Film Review: ‘Young Hearts’ dir. Anthony Schatteman
Rating: ★★★★★
Anthony Schatteman’s “Young Hearts,” world-premiered in the Generation Kplus competition section of the 74th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale). Addressing a sensitive theme, the film goes deep in the issue of same-sex love in a liberal society like the Netherlands.
“Young Hearts” centers around the 14 year old Elias (Lou Goossens), who becomes attracted to Alexander, a boy of same age, who has recently relocated from Belgium to the Netherlands with his father and younger sister. Elias realizes he has fallen in love for the first time in his life.
The film begins in a joyful atmosphere. Elias’ father, Luk, played by Geert Van Rampelberg, is on stage singing his song “First Love.” Elias is seated with his girlfriend Valerie, and they joyfully harmonize with the song. At the outset, the filmmaker cleverly highlights an important point. The song Luk sings, “First Love,” is undoubtedly based on his own experience of first love, and he is singing it. Thus, he holds a superiority over Elias based on the experiences and life he has lived. However, implicitly, the filmmaker tells the audience that “First Love” is Elias’ life story and, of course, the film’s subject.
One of the first concepts the film introduces concerning Elias’s relationships with both his parents and his girlfriend is the Freudian concept of the Oedipus complex. For Elias to transition from boyhood to manhood, he must overcome this complex and leave his father behind to become a man himself. Concepts such as power and the balance of power between father and son are raised, alongside issues of adequacy and inadequacy.
Later on, in a scene, Elias’ grandfather, Fred, played by Dirk van Dijck, suggests that Elias take hold of the driving wheel and start driving. This suggestion indirectly implies that Elias should take control of his life, take charge of the situation, and begin the process of becoming a man.
Transitioning from boyhood to manhood becomes a serious concern for Elias. We see this in a question he asks his father, “Why isn’t it time to start growing a beard?” His father responds, “It happens earlier for some and later for others. It happened earlier for me and your brother.” Here, the dialogue from the father generates a sense of superiority and inadequacy in the son. The father tells the son, “You have your mother’s genes,” implying that he has his mother’s genes and doesn’t have the genes of a man. Later on, the father applies shaving cream to the boy’s face, symbolizing the initiation into manhood.
One of the strengths of the film lies in its exploration of concepts, details, and its precision in storytelling and character development.
With the arrival of the new boy, Alexander, played by Marius De Saeger, as Elias’ new neighbor and schoolmate, a new competition emerges for Elias: a competition to gain and experience love. In one scene, Elias asks Alexander if he’s ever been in love. Alexander responds positively, stating that it’s the best feeling in the world. Elias desires to experience this best feeling and to possess it for himself. Competition in the film acts as a motif. It depicts teenagers who are either madly in love with each other or have entered into a game to fall in love and experience the feeling of love. Elias’ inability to experience this feeling even with a girlfriend puts him in a position of weakness and can generate a sense of inadequacy for him.
Elias’s relationship with his father is not a strong one, and sometimes Elias feels ashamed of his father’s behavior and concerns. We know that for Elias, his father is not firm enough, and their relationship is not constructive enough to serve as a bridge for Elias to transition from “being a boy” to “becoming a man.” Alexander embodies qualities of the father in the external world. He has a strong personality, knows what he wants, has self-confidence, and, most importantly, supports Elias and provides him with a sense of security—a feeling Elias hasn’t experienced much with his own father. The filmmaker effectively uses Freudian concepts such as repetition compulsion and attachment theory in defining Elias’s inclination to connect with Alexander and find emotional and romantic feelings for him.
It can be affirmed that Anthony Schatteman has skillfully developed and fleshed out the characters as a director/screenwriter. This makes the audience feel an affinity with the characters and their inner and outer states, even allowing them to put themselves in the characters’ shoes. Elias is a cautious character and often fearful; he lacks courage in his personality, is afraid of judgment, and tends to flee. In contrast, Alexander is fearless and adventurous. Elias is a prisoner of his inner fears, and their friendship prompts him to engage in adventures he has always feared or suppressed within himself. When jumping into the river to swim, Alexander removes his underwear as well and jumps into the water naked. But Elias, seemingly with a sense of shame, jumps into the water with his underwear on. The film is replete with such psychological symbols and metaphors.
Another theme explored in the film is the fear of judgment from others and society. Elias is afraid that his acquaintances and those he cares about will understand his relationship with Alexander, causing him to be unaccepted in their eyes, become the subject of collective disgust, and no longer be liked by them. Keeping the relationship with Alexander a secret and fearing judgment from acquaintances is very bitter for Elias, just like sipping from a glass of beer that Elias drinks beside the pool as Alexander leaves the place and feels the bitterness in his mouth. The image Elias has of himself, the inner sense of insecurity, the not-so-strong connection with family members and even a liberal society like the Netherlands, act as a bully for Elias, making him full of anxiety, lack of self-confidence and self-esteem, and anger.
The relationship with Alexander brings a sense of anxiety for Elias; the same anxieties that Elias has in relation to his father, who embodies masculinity, come to the surface in his relationship with Alexander. Like when Elias approaches Alexander’s family in the morning to kiss him, and Alexander pushes him away. The feelings of being rejected, suppressed, and not being accepted in the group are things that disturb Elias and create a sense of inadequacy in him, leading him towards emotional discharge, anger, and tears. Additionally, in relation to the group and acquaintances, Elias behaves like someone who seeks attention and acceptance from others.
This indicates his confusion and an unsuccessful, distant relationship with his family. Elias in “Young Hearts” is an individual who seeks attention from everyone as if society were their parents, reflecting a desire for validation, recognition, and nurturing similar to what a child would seek from their caregivers. This behavior might stem from unresolved childhood issues, such as a lack of attention or emotional support during upbringing, leading to a persistent need for external validation and attention in adulthood.
Identity is one of the main motifs in the film. Elias is openly confused about his sexual identity, which brings with it pain, anger, and anxiety. On one hand, he is drawn to his girlfriend (a symbol of the maternal figure in society), and on the other hand, he is drawn to Alexander (a symbol of the paternal figure in society). He is constantly torn between the external symbol of the mother and the external symbol of the father and cannot choose love or be accepted in the eyes of his acquaintances. In an emotionally charged scene at the height of his anger, Elias tells Alexander that if he had stayed in Brussels and not come here, none of these things would have happened.
In the end, after talking with his grandfather and venting his emotions, Elias decides to openly express his love to Alexander in public. But before that, he tells his mother about this issue, and he confesses the heavy burden of guilt he feels inside, saying that he has tried very hard to change himself but failed. His mother tells him that it wasn’t necessary for him to change himself, and they all love him. This moment is when Elias receives acceptance and love from his external world. After expressing his love and kissing him in a space where all his friends and acquaintances are present, and being accepted in their eyes, Elias feels the heavy burden lifted from his shoulders and feels liberated.
Lou Goossens’ performance as Elias is captivating and emotionally engaging for the audience.
As mentioned earlier, the film’s screenplay has a solid framework and is full of subtle and deep psychological layers.
The cinematography by Pieter Van Campe is commendable. The film has good color grading and lighting that aligns well with the themes and motifs of the film, and the handheld camera work, subtly used, effectively conveys Elias’s feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety to the audience.
“Young Hearts” world-premiered in the Generation Kplus competition section at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale 2024) on February 17th.
