Anthony Schatteman’s warm and lovely debut feature film Young Hearts is a rare coming-out and coming-of-age film about characters as young as fourteen. The film Young Hearts screens in the Berlinale’s Generation K+ sidebar.
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Anthony Schatteman’s warm and lovely debut feature, Young Hearts, is a rare coming-out and coming-of-age film about characters as young as fourteen who also never need to put labels on their sexuality even while “coming out” to friends and family. When Alexander (Marius De Saeger) moves from Brussels to a Dutch-speaking small town in Belgium, it’s love at first sight for Elias (Lou Goossens). They become fast friends, teasing their bullies even when it gets them into scrapes (the adventure bonds them) and hanging out together as much as possible.
Although the world of 2024 is much less scary for queer people than it was even a decade ago, Elias’s and Alexander’s feelings and budding relationship are not without barriers. Early on, when classmates see them cycling together, they hurl homophobic slurs, which rattles Elias especially.
Elias fears being publicly open about his feelings so he behaves erratically in ways that hurt Alexander, himself, and those around him. Elias embarks on a romantic relationship with a girl in his class, Nathalie (Emilie De Roo), who is sweet on him but whose feelings he doesn’t reciprocate. Lying together on a field with her head on his lap, Schatteman pushes her out of frame to focus on Elias, who can’t stop looking over at Alexander. When Elias’s friends and girlfriend acknowledge Alexander’s attractiveness, Elias becomes jealous enough to take Alexander aside and kiss him.
Not as weighed down by internalized homophobia
There’s no trepidation to express his feelings in private; Elias is wonderfully not weighed down by the magnitude of internalized homophobia the previous generation faced. When Nathalie catches them kissing, she tells Elias to “never come near her again.” Whether she’s upset to learn he has feelings for a boy or simply that he doesn’t have feelings for her is left ambiguous, and the ambiguity is part of Elias’s confusion. Regardless, Elias becomes more afraid of being open about his feelings to those around him, causing him to hurt Alexander.
Fortunately, the modern world offers a few escape hatches for Elias and Alexander to be open about their feelings and themselves, even if it can be hard to do so among their school friends in their small town. It’s hard to imagine, even a decade ago, that queer characters would find such safe spaces so easily. They certainly didn’t exist for Oscar in Closet Monster (2015), Franky in Giant Little Ones (2018), and Guillaume in Genèse (2018), who all experienced open hostility from their classmates once they were assumed to be gay.
A warmer world in Berlinale film Young Hearts
There’s a wonderful sequence in Young Hearts where Elias and Alexander spend a day in Brussels together, seeing the sights and meeting Alexander’s uncle, who runs a drag club. They call each other “boyfriend” and openly express physical affection. Later in the film, when Elias fights with his parents, his grandfather separates them for a reprieve and takes Elias on a trip to the Ardennes. There, his grandfather, who is still grieving the loss of his wife, encourages him to explore his feelings for Alexander because love is such a powerful force.
More heartening, still, is how accepting everyone around them is. Even before Elias publicly admits to his feelings for Alexander, his friends gang up on him for responding homophobically to Alexander kissing another boy in Spin the Bottle. “Alexander is our friend, too,” they warn. Still, Elias feels there’s no guarantee they won’t treat him differently if they know he has feelings for Alexander. When Elias comes out to his mother, it’s not to clarify his sexual identity but to express his love for a particular boy, Alexander. Nobody asks him to, either. They allow him not to put labels on himself and his relationship while acknowledging his feelings. The scene is particularly touching because of how Schatteman reveals the layers of support Elias already has, quietly in the background (and out of frame) that wouldn’t have been available to queer characters not long ago.
Anthony Schatteman’s Young Hearts screens in the Berlinale’s Generation K+ section
Young Hearts screens in the Berlinale’s Generation section, which curates films about and targeted at young people. In particular, it screens in the K Plus section, which means it’s appropriate for children under 14, helped perhaps by how the film is about feelings rather than delving too deeply into sexuality. It’s joyous to see a film about love between such young people who have valid fears about homophobia but discover that the world is more welcoming than they might expect it to be.
Related reading/listening to Anthony Schatteman’s Berlinale film Young Hearts
More LGBTQ+ films: Read our interviews with the filmmakers behind Closet Monster (2015), Giant Little Ones (2018), and Genèse (2018). Check out all of our LGBTQ coverage.
More highlights from the Berlinale’s Generation section: Read our interviews with the filmmakers behind Ninjababy (2021), Stop-Zemlia (2021), and Nelly Rapp: Monster Agent (2021). Read our reviews of Summer Blur (2021), and Supa Modo (2018).
More from Berlinale 2024: Read all of our Berlinale coverage.
