Arne, Calle, and Gunnar are friends, probably in their twenties. One telephones the others, and they decide to visit a nightclub. They hope to meet women and have sex. After they arrive at the club, each man meets with a certain degree of success or failure. Calle particularly is frustrated, for no woman agrees to dance with him. Meanwhile, Arne and Gunnar are busily conversing with women. Eventually the friends all leave with lady friends in tow, and spend the night in various apartments. In the morning, the couples depart differently. One couple has bonded amicably, another tenuously, and the third not at all. The next day, the men reconnect, and decide to try their luck again. Written by veloc
Direction
Hallström's intimate, almost documentary-style observation.
Acting
Engström's sweaty desperation is physically painful to watch.
Editing
Sharp cuts between parallel humiliations.
Director
Lasse Hallström
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Hallström made this for Swedish TV at 27, five years before his breakthrough 'My Life as a Dog.' You can see his obsession with awkward male vulnerability already fully formed.
This aired during Sweden's 'pornography debate' era, when state-funded films could be surprisingly frank about sexual failure. The title became a catchphrase for transactional hookup culture.
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