This film is about a gang of black youths in Gothenburg who use elaborate psychological tricks to steal from Swedish boys of the same age, such as their mobiles, designer cloths and essentially everything what they have. The reason why this film is painful to watch is the total psychological control this gang has over the Swedish boys. This is not achieved through violence but through elaborate psychological tricks. Part of this is a complete lack of respect for the victims. However, this film is far from generic but is a detailed study of the Swedish mentality and how this can be exploited. In terms of style the film has written Michael Haneke all over it which is not a bad thing. The use of wide shots makes is often impossible to see facial expressions which is a bit of a shame but on the other hand leaves room for interpretations. The bullying on the tram reminded me of a scene in Haneke's "Code unknown". Overall this film is hard to watch because of the relentless bullying but this makes it even more essential watching. It's a brave film portraying this gang in a very negative light but it is honest by doing so and not trying to create artificially a "balanced" view.
19 Reviews
a painful but realistic depiction of psychological bullying
berndporr15 September 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Debated
stensson6 January 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Black boys take mobile phones away from younger white boys. It doesn't happen through verbal threat or violence. Most of the job is performed through body language and way of speaking. The blacks know if functions.
This has meant a debate about a racist script and a racist film. That's of course not what director Ruben Östlund is up to. He very clearly points out how subtle things, like the way you look at somebody, gives you power. That also depends on the social context, the environment and so on, but it is there. It's certainly not as simple as it's put in billions of stupid action movies.
Long takes, brilliant acting by young amateurs. One objection is however the almost parodic ignorance from the grown-up world, an ignorance which is not subtle at all. Anyway, this should be the most important Swedish film of 2011.
This has meant a debate about a racist script and a racist film. That's of course not what director Ruben Östlund is up to. He very clearly points out how subtle things, like the way you look at somebody, gives you power. That also depends on the social context, the environment and so on, but it is there. It's certainly not as simple as it's put in billions of stupid action movies.
Long takes, brilliant acting by young amateurs. One objection is however the almost parodic ignorance from the grown-up world, an ignorance which is not subtle at all. Anyway, this should be the most important Swedish film of 2011.
"If you're going to show your phone to a group of five black guys, you've only got yourself to blame"
johnnyboyz17 May 2018
"Sweden!" cried out President Donald Trump some time ago. 'Just look at what has happened in Sweden!' he seemed to proclaim again. But what did he mean? "Play" is the title of a devilish Ruben Östlund film; a strange amalgamation of "La Haine" and "Funny Games" which combines cinema vérité with psychological horror and social commentary. What social commentary, it seems, is left up to the viewer: audiences have appeared to whittle it down to one of two (but it could be both) things: class and ethnicity, with Swedish politicians even finding time to chip in to make thoughts known - do remarks by socialists expunge the film from charges of racism when they proclaim it is about class? Or is "Play" so clever, that they have entirely missed the fact it is a damning critic of multiculturalism.
The film opens in a shopping centre with a disagreement between two Swedish boys over an amount of money one of them has dropped and lost. "500 Krona!?" one of them exclaims - 'it's nothing', replies the other. Across the way, however, a gang of black youths who are mostly their age are eyeing them up in order to essentially mug them. Within the first scene, Östlund wants us to realise this is a society characterised by differences in income and racial disparity.
Elsewhere in the film is the lament that authority has disappeared from Swedish society: bus conductors; mall security guards and shop assistants are either powerless to giving louts a good whack or vacant altogether, save for nearer the very end where they exasperatingly appear at just the wrong moment to punish the wrong people. The film enjoys its static camera-work and neo-realistic settings, wherein dozens of people wander around the public domain, but what seems to have been deliberately kept of screen above all else is the presence of a policeman.
Where this seems to lead, or will eventually lead, is an increase in vigilantism - parents and friends of those already victim to spates of crime taking matters into their own hands and administering their own forms of justice in the absence of a state enforcing the law: not unlike various London communities forced into defending themselves form the hordes in 2011, or other groups trying to do something about paedophile gangs operating under the radar in northern England. There are two instances of this in "Play", one closing the film which doubly encompasses Sweden's apparent ignorance to what is going on amongst its young that someone is labelled a racist for trying to obtain justice.
"Play" depicts a couple of hours in the life of three boys in the city of Gothenburg and its outskirts on a grey winter's day - they are Sebastian; Alex and John, although John is of Chinese ethnicity. Whatever the problem with immigration, or immigrant crime waves specifically, John has at least seemingly integrated. When we first encounter them, they are at the offices where one of their mothers works - an upscale law firm (we can read "Adact" on the wall) whose employees dress impeccably. Östlund loiters on the entrance of the office for a while after everyone has departed, almost pointlessly, until a staffer reveals the practice to be so bourgeois that they wipe clean a glass door that was already in perfect condition.
