Years before Bille August made a habit of turning classic novels into mediocre films, he made this compelling coming-of-age drama set in the suburbs of Copenhagen in the late fifties. The story focuses on three teens from different backgrounds, the manipulative upperclass rich kid Steen (Peter Reichhardt), clean-cut middleclass boy Bjørn (Adam Tønsberg) and the lowerclass overweight prankster Mulle (Morten Hoff). The boys´ confrontations with love, crime and violence is beautifully but unflinchingly portrayed by director August, who never hits a false note in characterization or period detail. Alternately funny and disturbingly violent, but always entertaining, this is one of the truly great Danish films ever made, but has sadly never found an audience outside Scandinavia, unlike its decent sequel "Tro, håb & Kærlighed" (Twist and Shout), which was released in America. Many classic scenes (including the grossest way to eat snails you´ll ever see!)
