Schpaaa (1998)

	Directed by: Erik Poppe	COUNTRY Norway GENRE Drama/Action/Crime INTERNATIONAL TITLE Bunch of Five RUNNING TIME 70 minutes
	Produced by: Finn Gjerdrum
	Written by: Erik Poppe

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Jonas	Maikel Andressen Abou-Zelof	½
Emir	Jalal Zahedjekta
Jack	Sharjil Arshed
Ali	Mickael Marman
Lille-Jan	Seth Raknes
Mira-Fe	Kiyana Faravardeh	½
Jonas' mor	Irina Eidsvold Tøyen

Review

It's hard to believe the subtlety and insight of Hawaii, Oslo when viewing Erik Poppe's six years senior debut, Schpaa. Like its successor this is a film from the streets of Oslo, peeking into the lives of some less fortunate kids. The motivation is painfully obvious, as Poppe desperately wants to give a truthful, objective rendition of small-time juvenile delinquents in Norway. He adds some creative touches to the editing and the soundtrack, which at times give the film a rather awkward MTV feel. It reveals how desperate Poppe is for his picture to come off as cool and hip to young audiences, which makes the following question all the more pressing: Why do people talk like they do in the least convincing Wam & Vennerød film?

Schpaa is marred by lacklustre performances by completely untrained actors who constantly deliver awful dialogue from Poppe's artificial and forced script. This lack of authenticity completely kills off a film whose effectiveness turns on exactly that. What remains is a bunch of multi-ethnic puppets running around in the badly photographed streets of Oslo doing stunts that are obviously performed for the camera. The film cannot even make a simple, sweet teenage romance mildly effective. If you for some reason have slumped into watching this film, please also sit through Hawaii, Oslo to allow Erik Poppe the chance to redeem himself.