Sebastian et al. traverse to the local shopping mall, where the earlier group of black youths are still messing around having failed to lull the twosome from the opening scene into what will transpire to be a psychologically sadistic game of bullying and robbery. The two groups first come into contact in a sports shop, where Östlund quite brilliantly keeps the coloured gang off-screen as they holler and whoop while we focus on our increasingly anxious protagonists. By the time they have been followed outside and onto the tram home, it is evident something is wrong, and from there transpires the rest of the harrowing tale.
The film's beating heart, the idea that bullies belonging to a minority string defenceless white Swedish kids along to mug them, I read is based on a spate of actual incidences of this happening over a three year period. Meanwhile, adults are too ditzy worrying about broken porcelain in cafes and blocked aisles on trains to really notice what's going on. Writers and journalists such as Jonas Hassen-Khemiri and Åsa Linderborg have made accusations, veiled or otherwise, that the film is in some way racist, while America Zavala applauds it for attacking the pitfalls of a system characterised by class.
Thematically, the film seems to reach the conclusion that Sweden is a racially and culturally diverse place - whites don dreadlocks and listen to reggae; Native Americans busk in town squares and white girls dance to Zimbabwean pop music for school performance projects. It is, however, experiencing teething problems as it makes some sort of cordial transition into multicultural permanency.
When all is said and done, one does not have to do much research to find stories, radiating in particular out of the city of Malmo, which report chaos and a complete social breakdown on account of multi-racial ghettos rioting for reasons that even the police do not know. One may also read of 'no-go' zones and youth criminality in classrooms so rife that schools have even had to shut for periods of time due to teachers feeling unsafe. Whatever the answer to any of this, Östlund has above all other things managed to make something which actually feels like a piece of cinema - something free of convention; something unpredictable and both harrowing and atmospheric without any real need for pyrotechnics. It is wholly worth seeing for these reasons and more.
The film opens in a shopping centre with a disagreement between two Swedish boys over an amount of money one of them has dropped and lost. "500 Krona!?" one of them exclaims - 'it's nothing', replies the other. Across the way, however, a gang of black youths who are mostly their age are eyeing them up in order to essentially mug them. Within the first scene, Östlund wants us to realise this is a society characterised by differences in income and racial disparity.
Elsewhere in the film is the lament that authority has disappeared from Swedish society: bus conductors; mall security guards and shop assistants are either powerless to giving louts a good whack or vacant altogether, save for nearer the very end where they exasperatingly appear at just the wrong moment to punish the wrong people. The film enjoys its static camera-work and neo-realistic settings, wherein dozens of people wander around the public domain, but what seems to have been deliberately kept of screen above all else is the presence of a policeman.
Where this seems to lead, or will eventually lead, is an increase in vigilantism - parents and friends of those already victim to spates of crime taking matters into their own hands and administering their own forms of justice in the absence of a state enforcing the law: not unlike various London communities forced into defending themselves form the hordes in 2011, or other groups trying to do something about paedophile gangs operating under the radar in northern England. There are two instances of this in "Play", one closing the film which doubly encompasses Sweden's apparent ignorance to what is going on amongst its young that someone is labelled a racist for trying to obtain justice.
"Play" depicts a couple of hours in the life of three boys in the city of Gothenburg and its outskirts on a grey winter's day - they are Sebastian; Alex and John, although John is of Chinese ethnicity. Whatever the problem with immigration, or immigrant crime waves specifically, John has at least seemingly integrated. When we first encounter them, they are at the offices where one of their mothers works - an upscale law firm (we can read "Adact" on the wall) whose employees dress impeccably. Östlund loiters on the entrance of the office for a while after everyone has departed, almost pointlessly, until a staffer reveals the practice to be so bourgeois that they wipe clean a glass door that was already in perfect condition.
Sebastian et al. traverse to the local shopping mall, where the earlier group of black youths are still messing around having failed to lull the twosome from the opening scene into what will transpire to be a psychologically sadistic game of bullying and robbery. The two groups first come into contact in a sports shop, where Östlund quite brilliantly keeps the coloured gang off-screen as they holler and whoop while we focus on our increasingly anxious protagonists. By the time they have been followed outside and onto the tram home, it is evident something is wrong, and from there transpires the rest of the harrowing tale.
