No. 61 (2022) COMEDY QUEEN (Palace Aust. Scandinavian Film Festival) July 24th.

 

Film No. 61 (2022)  July  24th.  12.00 PM   Cinema 3.  LUNA,  Leederville.

 

"Number 4, I want to be a comedy queen. My dad cries all the time, I want to see him laugh again." (Sasha makes her final point on her list).

Issues including mental health, teenage anxiety, grief and parental stress to name just a few, are tackled by Swedish director Sanna Lenken in COMEDY QUEEN. The film will cut close to the bone for many, but that is the role of good film making, and COMEDY QUEEN is just that; a good film.

While the strengths are many in COMEDY QUEEN, its standout quality is its casting. The lead needed a quality an audience would latch onto immediately and Sigrid Johnson unleashed a real magnetism as 13 year-old Sasha. She is a young lady dealing with  many demons emanating from the death of her mum and soul mate. Oscar Toringe playing Abbe, Sasha's loving dad, also made for a great casting decision.

Lenke was always taken by the power of the story first told by Jenny Jagerfeld, a once child psychologist, in her book of the same name. It is a richly layered story about a brave girl who wants to overcome her sadness and muddled thoughts by making a list. A 4 point list of things she would achieve to expunge her darkness and alleviate the painful memories of her mum. That may sound bleak on the outside, and her list may shock, all except her 4th point; her aim to be a Comedy Queen.

COMEDY QUEEN gives insight into an aspect of life most of us will avoid, thankfully. The heartfelt nature of its story takes us, ultimately to the 5th and most obvious point Sasha avoided putting on her list. And how does she pull off standing in front of an audience to make them laugh? (Particularly her dad.) Well, that too is marvellously handled by Lenken. Take tissues, you'll need them! 10GUMS.