Simply A Masterpiece

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

For quite a while I watched this film with interest and respect, but little by little I began to have some doubts about it and, then, I was turned off completely by the ludicrous ending. SPOILER I then looked back over the film and, bearing in mind the slight doubts I had about certain aspects of it even before the dreadful ending, and enlightened to no small extent by the variety of reviews from users on this website, I concluded that, all in all, it was something of a con and not to be taken too seriously (by con I mean a sort of confidence trick, almost too clever by half, or at any rate too clever for its own good). I didn't like either of the young women, but that is not in itself a reason to criticise the film. I thought the blonde girl was silly, unthinking and irresponsible (often called "free-spirited" – haha!), and I found the dark girl boring, repressed and depressed. If the blonde girl had been a guy she would probably have appeared as the worst sort of Casanova, or at any rate a guy who followed the urgings of his penis without for a moment engaging in any sense of responsibility. The dark girl, Mia, although engaged to be married in a short while to a reasonably normal and decent young man, allowed herself pretty quickly and willingly to be seduced by lesbian Frida and the two of them were soon having a good time in bed and apparently devoted to each other. They called it love – and here I am not making any distinction at all between love between two women and love between a man and woman – but it was nothing more than strong sexual attraction, for which, apparently, Mia was willing to ditch her man and change her life. As other reviewers have pointed out, the two of them never seem to have any sort of conversation together, let alone a meaningful one. Then there was the odd little bit of dialogue between the two of them when Frida suggests that Mia was more adept at making love to a woman than a "virgin" would have been and Mia acknowledged that she had had a previous lesbian relationship. Where was that supposed to take us? It gives the lie to the whole meaning that we had ingested up to that point, namely that Frida seduced an otherwise "normal" girl away from her man with her sexy wiles. Then we had the strange behaviour of Mia's father, who actually and literally refused to hear what Frida's mother was telling him, i.e. that Mia, his daughter, was in a lesbian relationship with her own daughter; and yet, within a very short while, he had changed from being in total denial to someone who admitted that he had had his "doubts" about his daughter before and now he simply wished her to be happy. But the final blow that convinced me, to my anger, that I had been led up the garden path all along, thinking that this was a serious study of passion (not love) between two women, was the pathetic ending that brought the whole film down to the level of a romcom – and not a very good one at that. I cannot believe that this was the ending that the auteur originally wanted. I suspect it was put in to satisfy the masses. We have Mia ditching her fiancé without a second thought (I do not know if we are supposed to feel she was in part justified because once, just once, he spoke a little harshly to her), dashing off wildly to beg Frida's mother to tell her where she had gone, racing to the airport, desperately trying to bypass the security man at the gate, watching, so we thought, the flight to Barcelona sailing off with Frida. The next thing is that we see Frida standing in the departure lounge looking wistfully at the plane. So she didn't go to Barcelona, huh? But that is not the end of it. She has gone on to take a plane, but not to Barcelona – that pretty little coastal town looks nothing like Barcelona – where the hell was it supposed to be? And in the twinkling of an eye – there is Mia prettily stepping up some pretty steps, accompanied by some pretty music, to see the lovely Frida sitting pensively on the sea wall, and the two of them with one look, pledge their eternities – I mean live happily ever after. Some chance! Frida will ditch Mia pretty soon, as she has already done to more than one of those who loved her. The writer would have done so much better to end the film with Mia being too late to stop Frida flying off to Barcelona. We would then be left to understand that things are not that easy, not that rosy for Mia's future, that you do not behave like she did without creating difficulties for yourself, and that in all probability the two of them are better apart, more likely to be happy in the long run apart, and that – we should be left to guess that this is a possibility – Mia will go back to her man, whom she seems to have loved well enough over the previous years, and certainly enjoyed sex with well enough, and will try to put things together again, but – our imagination will tell us – we do not know if she will succeed.

This film deserves more than one viewing, in fact, watch it a few times and see if you don't find yourself swept away by its many charms. Much of what goes unspoken in dialog is expressed in the subtlety of the the superb performances by Liv Mjönes, Ruth Vega Fernandez and the stellar supporting cast. Swedish superstar Lena Endre, so enamored of this production, became one of the films producers. The story's strength, sensitive writing and direction by Alexandra-Therese Keining brought together an ensemble of Sweden's finest actors for this relatively low budget indy film. Another thing to keep in mind, for America audiences in particular, is this film portrays European culture which has sensibilities pronouncedly different in the expression of day-to-day human interactions than their American counterparts. How these differences play out on film is quieter and more complex than your typical rom-com or American style drama. What goes unspoken is caught and translated within the context of every expression in every frame of film. The gorgeous cinematography and lushly sublime score adds subtext to every scene, while light and color underscore the blossoming of true love.The fresh-faced, no make-up, every-day hair and simplicity of style, lends an authenticity which engages one into the story and lets you feel the characters in every scene. Character development and the pure talent of the supporting cast, (Krister Henriksson, Lena Endre, Joakim Nätterqvist, Tom Ljungman and producer actress Josephine Tengblad) add a layer of complexity that rounds out and fills in the on-screen canvas. Mia's anxiety is palpable and her outbursts make one as nervous as if she were sitting next to you, all the while Frida's inexorable charm and playfulness fills you with the giddiness of first love which turns out be the real story of this film. Oh, and the on-screen chemistry between Frida and Mia is a breath-taking testament to great casting and inspired performance.So, watch "Kiss Me" again with a fresh eye, trained for how much can be said in a single look or gestures ripe with context, subtext and beautifully delivered one word lines like, "Absolut" or "Precis." Notice how that makes you feel, then remember when you found that brand of magic in your own life--or go out and find it.