The film's beating heart, the idea that bullies belonging to a minority string defenceless white Swedish kids along to mug them, I read is based on a spate of actual incidences of this happening over a three year period. Meanwhile, adults are too ditzy worrying about broken porcelain in cafes and blocked aisles on trains to really notice what's going on. Writers and journalists such as Jonas Hassen-Khemiri and Åsa Linderborg have made accusations, veiled or otherwise, that the film is in some way racist, while America Zavala applauds it for attacking the pitfalls of a system characterised by class.
Thematically, the film seems to reach the conclusion that Sweden is a racially and culturally diverse place - whites don dreadlocks and listen to reggae; Native Americans busk in town squares and white girls dance to Zimbabwean pop music for school performance projects. It is, however, experiencing teething problems as it makes some sort of cordial transition into multicultural permanency.
When all is said and done, one does not have to do much research to find stories, radiating in particular out of the city of Malmo, which report chaos and a complete social breakdown on account of multi-racial ghettos rioting for reasons that even the police do not know. One may also read of 'no-go' zones and youth criminality in classrooms so rife that schools have even had to shut for periods of time due to teachers feeling unsafe. Whatever the answer to any of this, Östlund has above all other things managed to make something which actually feels like a piece of cinema - something free of convention; something unpredictable and both harrowing and atmospheric without any real need for pyrotechnics. It is wholly worth seeing for these reasons and more.
Play
dinoschreuder-270253 January 2016
Warning: Spoilers
A very thought provoking bleak representation of modern life for many young males. The fly on the wall style filming takes away the emotion of the impact of the events on the group of boys. It is very brave and potentially controversial in its representation of different socio-economic and ethnic groups. For that reason the film maker needed to film it in an understated way. I think the penultimate scene is brilliant. Although the film is set in Sweden it could have been set in many cities in North Western Europe. The film lacks pace makes it a difficult film for Audiences to engage with. The apparent limited use of conventional editing camera angles and post production techniques reinforces its attempt at making it an honest representation.
Interesting but unnecessarily slow
paul2001sw-13 April 2016
Teenage boys can be horrible: watching 'Play' brought back shuddering memories from my own childhood. In 'Play', the horror is made more interesting by being set against a background of differential affluence and a racial divide; the fine line between "play" and pure bullying is also nicely explored. But it's a slow film, with no rapid cutting or background music: indeed, it's shot in a strange manner with static cameras often leaving part of the subject (or even parts of the subjects, heads for example) off screen. The result gives you the feeling of an by-stander, overhearing parts of somebody else's story; eventually, the tension builds, but it feels like a deliberately off-putting way to make a movie. At the end, I didn't know quite what to think about it: one can alternatively feel repelled by, and sympathetic to, its protagonists, but the surely intentional absence of a clear moral or emotional message means the film ends nowhere. Perhaps we're meant to leave this movie pondering matters of class and race; I left it just glad I'm not fourteen any more.
A brilliant work of art that deserves to be seen.
howard.schumann18 September 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Based on an actual racial incident in Gothenburg, Sweden in which a group of black teenagers carried out a series of thefts of other children's personal belongings for a period of two years, Swedish director Ruben Ostlund's Play is about using psychological game playing rather than name-calling, threats, or overt violence to bully your target. It is a compelling study of how our lives are often run by stereotypes, racial or otherwise, and how the line between victims and victimizers can be a thin one. In this case, both the bullies and the victims are children, but the games people play could just as easily apply to adults, or even governments.
One of the most promising young filmmakers, whose style is reminiscent of Michael Haneke and Roy Andersson, Ostlund's camera is observational, simply recording what is taking place without comment. The film opens inside a shopping mall where we see a panoramic view that includes the shops, stairways, and two levels, highlighting even the smallest detail. We hear the sound of conversations but do not know where they are coming from. The camera then zooms in on two small white middle-class children walking through the mall lobby. They are approached from the left by five 12-14 year-old boys (all black and immigrants) who ask them for the correct time.
The game is established early, though the main victims of the film are three other children of well-to-do parents who appear later. Most likely repeated many, many times during their two-year crime spree, the game is played like this. One of the approaching black teens asks a younger child for the time. When the white child pulls out his cell phone to check the time, he is accused of stealing the phone that belongs to his alleged brother. He tells the boy that the phone has the same exact scratch on it as the one that was stolen from his brother, and asks to confirm it by showing it to his brother.
