In this sweet and very funny coming of age story from Norway, we are introduced to thirteen year old Jo, played by young actor Ask von der Hagen. Prone to elaborate and extremely pessimistic flights of fancy – often spurred on by his overprotective mother, or after receiving ‘special attention’ from the school bully – Jo’s life is thrown into further turmoil with the arrival of Mari, a pretty young girl whom he is dying to impress.

Add to that Jo’s obsession with tracking down the elusive football trading card from which the film takes its name, and The Liverpool Goalie is a clever little comedy filled with plenty of heart and relatable emotion.  Hagen does a great job capturing the shyness and struggles of male adolescence, which is heightened by director Arild Andresen’s hilarious fantasy sequences and some fitting soundtrack choices.

The Liverpool Goalie is a real winner.

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Tom Clift is a web-based film journalist from Melbourne, Australia. Visit his website here: http://reviewsbytom.blogspot.com.

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