THE REUNION A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 2003 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): ***
So how was your last high school reunion? All of mine back in Garland, Texas have been wonderful, with my old classmates being nicer each time. But, in THE REUNION (KLASSFESTEN), seeing his ex-fellow students is rather difficult for Magnus (Björn Kjellman). Having grown up in a small school full of cliques and bullies, he goes back to his twentieth-year reunion to find that once more he has to endure the social strata that gave him grief when he was young. The only teacher to come to the reunion remarks, "For most people, school was a terrible ordeal," which was certainly true for Magnus.
With a lovely wife, Lollo (Cecilia Frode), and a sweet, seven-year-old girl, Magnus would have never gone back were it not for his younger self, played by Oscar Taxén, who keeps showing up to goad him into returning to his old hometown and school. The definitive argument of the younger Magnus is that Hillevi might be there. Every adult probably has fond memories of the one that got away. For Magnus it was Hillevi, a feisty young woman from Africa who was at his school in Sweden only long enough for him to form a life-long crush. The adult Hillevi is played by Inday Ba and the teenage girl by Sacha Baptiste.
After about an hour and a half, the drama appears to be coming to its natural conclusion. Magnus has been insulted by his old tormentors, but most of the bullies have gotten their comeuppance at sometime during the reunion party. Most of all, Magnus has had his opportunity to flirt again with his old girlfriend, who, following the usual movie rules, isn't as attractive as his wife. The movie has been pleasant, has sometimes been funny and has developed several interesting characters, but on the whole has been fairly standard fare.
Rather than running the ending credits, however, the story goes on another half hour with an entire extra act about what happens after the reunion. In it, all rules are thrown out the window, and the movie comes into its own. It's a touching tale that doesn't fit neatly into any genre.
THE REUNION runs 1:40. The film is in Swedish with English subtitles. It is not rated but would be an R for brief nudity and sex and would be acceptable for most teenagers.
The film is being shown as part of San Jose's Cinequest Film Festival (www.Cinequest.org), which runs February 27 to March 9, 2003.
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