A comment on Kind Hearts –
Their last summer before the seriousness of life sets in. Billie and Lucas have just graduated from high school. So, what comes next? How can they properly celebrate this summer? Is it enough to just go on vacation in Portugal for two weeks as usual? And what is supposed to happen afterwards? Will much change? Or is it just a bit more of the same? And the relationship between the two – is it still enough or is it time for a new beginning here, too?
The film Kind Hearts is dedicated to these questions of the transition between school days and life afterwards. In semi-documentary form, the directing duo, Olivia Rochette and Gerard-Jan Claes, follows Billie and Lucas in this crucial phase of their lives. Static camera shots in particular capture the different debates arising during this phase of their lives. While Billie thinks a lot about whether and what she wants to study now and whether the relationship with Lucas might slowly lose its excitement and they should rather break up, Lucas is more optimistic, keeps working on his beats, doesn’t see such a big change coming for them yet.
Over two years this film follows Billie, Lucas and their interactions with friends. A slowly developing process full of changes. First, the last days of school, then the relaxed summer, starting university, finally Covid-19. In between, the breakup. And everything that something like that entails in terms of thoughts and moods.
This way of presentation clearly makes the film Kind Hearts special. Who else manages to capture the questions and insecurities surrounding first love in documentary form – virtually while they’re happening? It is incredibly admirable how Lucas and Billie open up to the film duo, sharing all the ups and downs of their relationship with them.
Especially at the beginning, however, this still seems a bit rigid. It remains open whether the film is a „real“ documentary or whether the two directors are merely trying to imitate the way a documentary is made which makes it feel a little off.
Even though the majority of Kind Hearts was indeed unscripted, not all elements of the film were shot exactly in the moments when they occurred, but were partly reconstructed months later. This allowed Billie and Lucas to express their feelings and thoughts in a reflective manner, but also leaves the film lacking a bit of the emotion of the situation at hand.
With time, one gets used to the form of presentation. The deep and long discussions let the audience get incredibly close to Billie and Lucas; make the experience of watching the film very immersive. This is supported by audio and video quality that varies depending on the medium used.
In case you have already lived through this phase of your own life, Kind Hearts takes you back to this formative time, and you will find points to connect to your own life.
All in all, due to the semi-documentary form, it is a special film that gives the couple a lot of room to develop, as well as takes us along on their journey, which so many of us share after all. While the film seems a bit stiff at the beginning, which probably is due to the fact that Billie and Lucas are not “real” actors after all but actually take us into their personal lives, the immersive moments with the actors, their worries, desires and imagination prevail in the end; and the appreciation of the creative work of the directing duo, who managed to capture such an intimate experience.
