portrait of childhood. Now, as I mentioned above – this film definitely does not rank at the top of my coming-of-age film list – there are other “northern” titles far better than this one. I am thinking about “Drommen“, for example. Of course, the topic is very different: “Zoomerne” is a rather  “feelgood” movie that should not be taken too seriously. But I had some fun watching it, resulting mainly from the relationship between the two boys – and how they are trying to help each other.

Of course, it is not all about befriending the desired girl from school – the focus is also drawn to the use of “spying equipment”. And, that is what makes the film suitable for a younger audience: it has some messages about the consequences that can occur when one is “spying” on other people (mainly with cameras). Even the friendship of the two boys is put to the test, as Tim gets to know some facts about his best friend that should have remained private. The relationship of the two boys is nicely portrayed – thanks to the director and the two young actors, who are rather unknown outside of Denmark. But they do a good job in the film, considering the roles they are playing, and in my opinion the roles could not have been played much better.

So, what about the other aspects of this film? The camera-work looks very nice, as does the cutting. There are some nice scene setups – but unfortunately not too many to differentiate. Again, nothing too extraordinary here – but at the same time nothing will “bother” you. The soundtrack is rather thin – there is no “real” score, just some (mostly “exciting”) tunes to underline the situations in the film.

Once again I’d like to highlight the most important thing, and then I will sum this one up. Naturally, I am talking about the story and the messages. Well, it is an entertaining movie, especially for kids. But if you are watching it with the whole family – the adults will not be bored either. And, the most important thing: they most likely will not complain about this or that little nuisance in the film, because it basically makes everything right.  But, if I had to fully rate it – which is what I am going to do now – I have to cut back here, in terms of missing originality, inspiration and emotionality (at least a little).  This is why I would only rate the story and conclusion with 2 points (out of 4). It still has some good, funny and exciting elements. Adding 1.7 (out of 2) for the actors, 1.2 (out of 2) for the optics, 0.5 (out of 1) for the music and sound, and 0.6 (out of 1) for my own taste – I  rate Zoomerne at 6 out of 10 points, which comes very close to the average rating of the international IMDB-members. Try to form your own opinion and watch the trailer:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzaY0qNQjMU

Cheers,

Ikarus