Tomboy It was not surprising to see Norway as the country-producer of this film - Scandinavian family cinema has always been at a very, very decent level, however, as well as a film about children in general, not necessarily family - it is enough to recall the magnificent "Ice Castle". 'The Unique 13!' (or, in another translation, 'No more than 13!') is also a movie about teenage girls, but already made in the light genre of family comedy, the main audience of which coincides with the age of its main characters.
Speaking of which. At the center of the story is 13-year-old Rikke: a real tomboy who loves to ride a bike and walk with boys, and, concurrently, the most popular girl in the class. Once in school there is a new girl, her age - Bea, also claiming a leading position and also found a place in the heart of all the boys in the class. Of course, there is some competition between girls. Just like the chemistry - already in the first episode of the walk together, we realize that these two are a beautiful screen pair.
The plot, it would seem, is not new - described in numerous literary works and repeatedly filmed. The only question here is how and in what language the director conveys to the audience the vicissitudes of the relationship between the heroines - and, since this is a comedy, a lot of humor decides. He is wonderful and extremely innocent here, and the girls themselves behave quite authentically, not to mention the fact that both actresses - Sophie Cappelen and Martin Carlsen - feel very relaxed in the frame, and Sophie is happy to take all the attention in any scene where she appears. Not least because of her beautiful looks – she was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful girls in European cinema when the film was made in her youth! She is very much like the image of the “wind-up” and “tomboy”, which she tries on here with enviable ease.
Her on-screen partner Carlsen also plays wonderfully - her character is very different in temperament from the heroine Cappelen, but she managed to create a deep and interesting character, filled, again, with quite authentic emotions: in other words, the children in the frame look like children and behave the same way. For this, a huge plus to the director and screenwriter of the film Sirin Eide.
The humor in the film is very decent, completely not vulgar and, at the same time, extremely teenage. All comic mise-en-scene played perfectly and extremely funny even by the standards of an adult viewer. So, perhaps the best, brightest and memorable episodes of the picture are a classy staged scene in which Rikke accidentally falls into the shower for boys, the scene of the first acquaintance of the heroines, the episode of burning grass and, of course, the finale.
At the same time, no matter how naive the plot of a teenage film (although, in this case, it is not at all this), the characters cause sincere empathy, and the circumstances in which they fall do not look strained or contrived - and in combination with a short duration of the picture (only an hour with a little) "No more than 13!" looks like the pilot of a very exciting family series, to which you want to continue.
This is largely due to the fact that in the film there is no “water”, empty dialogue and frankly superfluous characters, and adults here perform a purely secondary function, appearing very dosed and not distracting from the main story.
Technically made the movie is wonderful - strong, Scandinavian restrained directing, simple script, cool play of young and adult actors and actresses, as well as an excellent soundtrack in the background as a kind of "cherry on the cake" - the composer of the tape Knut Halmrast wrote for the film some very memorable melodies.
Aldri mer 13! is not just a sample of great Scandinavian cinema, but also just a nice, kind and touching family tape with a magnificent cast that will surely appeal to you and your children. Cinema that does not teach or instruct, but unobtrusively and in a purely playful form reminds us of how important it is to appreciate friends and loved ones - something that seems so ordinary and ordinary, but that, without a doubt, is one of the greatest values in life.
10 out of 10