Zero Point Film Difficulty Ranking: 2
If you know your John Hughes from your Richard Linklater, or your Stephen King from Stranger Things, this is the film for you. Zero Point is your classic high school film. There’s plenty of drama and enough gossip and bullying to keep you entertained throughout. It’s perfect for fans Dazed and Confused, Carrie, or Sixteen Candles.
From: Estonia, Europe
Watch: Trailer, Amazon Prime, YouTube Rent
Next: Thelma, Bad Genius, Kids Return
Why Watch Zero Point?
- Experience life as a young adult in Tallinn
- If you’re a fan of high school dramas
- Learn that everyone has their own problems (even though they are not always visible)
- For another easy to watch coming of age film
The Breakdown
Zero Point doesn’t waste any time in kicking off the drama. Johannes (the main character) and his family are all sitting around a table having a peaceful family dinner when suddenly his mum shouts: “why do you all hate me”. It kicks off her mental breakdown and forces Johannes and his sister out of the house and into rural Estonia.
After the short, disruptive opening, the film resumes a year later when Johannes returns to Tallinn to finish his school years at a prestigious Swedish school. At this point, his life is going great; he makes new friends easily and the teachers like him.
However, despite adapting well on the surface, he can’t escape his old life which continues to haunt him. His mum is still not mentally stable and his old friends have become drug dealers who associate him with the wrong crowd. It shows us that even those that go to fancy Swedish schools carry their own invisible burdens – there are many disguises of privilege.
However, it’s not his mentally unstable mum or his drug dealing friends that bring him down, but the other students at school. They viciously bully him based on a rumour about him from his previous school. This leaves him completely alone with no one to talk to. Can he find redemption or justice to fulfill the typical high school film story?
What to Watch Next
If you’re looking for more entertaining High School movies from around the world, check out:
- Bad Genius from Thailand, which focuses on a group of rich students who try to cheat the SATs – the high school exams they need to pass to get into the prestigious U.S. universities they want to go to.
- Dazed and Confused from the U.S. There are plenty of great high school movies from the United States, but this one captures the end of term madness perfectly. You could also check out Boyhood if you’d rather watch a coming of age school film (also by Richard Linklater).
- Kids Return from Japan. Most of the action takes place outside of high school, but this brilliant film from Takeshi Kitano features a great high school rivalry.
Otherwise, if you’re looking for more Scandinavian film which features kids that are bullied or are social outcasts, check out Thelma from Norway and Play from Sweden.
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