When the child refuses, a "good cop/bad cop" routine is played out in which one of the five pretends to be a friend of the harassed boy. The child inevitably denies that he stole the phone giving the "good cop" the job of reassuring him, saying, "Okay, I believe you, but we have to solve this, right?" He tells the boy not to worry, that his friends are not trying to rob or hurt them. At the same time, the "bad cops" are making aggressive demands in an intimidating manner. Ostlund keeps the characters at a distance with mostly long static shots, yet we feel that we are there with the victims, acutely feeling their tension, frustration, and growing fear.
The scenario is then repeated, this time with three other children, two white (Sebastian and Alex and John who is of Asian origin). Compelled by fear and insecurity, the boys allow the bullies to control the game and only rarely ask for support from adults. When they do come in contact with them, the adults are reluctant to become involved, or, as shown later in the film, become involved inappropriately. The white boys are forced to follow their black tormentors around the city, on trams, and buses, then finally out into a remote, wooded area of Gothenburg where the game is played until its ultimate end point. Though the victims have several opportunities to escape, they do not take them, perhaps because the fear of black violence has been so firmly instilled in them that they feel that they have to be "nice" in order to save themselves.
Play has a light touch as well. In one scene, a group of feather-clad Indians do a war chant for donations in the middle of a busy street. In another amusing sequence, a cradle is placed between the second and third compartments on a moving train and remains there despite the urgent pleas of the conductor to move it for safety reasons. When he gets no response in Swedish, he repeats the warning in English. One of the key moments of the film is a sudden attack by older gang members against the young perpetrators in the back of a bus. Later, when one of the gang of thieves wants out, he is kicked and beaten inside the bus by the other four. Also, in a reversal of roles, the bullies blame the bullied. One says, "Anyone dumb enough to show his cell phone to five black guys deserves whatever he gets." Finally, an end game is set up by the perpetrators. A contest takes place in which both sides choose their fastest runners and whoever wins the race gets to take everyone's valuables. Of course, the winner is pre-determined and the white children lose all of their personal belongings, including their cell phones, a jacket, and an expensive clarinet belonging to John. A follow-up to Ostlund's highly praised 2008 film, Involuntary, Play is a complex and multi-layered film that has a surprise twist near the end. Filled with sharp insights into human behavior, Ostlund challenges us to shine a mirror on our own behavior and see whether or not we employ the same kind of psychological tricks ourselves to get what we want. Despite an ugly moment that does not add anything to the film, Play is a brilliant work of art that deserves to be seen.
One of the most promising young filmmakers, whose style is reminiscent of Michael Haneke and Roy Andersson, Ostlund's camera is observational, simply recording what is taking place without comment. The film opens inside a shopping mall where we see a panoramic view that includes the shops, stairways, and two levels, highlighting even the smallest detail. We hear the sound of conversations but do not know where they are coming from. The camera then zooms in on two small white middle-class children walking through the mall lobby. They are approached from the left by five 12-14 year-old boys (all black and immigrants) who ask them for the correct time.
The game is established early, though the main victims of the film are three other children of well-to-do parents who appear later. Most likely repeated many, many times during their two-year crime spree, the game is played like this. One of the approaching black teens asks a younger child for the time. When the white child pulls out his cell phone to check the time, he is accused of stealing the phone that belongs to his alleged brother. He tells the boy that the phone has the same exact scratch on it as the one that was stolen from his brother, and asks to confirm it by showing it to his brother.
When the child refuses, a "good cop/bad cop" routine is played out in which one of the five pretends to be a friend of the harassed boy. The child inevitably denies that he stole the phone giving the "good cop" the job of reassuring him, saying, "Okay, I believe you, but we have to solve this, right?" He tells the boy not to worry, that his friends are not trying to rob or hurt them. At the same time, the "bad cops" are making aggressive demands in an intimidating manner. Ostlund keeps the characters at a distance with mostly long static shots, yet we feel that we are there with the victims, acutely feeling their tension, frustration, and growing fear.
The scenario is then repeated, this time with three other children, two white (Sebastian and Alex and John who is of Asian origin). Compelled by fear and insecurity, the boys allow the bullies to control the game and only rarely ask for support from adults. When they do come in contact with them, the adults are reluctant to become involved, or, as shown later in the film, become involved inappropriately. The white boys are forced to follow their black tormentors around the city, on trams, and buses, then finally out into a remote, wooded area of Gothenburg where the game is played until its ultimate end point. Though the victims have several opportunities to escape, they do not take them, perhaps because the fear of black violence has been so firmly instilled in them that they feel that they have to be "nice" in order to save themselves.
