We’re quickly introduced to the “gang” in Bille August’s school-of-Scandinavian-Noir film, Zappa; considering the baby faced, almost prepubescent, protagonists who constitute this gang, one would expect a “no girls allowed” sign and toys. But this is the world according to Bille August and things are never quite what they seem. Steen (Peter Reichhardt), a boy capable of the most vicious cruelty, is the leader and his reluctant sidekick is Bjorn (Adam Tønsberg). At school they are impressed by the physical prowess—never mind the baby fat—of Mulle (Morten Hoff), during a gym class, and they immediately set out to recruit him.
The gang starts off with a simple burglary of a house whose inhabitants are on vacation. But this soon escalates to more serious crime involving grievous bodily harm and possibly murder. Steen brooks no dissent, and when Bjorn or Mulle either protest or decide not to participate in one of his capers he hands out punishment in the form of vandalized bikes. There is the inevitable falling out when Mulle decides to leave the gang, and in an intense scene gives Steen a deserved, if terrible, beating.
The movie deals with complex issues of nature versus nurture. Why, for instance, is Steen so evil? And why do both Bjorn and Mulle have a conscience whereas Steen does not? On the surface all appear pretty similar: they go to the same school; live in a homogenized society; and apparently lack for nothing. Their family background and interaction do, however, offer clues. Both Bjorn and Mulle come from very blue-collar families. They don’t have a lot but whatever they have is shared and they live in a mutually loving and respectful environment. Mulle even has grandparents who love him. Steen, on the other hand, comes from strained family circumstances. His family is rich and his father is a successful businessman; the mother is spoiled and neurotic. The father has left the family for a young woman causing the mother to try and loose herself in yoga and other eastern meditations. Somewhere along the line something has snapped in Steen’s brain. He famously looses self-control, brought on by claustrophobia, in front of his classmates, friends and family ending up bawling, fetal position in a bathroom. The mother doesn’t realize what a point of crisis this is for him and coldly advises him to come out of the bathroom if he doesn’t want to loose further face. Steen hates his parents and true to his nature enacts terrible vengence on both. The only thing he loves in the world is Zappa (of the film title), a carnivorous fish that he keeps in a tank and whose predatory instincts he shares.
The movie comes to a terrible conclusion on a New Year’s eve when Bjorn decides he’s had enough of the gang and pays back the cruelty that Steen had inflicted on Mulle.
Zappa is the first of a trilogy of movies made by August that feature some of the same characters. Bjorn and Kirsten reappear in Twist and Shout, a much better sequel to this film.