At what age does the freedom and innocence of childhood become consumed by the mists of adolescence? The answer is different for everyone, with the road to adulthood rooted in our individual self-discovery. Heartstone is now available to rent or buy.
At what age does the freedom and innocence of childhood become consumed by the mists of adolescence? The answer is different for everyone, with the road to adulthood rooted in our individual self-discovery. But few films have captured this transition and all its complexity, uncertainty, intensity and emotion, like Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson’s Heartstone (Hjartasteinn).
In a small Icelandic fishing village, Thor (Baldur Einarsson) and Kristján (Blær Hinriksson) spend their days playing together. However, their shared childhood journey is slowly coming to an end as teenage feelings take hold in an isolated coastal community where everyone knows each other’s business. Both boys find brief moments of escape within the mountains, fields, junkyards, and pools. But the visual beauty of their surroundings is also a claustrophobic nightmare for teenagers seeking independence and identity, and for Thor, the advent of teenage life is even more challenging, as his physical development sits in the shadow of Kristján’s burgeoning manliness.
As the constraints of school vanish during Iceland’s long summer days, both Thor and Kristján engage in a series of clumsy attempts at romance with two local girls. Their mutual protection keeps their insecurities at bay as they question everything around them. But as Thor falls for one of the girls, Kristján hides his true feelings in fear of social isolation. However, as summer turns to autumn, then winter, the last faint glows of childhood vanish as Thor and Kristján tentatively take their first steps into adult life.
Guðmundsson weaves the brutal realities of early teenage life with the conflict of unspoken community norms, family, homophobia, shame and rural isolation. Like A Swedish Love Story, Heartstone captures the raw reality of the emotions, fears, and joys of early adolescence as both boys’ bodies demand their attention. At the same time, their minds remain caught in the void between childhood innocence and adult responsibility. The sublime performances of Baldur Einarsson and Blær Hinriksson wrap us in a reality rarely found in coming-of-age dramas as both boys tentatively emerge from the cocoon of childhood.
Guðmundsson’s movie beautifully reflects the urgency and excitement of early sexual exploration in a caged community and the role community and family play in the coming-of-age journey of each young person in their care as both boys’ paths diverge in a heartwrenching finale.
Follow Us