Play has a light touch as well. In one scene, a group of feather-clad Indians do a war chant for donations in the middle of a busy street. In another amusing sequence, a cradle is placed between the second and third compartments on a moving train and remains there despite the urgent pleas of the conductor to move it for safety reasons. When he gets no response in Swedish, he repeats the warning in English. One of the key moments of the film is a sudden attack by older gang members against the young perpetrators in the back of a bus. Later, when one of the gang of thieves wants out, he is kicked and beaten inside the bus by the other four. Also, in a reversal of roles, the bullies blame the bullied. One says, "Anyone dumb enough to show his cell phone to five black guys deserves whatever he gets." Finally, an end game is set up by the perpetrators. A contest takes place in which both sides choose their fastest runners and whoever wins the race gets to take everyone's valuables. Of course, the winner is pre-determined and the white children lose all of their personal belongings, including their cell phones, a jacket, and an expensive clarinet belonging to John. A follow-up to Ostlund's highly praised 2008 film, Involuntary, Play is a complex and multi-layered film that has a surprise twist near the end. Filled with sharp insights into human behavior, Ostlund challenges us to shine a mirror on our own behavior and see whether or not we employ the same kind of psychological tricks ourselves to get what we want. Despite an ugly moment that does not add anything to the film, Play is a brilliant work of art that deserves to be seen.
Good Enough!
nikagorgiladze8 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Based on real cases from Gothenburg, the director has created an almost documentary-looking study of a youth gangs of black immigrant children who exclude younger white children with all sorts of tricks and "games".
Overall this movie good enough
Wait for the last scene!
juoj821 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
The film shows a group of bullies and their relationship with their victims, and how the group works during different circumstances. The movie is based on actual events in Gothenburg, where kids used a scheme wherein they accused their targets of having stolen mobile phones. Through coercion and psychological violence they then make the victims to hand over the cell phone to get out of the uncomfortable situation that arises. During the movie, the power relationship between the groups, the bullies and the victims, often changes and the bullies ask their victims for help, which they also get, as the victims play along in the social setup that has been created. The interactions with adults that the groups have are unsettling. The adults often refuse to interfere, perhaps due to insecurity about where the line goes, or whether they are assumed to interfere. Some adults also seem to downplay what is happening in front of them, almost acting as if children cannot abuse other children, and what they witness is child's play.
Ultimately, the adults and the children seem to be from different worlds altogether, worlds that are not meant to meet.
The end has several interesting twists. One of them is when, several months later, one parent of the robbed children finds one of the perpetrators, and decides to confront him. This is done in a similar bully-like way as the bullies were using in the first place. During the movie I felt very angry and upset, and I was picturing several ways I would deal with the bullies. But this last scene shows the futility of acting in such short-sighted ways; the reasons for acting like bullies are reinforced as he views himself even more of an outsider, and the abusive parents are later confronted by onlookers.
Trying to explain their frustration and the situation to the confronting onlookers, I feel as if the parents are not only talking for themselves, but also for my own viewpoints.
The absurdity of using bullying to stop bullying is exposed, and I laugh at my own simple and reductionist reactions I had just a few minutes ago.
This was an great movie, one of the best, most developed depictions of human behavior, domination and submission in social interaction. If I ever become a parent, I would definitely show this movie to my children as they are about to enter school, to discuss how to deal with bullies and to talk about how bullying arises.
Ultimately, the adults and the children seem to be from different worlds altogether, worlds that are not meant to meet.
The end has several interesting twists. One of them is when, several months later, one parent of the robbed children finds one of the perpetrators, and decides to confront him. This is done in a similar bully-like way as the bullies were using in the first place. During the movie I felt very angry and upset, and I was picturing several ways I would deal with the bullies. But this last scene shows the futility of acting in such short-sighted ways; the reasons for acting like bullies are reinforced as he views himself even more of an outsider, and the abusive parents are later confronted by onlookers.
Trying to explain their frustration and the situation to the confronting onlookers, I feel as if the parents are not only talking for themselves, but also for my own viewpoints.
The absurdity of using bullying to stop bullying is exposed, and I laugh at my own simple and reductionist reactions I had just a few minutes ago.
This was an great movie, one of the best, most developed depictions of human behavior, domination and submission in social interaction. If I ever become a parent, I would definitely show this movie to my children as they are about to enter school, to discuss how to deal with bullies and to talk about how bullying arises.
