Girls Lost

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Girls Lost (Pojkarna) is a 2015 Swedish drama directed by Alexandra-Therese Keining. It’s based on the novel Pojkarna by Jessica Schiefauer, which won the August Prize. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015 and was released in Sweden in 2016. The language is Swedish.

Three best friends, Kim, Momo, and Bella, are harassed at school and receive little help from teachers. They find a flower whose nectar lets them briefly become boys. At night they test the transformation. Kim feels excited and free as a boy, while Momo and Bella are more unsure.

At a party with a boy named Tony, Bella uses drugs and the other boys laugh. Kim goes along. Afterward, Momo takes Bella home. Kim realizes there’s a second person inside her, and the experience gives Kim and Momo more confidence to confront their bullies. The flower starts dying, but Kim keeps using it to stay a boy and spend time with Tony, who has his own troubles.

Tony teaches Kim to drive, but then pulls a gun and talks about suicide. Momo asks if Kim loves Tony or wants to be him; Kim says she’s drawn to Tony because he doesn’t know who he is either. Momo tells Kim she loves her and asks if Kim wants to be a boy or be with boys. Kim doesn’t answer.

Kim and Tony’s relationship falls apart when Kim tries to kiss him; he attacks her. Kim runs away, and Momo, in her male form, finds her and says she understands the zipper metaphor, but they want different things. Momo offers to stay in male form for Kim, but Kim leaves with her.

Kim goes to a warehouse where she discovers Tony trying to rape another girl and she stops him. The tension with the flower grows worse, and Momo burns down the greenhouse and the plant. Kim leaves town after saying goodbye to her mother and to Momo. Bella gives her the burnt plant roots. Kim drives away, ending the film on a rural road as she cries, a gun in her hand.

Cast: Tuva Jagell stars as Kim, with Emrik Öhlander as Momo and Louise Nyvall as Bella.

Release and recognition: The film was nominated for three Guldbagge Awards (Best Actress for Tuva Jagell, Best Original Score for Sophia Ersson, and Best Director for Alexandra Keining). It won Best Screenplay at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival (2015) and Best Children's Film at CPH PIX (2016).