Patrik Age 1.5 Dir: Ella Lemhagen Sweden, 2008, DigiBeta 100mins If you can ignore the semaphored ending and plot twists for 100 minutes, Patrik Age 1.5 is a little charmer of a movie. Set in a creepy housing development somewhere in Sweden it's the story of an uber-suburban gay couple who end up adopting Patrik, who is definitely not the child of their dreams. All comes right in the end, as we instinctively know it will, and along the way Sven and Goran's relationship is tested, their neighbours exposed and the toughened hides of incorrigible young folk are pierced. Treated seriously this could be way too much angst or saccharine for most viewers, but it's when Patrik Age 1.5 is presenting its characters with humour that it shines. Watch out in particular for the deliciously slapstick moments when Goran (or is it Sven) is plastered, the wonderfully sullen yet desperate portrayal of Sven's (or is she Goran's?) daughter and the bijou little moments with the timidly officious police officer. Even the credits have two laugh out loud moments... the daughter bringing up the rear is a masterpiece of comic understatement; and the proud credit for the english subtitles was, sadly, dubiously earned. It its heart this is a romantic comedy based on a none too weighty examination of small lives colliding. There is sweetness but not much 'edge' in the portrayals, the direction and writing avoid the temptation to make this a 'message movie' and all in all it's a very pleasant way to chuckle away with fellow moviegoers at the OutTakes 09 Film Festival. - Jay Bennie Patrik Age 1.5 is the GayNZ.com-sponsored movie at the festival, which continues in Wellington and Christchurch. Its official trailer is shown below. Jay Bennie - 2nd June 2009