Story about petty minds conditioning.
lioil5 August 2013
Warning: Spoilers
A visually interesting and unusual movie. It is centered around rather a chilling story of bullying that is built very slowly thus making it thrilling and terrifying, since we are conditioned to expect some bloody climax; yet the horror happens only in the subtle way of exposing the violence which is in conforming. The main story is cut several times by visuals of a parallel yet empty story that pretends to add to meaning. Again both stories are expected {we are conditioned to expect} to join in some great climax yet it does happen just in quite a meaningless way. The movie is full of visual fluff that is there to amplify any interpretation one can see. Some parts are missing, again to punish expectations. Like when the boy gets to the treetop and an interesting discussion develops. All is cut: somehow he is back down, yet why? To conform with his comrades who had let him down before? Conforming or conditioning that makes people insensitive to what is and so react predictably is also exposed in reactions of shopkeeper, passengers, disturbed ladies at the end. Street-smarts count on predictability of petty minds; bullying may continue. Should have been shorter.
Oppressive study of destruction
erdmannmartin21 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Based on real cases from Gothenburg, the director has created an almost documentary-looking study of a youth gangs of black immigrant children who exclude younger white children with all sorts of tricks and "games". The younger children do not fight back and - perfectly educated politically - only symbolically set signs that they want to escape from the subtle captivity of the gang. Of course, adults do not help. After all, you do not want to be a "racist" ..
The film creates an oppressive mood through the static wide-angle camera with simultaneous subtle violence. Unwittingly, attitudes, macho, lack of imagination and threats of violence are also shown against adults who threaten politically correct with the police, what the gang kids (10-15 years) smile only tired.
Here, the original Swedish openness and Christian expectation developed over centuries meet totally disintegrated immigrant children who are unlikely to be integrated in the next three generations and, as Kant would say, work only with slyness, not reason: love and Being nice means being a weakling - just like the police in Sweden. Because authority means in the context of the gang: violence. So you know it from his tradition.
If Östlund's current big movie "the Square" is the grand exposure and dismantling of politically correct comfort, one can see the same direction in "Play", only from the perspective of the street: what is going wrong in a society of total anti-discrimination, in which is only abstracted without examining the facts?
The end is unbelievably apt and represents the verdict on the concrete facts: A reverse racism breaks down, destroys society and the quality of culture. The last music scenes of the film leave the audience dejected ...
Sweden has a new Ingmar Bergman who can display the individual human relationship at the same time oppressive from a political point of view.
The film creates an oppressive mood through the static wide-angle camera with simultaneous subtle violence. Unwittingly, attitudes, macho, lack of imagination and threats of violence are also shown against adults who threaten politically correct with the police, what the gang kids (10-15 years) smile only tired.
Here, the original Swedish openness and Christian expectation developed over centuries meet totally disintegrated immigrant children who are unlikely to be integrated in the next three generations and, as Kant would say, work only with slyness, not reason: love and Being nice means being a weakling - just like the police in Sweden. Because authority means in the context of the gang: violence. So you know it from his tradition.
If Östlund's current big movie "the Square" is the grand exposure and dismantling of politically correct comfort, one can see the same direction in "Play", only from the perspective of the street: what is going wrong in a society of total anti-discrimination, in which is only abstracted without examining the facts?
The end is unbelievably apt and represents the verdict on the concrete facts: A reverse racism breaks down, destroys society and the quality of culture. The last music scenes of the film leave the audience dejected ...
Sweden has a new Ingmar Bergman who can display the individual human relationship at the same time oppressive from a political point of view.
Shockingly Effective
silvio-mitsubishi26 January 2019
Despite having spent much of the film frustrated at the technique used, I found myself unable to turn away and powerfully affected by the end. Shot with static cameras and long takes, sometimes with nothing happening on screen, the film makes us reluctant voyeurs in the same way that passers-by neither intervene nor quite ignore any drama in a public place. The effect is close to found footage from CCTV, with the action taking place in the background or even completely out of shot. The truth is that this could be happening anywhere in the world, right in front of us, and we would not necessarily know. The bullies have refined their tactics and each knows his role within the overall plan. The targets are slowly but surely trapped in a nightmare where bystanders are seeing everything and nothing. There is a scene where the victims ask for support from coffee shop staff but are unable to express their fears in a way that invites help. I would predict that most of us would be as reluctant as the baristas to call the police, or as unsympathetic as the tram workers who catch the children travelling without tickets.
Although filmed in Sweden and featuring older children, Play has overtones of the James Bulger case in UK, with the group developing rules almost independently of its members. Even the victims become complicit, calling back a child who attempts to escape, evoking ideas of Stockholm syndrome and horrific wartime collaborations.
The final scene adds nothing to the story apart from reversing ethnicities, but by then the impact has been felt. The story is frighteningly believable and compelling viewing.