Wow. Somehow I doubt that words can express how much I have enjoyed watching this film, but I simply must give it a go.The story starts with the celebration of Lasse and Elisabeth's engagement. Having found each other late in life, Lasse brings two adult children into the marriage, the youngest of which, Oskar, already has connected beautifully with Elisabeth's daughter, Frida. When Lasse's daughter Mia joins the party alongside her fiancé Tim, we immediately feel she is quite the unpolished element in the newly-composed family. It doesn't take very long however before we realize how she is going to blend in.Mia and Frida's first impressions of each other are exposed solely through body language. The secret looks they throw at each other radiate mutual curiosity, but whereas this curiosity is clearly of the welcoming kind on Frida's part, it is shrouded in a cloud of inexplicable caution on Mia's part. For the time being, that is. And this is the only scene in which I grew a little too aware of my own willing suspension of disbelief: the first kiss. Five extra minutes to waltz us to the moment where Mia lets her guard down would have been nice. Whereas the kissing scene makes it clear that Mia's initial reluctance to get to know her stepsister was fueled by self-protection and not aversion, it would have been so much more powerful if we also got to see what exactly had caused the sudden turnaround. One might attribute it to Frida's undeniable charm, her dazzling smiles and hypnotic gazes in the scenes running up to that precious moment, but then, she did not exactly save these up for those first private encounters. Rewind and you will notice that Frida wasn't any less endearing the very first moment you laid eyes on her. Or when Mia did, for that matter.From there on, the storytelling is pretty much flawless: the gradual and natural unraveling of two people who cannot stay away from each other and who eventually have to deal with the obstacles that prevent them from being together permanently. Sure, the final scene does reek a little of Hollywood, but thank god for a film that deals with same sex attraction and that does not end in total disaster! Generally speaking though, the film has quite a realistic feel about it, which probably has a lot to do with the performances. I don't know what it is that makes some couples work on the big screen and others not, but this couple definitely works. Works as in fireworks.Which brings me to the actors. Ruth Vega Fernandez as the beautiful tormented Mia, Lena Endre as the wise and caring mother, and Krister Henriksson as the-not-so perfect-that-it-almost-makes-him-perfect father are outstanding. But Liv Mjönes's portrayal of Frida is divine. It is impossible not to fall in love with those storytelling eyes, those quirky gestures and priceless renderings of trivial words like 'ja', 'absolut', 'precis' and, a little less everyday, 'vebab.'The amount of attention given to the subject of sexuality perfectly mirrors European present day society. Especially for the older generation, it's okay to be gay as long as you're far away. If it affects their inner circle, they will need to go through a small crisis before reaching the okay stage. All in all, it is still the case that, despite all the progress that was made, one cannot be gay without being explicitly defined as such. In short, 'Kyss Mig' is a wonderful film about love in contemporary European society. It is intelligently written and beautifully shot; a feast for the eye and balsam for the soul. Also, did I mention it has Liv Mjönes in it?

Without much stash around it, it tells a love story anybody can relate to or believe in. That they are lesbians, to me a plus, has nothing to do with the story - it's a love story. It helps that it's Swedish - such a great language - and so far from Hollywood.A lot of great lesbian love stories has been made around the world in the last 20 years: Intimates (China), Fire (India), Produceing Adults (Finland), Between Two Women (GB), Aimée & Jaguar (Germany), I Can't Think Straight (Middleeastern, but UK) and (of course) Imagine You and me (UK) - not to mention all the rest from eastern Europe, Malaisia, Japan and South America - and all the other countries who are breaking the boundaries. Cudos to you all. But "Kyss Mig" kind of beats them all of the above for me because of it's honesty. All hypocrisy was set aside - it was what it was and people got hurt. I like that. To me that's life. Get a few blows - give a few blows. We are what we are - we do what we do.The two leads, Ruth Vega Fernandez as Mia and Liv Mjönes as Frida, gives beautiful performances, as do Lena Endre as the mom and Krister Henriksson as the rather confused and in denial father of Mia. And I loved Mia's brother, Oscar, played by Tom Ljungman. Actually - the only one I did not get a feel of was Tim, the boyfriend of Mia, played by Joakim Nätterqvist. Maybe a script thing but he came over too one dimensional to me. As for cudos: Great one to you, Alexandra-Therese Keining, writing it and for directing it !!! AND to you Josefine Tengblad, producer, playing Elin, Fridas girlfriend. Great job!!And for "rumpanbar" (meening in Swedish "bare ass") who gave it a 1 !! Are you for real ???All in all: I love this film !