'Something must Break' ('Nånting måste gå sönder' in the original Swedish) is about a young cross-dresser named Sebastian (who longs to be called 'Ellie'). He lives with his commitment-phobe lesbian best friend in a grotty flat in Stockholm and works in a dead-end job shifting things in a warehouse, ignoring the efforts of at least one work colleague to establish friendship - Sebastian is rather self-indulgent. One day, experiencing some gay-bashing in a public toilet (after coming on to his attacker), he is rescued by Andreas, a personable young man with elements of the left-over punk about him. Andreas insists he isn't homosexual but is quite happy to let Sebastian's fingers anally penetrate him (something I've not seen in a non-pornographic gay film before; usually gay sex is portrayed exclusively as penetration with penis). For a while the pair enjoy the traditional romantic pursuits of shoplifting and urinating in public, but when Andreas insists Sebastian "tone down the girlie stuff" the latter realises his hopes of a happy ending with the former may be dashed.
As the viewer suffers through the appallingly juddery hand-held camera-work, he realises this is a rather predictable film, from Andreas' reluctance to publicly accept Sebastian's lifestyle choice to Sebastian's attempt to embarrass Andreas by turning up uninvited to a dinner he's having with his mainstream friends (although, being Scandinavian, they immediately accept Sebastian for what he is and tell him what nice hair he's got). It's also rather gloomy and slow, with long shots of Sebastian laying on the floor carving names into bars of soap or sniffing the handkerchief on which he has some of Andreas' blood, the romantic fool. Saga Becker, as Sebastian, does his best with the role but it isn't one that inspires a lot of sympathy in the viewer. However, keep your eyes open for the rare times when Becker gives his lovely, genuine smile - it lights up the screen.
As the viewer suffers through the appallingly juddery hand-held camera-work, he realises this is a rather predictable film, from Andreas' reluctance to publicly accept Sebastian's lifestyle choice to Sebastian's attempt to embarrass Andreas by turning up uninvited to a dinner he's having with his mainstream friends (although, being Scandinavian, they immediately accept Sebastian for what he is and tell him what nice hair he's got). It's also rather gloomy and slow, with long shots of Sebastian laying on the floor carving names into bars of soap or sniffing the handkerchief on which he has some of Andreas' blood, the romantic fool. Saga Becker, as Sebastian, does his best with the role but it isn't one that inspires a lot of sympathy in the viewer. However, keep your eyes open for the rare times when Becker gives his lovely, genuine smile - it lights up the screen.