Although filmed in Sweden and featuring older children, Play has overtones of the James Bulger case in UK, with the group developing rules almost independently of its members. Even the victims become complicit, calling back a child who attempts to escape, evoking ideas of Stockholm syndrome and horrific wartime collaborations.
The final scene adds nothing to the story apart from reversing ethnicities, but by then the impact has been felt. The story is frighteningly believable and compelling viewing.
Atypical, but dullish and excessively documentary
BeneCumb5 April 2013
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.
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.
an absorbing, engaging look at the cycle of bullying
tsimshotsui31 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Reading the description of the film made me very anxious about how it will be - only very few directors will be able to handle it the right way. Thankfully, Ruben Ostlund did.
It is a very dangerous subject that I think Ostlund was very, very smart and sensitive about. I applaud his approach of static cameras and un-zoomed faces, successfully and interestingly avoiding certain biases and avoiding exposing his own preconceived notions of whatever's happening on screen. It is then up to the audience to fill in the gaps and question their own prejudices.
Based on real cases, this young group of North African boys never use violence. They do a certain skit and prolong it with intimidation and a tougher form of peer pressure. This is important to note because when we do see violence from older men 'defending' their relative it is shocking and a different level of disturbing.
I particularly love the nuance he adds with the boy who decides to go home early, and the brief but absolutely necessary peek at one of the boys' home. Fantastic were the funny interjections about the cradle also.
I'm not sure what to feel about the two white women being knights in shining armors at the end though. It feels a leap from the realism we've been shown all the time previous but of course not impossible either.
It is a very dangerous subject that I think Ostlund was very, very smart and sensitive about. I applaud his approach of static cameras and un-zoomed faces, successfully and interestingly avoiding certain biases and avoiding exposing his own preconceived notions of whatever's happening on screen. It is then up to the audience to fill in the gaps and question their own prejudices.
Based on real cases, this young group of North African boys never use violence. They do a certain skit and prolong it with intimidation and a tougher form of peer pressure. This is important to note because when we do see violence from older men 'defending' their relative it is shocking and a different level of disturbing.
I particularly love the nuance he adds with the boy who decides to go home early, and the brief but absolutely necessary peek at one of the boys' home. Fantastic were the funny interjections about the cradle also.
I'm not sure what to feel about the two white women being knights in shining armors at the end though. It feels a leap from the realism we've been shown all the time previous but of course not impossible either.
A Timely and Important Film
filmfan4615 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
3 Grade 6 boys were targeted by 5 older black immigrant youngsters in a mall in Sweden.
The 5 black immigrant youth used their usual tactics to bully and rob those innocent boys.
The group embarked on a long afternoon journey from the city to the countryside, ending with 3 boys were robbed of everything.
The film is presented in a semi-documentary unique style which may not be accustomed to by the usual viewers.
The film presented many critical issues and hard to solve problems now facing in many of the European countries.
Haneke at his best
TheKing29 September 2021
But not from Michael Haneke (The Piano Teacher, Funny Games) but from Ruben Östlund, Sweden. A toe-curling story that takes plausible after plausible step into the absurd. Sometimes too hard to watch. No happy endings here. Instead at the end the director chooses to open the fourth wall and suddenly turns fiction in a horrible truth and shows his true feathers as a clear racist.
Ruben does it again! But not his best one
alexanderliljefors31 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I have recently watched three other Rubens Östlund movies (Triangle of sadness, The Square and Turist) And every film is almost as excellent as the other!
This is a genius piece, but not as good as his other films. But still amazingly done!
Packed full of exploitation, psychological terror and deep manipulation.
The true art of genuine (and sometimes real-life based) deep psychological and rhetorical play (Wich when someone is good at it can turn it at their own gain - As the criminal gang does) and dark tricks were violence and threats does not play a role. Its displayed with amazing acting and a perfect plot which is perfectly showned with ecxellent acting and sound.
The exploitation and the psychic takeover is acted very well. Its have some scenes that truly is painful and you will get mad watching it.
This is a grotesque film at many scenes, but its a very good film and at the same time it lines up perfectly - The filming is outstandingly good!
But it gets more absurb and absurb as the psychic verbal suppression is driven greater and longer.
A serious and serious behavioral study full of criticism and international attention. In Sweden, many political debates arose around the film.
This is a genius piece, but not as good as his other films. But still amazingly done!
Packed full of exploitation, psychological terror and deep manipulation.
