Patrik 1,5

The final film that I watched at the TIFF08 was the Swedish film Patrik 1,5.
It was a wonderful, lighthearted movie. Think the Swedish equivalent to Breakfast with Scot.
It's interesting how the demographic of audience members changes depending on the movie. No, this isn't some crazy breakthrough or anything - it's just kind neat to see.
This movie was fluff. Nothing too significant about it, but a very fun movie to watch. Funny moments for sure. Heart-warming as well.
Maybe I should put more effort into this post it's my last one from the festival (finally), but I have no desire to do so. Sorry. So here's the write-up from the TIFF website:

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Ex-urbanites Sven and Goran are a married gay couple who relocate to a small town, a village really, to realize their dream of adopting a child. But neither they nor their plan are met with open arms. Some of the villagers are downright hostile, others just do their best to ignore them. But the happy couple are more than willing to soldier on, given the impending arrival. The truly nasty surprise is that the adoption agency, despite a lengthy approval process, cannot find a suitable international baby. Just when everything seems lost, news comes of a local candidate: Patrik, age 1.5. But when Patrik shows up, he is in fact fifteen, criminally delinquent and homophobic.

Sweet-tempered and relentlessly charming, Ella Lemhagen's Patrik, Age 1.5 is a subtly executed piece that treads a fine line between drama and comedy. Lemhagen wisely toys with our assumptions and ingrained responses, prodding us to find humour in unexpected situations and humanity everywhere, even in the most unlikely people.

Patrik's arrival causes a fissure between the couple. Though somewhat reluctantly, Goran agrees to take Patrik in until the agency finds an infant for them and an acceptable home for the teen. Sven, on the other hand, is not so accommodating. A former street punk himself, he's terrified of what Patrik might do, and finds memories of his past behaviour discomforting, to say the least. As time moves on, he is forced to confront his own misgivings about their dream. He has a child from a previous, straight marriage, with whom he has never been able to communicate, and has always had doubts about suburban living and marriage in particular.

A smart, sensitive exploration of the rifts in contemporary gay life, Patrik, Age 1.5 is also, in essence, about how our expectations imprison us and separate us from one another. Driven by textured, intelligent performances from the three male leads, it is one of the most amusing and humane films you'll see this year.

Steve Gravestock
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It really is a cute movie. I thought the cast did a wonderful job with their parts. The characters were very sweet. I laughed out loud multiple times.
The final scene and continuing into the credits was nice.
Obviously, I liked this movie. There wasn't a Q&A or anything, but watching such an uplifting movie at the end of the festival made for nice closure.

- picture courtesy of www.tiff08.ca