Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Boring, long, and too preachy.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

This 1984, Danish film, set in the year 1963 (at the height of Beatlemania), is an exceptional coming-of-age tale about 2 young friends named Bjorn and Erik.Bjorn, a flamboyant, out-going drummer for a pseudo-Beatles group, and Erik, a reserved, conservative 17 year old with severe problems at home, are the best of mates who bravely take a stand against a world of controlling adults.Played out against a standard pop-culture backdrop - "Twist & Shout" is a raw, uncompromising look at human emotions. Friendship, loyalty, obsession, first love, loss and betrayal are all examined at close range here.I guarantee you that this "true-to-life" movie will leave no viewer unmoved.

As I know the Danish language and society, I include, from time to time, some Danish films or series into my watching list. Particularly those dealing with events before 1990ies, before my personal experience with this great nation and country. And as Bille August is one of the best known Danish directors in the world, it is logical that Tro, håb og kærlighed would appear sooner or later... Well, I suppose "later", as I had seen hundreds of Danish creations already, including August's Pelle Erobreren, so my expectations were apparently too high. No, don't get me wrong, the film in question is skilfully directed and diversely performed (particularly all depicting Erik's family), plus provides a good overview of life in Danish cities in the 1960ies, but the story itself is not smooth, is somewhat "chopped", and some events / reactions by people are not realistic (e.g. during the wedding). The solution/ending is also adumbrative and, all in all, I am not sure that this film (with rather unfitting title in English) does bespeak the youth and families in the 21st century as well, thus not possessing durable approaches and values. But of course, the film is far above being mediocre.

(add a few rating stars for the original Danish version)The old John Lennon/Paul McCartney tune has always been a popular anthem for teenage rebels around the world, but in this attractive Danish period piece (set in Copenhagen circa 1963) the title is a bit misleading: there's precious little of the song's youthful exuberance in the lives of Bjørn and Erik, best friends who find their loyalty to each other tested by the traumas and disillusions of young adulthood.At times the two characters almost seem to be in separate films: the outgoing, extroverted Bjørn enjoys the love of a lifetime with Anna before an unwanted pregnancy and painful abortion drives them apart, while the more shy and inhibited Erik battles his father over the emotional health of his mentally disturbed mother. Ironically, the film is almost too well crafted for its own good. The handsome imagery and meticulous camera-work aren't quite suited to a rock 'n' roll teen rite of passage, and the dramatic impact is further muted (on the old VHS tape I watched, at any rate) by the artless dubbing into textbook English.

It was released at a small art house cinema in 1986 outside Boston. It played for months!Great Danish coming of age story. Bjorn and Erik are good friends...but are torn apart by two girls. Bjorn falls in love with Anna and gets her pregnant. He is also pursued by aggressive rick Kirsten who will do ANYTHING to get him. Meanwhile Erik has to deal with his mentally-ill mother and cheating father.DEFINITE SPOILERS!!!!! Not all of it makes sense--I heard if you know about Danish culture it would work better--but I loved it. Easily the best coming of age story ever made. For one thing all the actors were 16 or 17-the ages they were playing. And this doesn't shy away from touchy subject matter--it has nudity and sex (although the one scene is brief) and a graphic, harrowing abortion sequence. The acting is great too--the friendship between Erik and Bjorn comes through loud and clear. At one showing of this the audience applauded when Erik saves Bjorn from marrying Kristen. Also most of the actors--especially Bjorn and Anna--are very attractive.This has disappeared completely since 1984. That's a shame because it's a wonderful film. Highly recommended if you can find it. A 10.