The true art of genuine (and sometimes real-life based) deep psychological and rhetorical play (Wich when someone is good at it can turn it at their own gain - As the criminal gang does) and dark tricks were violence and threats does not play a role. Its displayed with amazing acting and a perfect plot which is perfectly showned with ecxellent acting and sound.
The exploitation and the psychic takeover is acted very well. Its have some scenes that truly is painful and you will get mad watching it.
This is a grotesque film at many scenes, but its a very good film and at the same time it lines up perfectly - The filming is outstandingly good!
But it gets more absurb and absurb as the psychic verbal suppression is driven greater and longer.
A serious and serious behavioral study full of criticism and international attention. In Sweden, many political debates arose around the film.
Parallel societies
dakjets6 October 2023
Ruben Østlund is one of these filmmakers who make timeless films. Play is one of these, a film from 2011. More current than when it was made. Østlund depicts a parallel society with children and young people. Here, the strongest right applies, and an eerie world is depicted. And around various forms of abuse of power and coercion, there are no adults who are capable of intervening. Does this sound familiar considering all the unrest in Sweden and other European countries today? With gangs and young criminals who commit serious crimes. This kind of thing starts somewhere, as this film depicts. As one of the very few, Østlund also dares to address integration and what can happen when it is not successful. Frighteningly good this one.
Bullying and robbing by children
OJT12 January 2013
A goodwill idea and important film to make, and it did stir up a debate in Sweden, but still I can't help bring annoyed by the way the film. It's well played by the kids portraying both the bullies and the bullied and robbed, and you can't help getting touched by some of the scenes. This is based upon a true event, and we clearly can see the technical the bully's make. This is not the first time they've done this.
Still the problem I've got with the film is it's documentary style. It's a bit too full of art and feelings. It takes the focus off the topic too often, and makes the film boring. When we want to know what happens next, we get to see things which probably is correct in time-line, but still becomes uninteresting in the narration. The director is filming this as too much of "a fly on the wall".
This film won the Nordic Council film prize, but is by far the worst film nominated. The prize should have gone to "Kompani Orheim" or "A royal affair", which I both rated a 9. If you like a slow film about this topic, You'll probably be more satisfied. The slowness resembles the one in Gus van Sants "Elephant" which also is a better movie.
Still the problem I've got with the film is it's documentary style. It's a bit too full of art and feelings. It takes the focus off the topic too often, and makes the film boring. When we want to know what happens next, we get to see things which probably is correct in time-line, but still becomes uninteresting in the narration. The director is filming this as too much of "a fly on the wall".
This film won the Nordic Council film prize, but is by far the worst film nominated. The prize should have gone to "Kompani Orheim" or "A royal affair", which I both rated a 9. If you like a slow film about this topic, You'll probably be more satisfied. The slowness resembles the one in Gus van Sants "Elephant" which also is a better movie.
Agent provocateur author-director spins a worst-case scenario
private-9050529 August 2022
I wonder how this film went over at investor pitch meetings. Imagine a posse of hostile Black kids shaking down much younger and smaller white and Asian-looking children for their phones? What if they do it with extreme psychological cruelty, relishing the extended emotional pain they inflict when a quick smash-and-grab would suffice?
What if all the adults shrug it off, won't help? What if there isn't a cop to be found in Gothenburg? Surely the "based on a true story" gambit will justify the nastiness of a way-too-long movie that also tortures its viewers.
So what if Afro-Swedish youngsters are villainized? Moral dilemmas over immigration fears and racism are hot topics - just check out the news. Bet on controversy to boost reviews and ticket sales while further polarizing a multiracial audience. Could it be that the film's oddball coda, laced with a dollop of extralegal citizen justice, was added to cinch its financing?
Ruben Ostlun delivers without redemption or enlightenment in an otherwise beautifully filmed movie notable for surprisingly solid, improvised performances by its non-pro cast. Not good enough. I would have passed.
What if all the adults shrug it off, won't help? What if there isn't a cop to be found in Gothenburg? Surely the "based on a true story" gambit will justify the nastiness of a way-too-long movie that also tortures its viewers.
So what if Afro-Swedish youngsters are villainized? Moral dilemmas over immigration fears and racism are hot topics - just check out the news. Bet on controversy to boost reviews and ticket sales while further polarizing a multiracial audience. Could it be that the film's oddball coda, laced with a dollop of extralegal citizen justice, was added to cinch its financing?
Ruben Ostlun delivers without redemption or enlightenment in an otherwise beautifully filmed movie notable for surprisingly solid, improvised performances by its non-pro cast. Not good enough. I would have passed.
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