When this story doesn't get people depressed I don't know any other one that could beat this one.

It appeals to a state of loneliness and not belonging that makes the end kinda hopefull. Why?! Taking charge for your own life and going your own way is in the end what it's all about in life. Doubtful?!

Generally,the movie about teenagers deals with the boy/girl who's got everything to be happy but feels melancholic and finds it hard to come to terms with his/her childhood's end ;harmless teenage angst .

Sebbe is diametrically opposite to them :he's got nothing ,and I mean nothing to be happy : his immature mother did not want him and is emotionally instable , sometimes so resentful she can kick him out of their apartment ; not being able to afford birthday presents ,she urges her son to give back a neighbor's gift ("I could not buy anything to her son") , and sometimes feeling so guilt she steals one jacked which belongs to one of his schoolmates.

School is another hell for Sebbe ;he is not fond of sports ,and that 's the coup de grace ; a preposterous cliché depicted in Anderson's play (transferred to the screen by Minnelli)"tea and sympathy "(1956)would claim that a boy who is not good at sports is a sissy ,a suspect ,a gay ,an intolerance which takes stupidity to new limits ; but in the locker-room ,you become the "true manly "boys' punching-bag .Besides ,Sebbe's father is dead (or he walked out on his mother),and he has absolutely no male figure at home .The only teacher who shows some compassion is a woman and she can't really relate to the boy's predicament .

There's a tendency to dwell on the sordid side of life, but teenagers can be cruel to their fellows ; Sebastian's face reflects an intense longing for love :the actor remains restrained ,sheds no tears , but one feels his despair,his awful solitude :what does the future has in store for such a born-loser?

I think it's a beautiful and realistic film about the pain of growing up and being the outcast in the school. Feeling ashamed of your family situation.

What was really good about it was that how the bullying and events in school happened felt real. I could relate to it strongly and recognize those events from my school years.

It was how it happens in Europe at least. If you compare the way the bullying is done in a normal Hollywood studio film, this felt more real.

The other real strength in this film is the acting. It is directed superbly and also the role of the mother is a very good one. Her character is strongly written.

Then we come to the weakness of the film, why I almost left the theater. The film doesn't have a drive and it doesn't variate. Basically it's the same scenes happening again and again. It was an 80 minute film, which could have been 70 minutes. Or at least some re-writing would have helped a bit.

But whit it's weakness, it was still a very good film.