Review: Young Hearts – “Lyrical, tender, gorgeously shot and boasting genuine, naturalistic performances”

If you’re wondering how many more coming-of-age stories can be told without feeling stale and repetitive, especially when dealing with themes of first love and queer awakening, let me reassure you that Belgian filmmaker Anthony Schatteman has got our backs with his slice-of-sunshine feature debut.

Lyrical, tender, gorgeously shot and boasting genuine, naturalistic performances, Young Hearts inevitably displays some of the genre tropes but proudly wears them on its sleeve whilst delivering a touching and uplifting character study, courtesy of a mesmerising central performance by young actor Lou Goosens.

The simple premise revolves around Elias (Goosens), a boy in his early teens living in rural Belgium, whose world is shaken up when Alexander (Marius De Saeger), a boy his age from Brussels, moves in across the road with his dad and little sister. At first, it seems like Elias is just happy to make a new pal and he warmly welcomes Alexander into his circle of friends at school.

The boys start spending more time together, going for bike rides in the fields, swimming in ponds or visiting Elias’ grandfather at his farm. Soon enough though, something shifts in the way Elias looks at his new neighbour. Alexander isn’t just handsome, like the girls in the group point out. He is also charming and confident as he fences off the occasional bully harassing younger kids at school.

One day, when Elias asks his new friend whether he’s ever been in love, Alexander confirms he has and nonchalantly confesses that it was with another boy. Our shy protagonist is evidently stunned by the revelation. There he was, thinking he had got himself all figured out with his chilled life in the countryside, his tight-knit gang of pals and his cute girlfriend Valerie. And yet it takes a moment for his entire world to collapse and for overwhelming new feelings to create emotional turmoil that’s hard to contain.

The thing is that when Alexander bounces the same question back, Elias responds that he’s never been in love – at least until now… But these new and unexpected feelings for another boy are scary and throw him over the edge. Both with his script and his direction, Anthony Schatteman does an exquisite job at capturing not just the pains of first love but especially how powerless we are in the face of those feelings, as we truly can’t choose who we fall in love with. It just happens; the heart wants what it wants and Elias, terrified by the consequences of such feelings, is bound to make mistakes and disappoint people.

On his path to self-discovery and emotional growth, alienated by his oblivious father, who only cares about his burgeoning career as a local cheesy pop singer, and intimidated by his older brother, Elias finds comfort in his grandad, whose words of wisdom are reminiscent of the iconic Call Me By Your Name scene between Timothée Chalamet and Michael Stuhlbarg. Lou Goosens, who won last year’s Iris Prize for best male performance, (along with the film winning the best picture award), is consistently captivating in portraying Elias’ journey with such pathos and authenticity.

Although the locations and poetic cinematography channel Lukan Dhont’s Close, another recent Belgian film handling similar topics, albeit through a darker lens, Schatteman chooses a hopeful and joyous outlook on queer life that genuinely reminded me of Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper, where, despite inevitable external challenges, the biggest obstacles to overcome are the ones within ourselves. Young Hearts most definitely leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy, and given the current state of the world with LGBTQ+ rights being once again under threat, I believe we need this kind of film now more than ever.

Young Hearts is in UK cinemas now via Peccadillo Pictures.

Find a screening near you and book tickets here