Standing ovations throughout the credits at the premiere. Thunderous applause at the first screening with thousands of schoolchildren. Young Hearts by Anthony Schatteman touches every person in the audience, regardless of age, gender or cultural background. And it is so important that this story is seen by young people worldwide and the adults around them.
The film follows Elias (Lou Goossens) as he discovers his own identity. His new neighbor Alexander (Marius De Saeger) comes from Brussels and has known for some time that he is interested in boys. Elias, on the other hand, is dating his classmate Valerie. Only when Alexander arrives does he question what he always thought he knew about himself. With enormous sensitivity, Young Hearts tells the story of how the two 14-year-olds connect and how Elias faces the question of how he should deal with this new knowledge about himself. Above all, however, it is a story about first love and the overwhelming feelings that come with it.
Lou Goossens and Marius De Saeger enchant the audience with ease. While we accompany them on their explorations and excursions together, there is no need for long dialogs or elaborate backdrops. The two boys are the center of attention and of the camera. Most things can be seen on their faces - it is the verbal communication that is difficult, even if everything else seems so simple and obvious.
© Thomas Nolf
For a long time, Elias does not talk to his family about his worries and feelings. The distance that all too often opens up between parents and teenagers during puberty is portrayed authentically. It is a difficult time for everyone involved. The parents want to give their child enough space, but sometimes the child also needs enough reassurance that the parents will continue to be there for every worry and problem, offering help where it is wanted. In my eyes, this is exactly what makes Young Hearts a successful coming-of-age movie that will resonate with any age group, because all ages are seen and celebrated in this story.
It's hard for me to put into words what this movie did to me. During the screening, I felt every second, the sad ones as well as the heart-warming ones, the desperate ones as well as the hopeful ones. And hope above all is what remains with me at the end of the movie. That future generations will grow up with films like Young Hearts and that in the end it will no longer be primarily a queer movie, but simply a movie. Because although a big theme of the movie is how Elias finds himself and how he deals with it, it's ultimately about the insecurities and feelings that every teenager is confronted with. Whether a boy falls in love with a girl or a boy shouldn't matter anymore one day. Young Hearts does not depict a utopia in which this is already the case. But with his debut film, Anthony Schatteman makes an outstanding contribution to the awareness that is needed so that this can hopefully be the case in the not-too-distant future.
