Young Hearts (Berlinale Review) – “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?”

Young Hearts is awaiting a release date.

But, soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the East, and Juliet is the sun. – Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare)

Fourteen-year-old Alexander (Marius De Saeger) has just moved into the house next door to Elias (Lou Goossens), and from the first moment Elias sees him unpacking boxes, he is captivated by the boy with an aura he has never experienced. As Alexander settles into his new home, Elias stares through his bedroom window at the boy getting used to his new room next door. As a silent and powerful connection is born, Alexander waves back, leading to a broad smile from Elias that lights up the room. In these opening scenes between both boys, director Anthony Schatteman echoes Romeo’s first sighting of Juliet and his subsequent visit to Juliet’s balcony to gaze upon her beauty, and it’s far from being the only loving nod to Shakespeare’s play and its many adaptations in the heartwarming and tender Young Hearts.

Shatteman’s tale of two star-crossed lovers in a small Belgian town is a beautiful exploration of first love and the emotional rollercoaster of its power, but it is also a tale of a delicate but intense young gay love surrounded by a fear of rejection and uncertainty. Following their brief and silent introduction at the window, Alexander quickly becomes a part of Elias’s friendship group at school, and it’s not long before they are cycling to and from classes together. As they sit on the grass discussing home, family, and friends, Elias is captivated by Alexander, but he isn’t sure why. Is it the excitement of a new friendship? Or is there something different about this boy who has just moved from the city? When Alexander asks Elias whether he has ever been in love, he doesn’t know how to respond, for outside of his love for his parents and friends, he isn’t yet sure what romantic love feels like. He nervously shifts in the grass and attempts to prove he knows what Alexander means before asking Alexander the same question. At this moment, Alexander blindsides him with his casual response that he was previously in love with a boy. As they stand up and climb onto their bikes, without words, a door has opened for Elias that cannot be closed.

Elias has grown up in an accepting household; his mum is open and loving, and his dad (Geert Van Rampelberg) earns a living as a crooner singing about the power of love at every opportunity. At the same time, his relationship with his older brother is full of the usual unspoken love and arguments. But Elias, like us all, has grown up in a heteronormative society where loving another boy wasn’t discussed and was often actively dismissed. As his feelings for Alexander grow and invade the security of his friendship group, Elias finds himself caught between the assumed expectations of society, family and friends and an emerging young love that cannot be ignored or silenced.

At the heart of Schatteman’s heartwarming treat are the outstanding performances of Lou Goossens and Marius De Saeger as they light up the screen. Goossens effortlessly portrays the giddiness of first love and the fears and insecurities surrounding it through a performance of such emotional gravitas and conviction that you feel every moment of Elias’s journey from the first exciting yet uncertain sparks of attraction to the bubbling need to be close to Alexander and the fear of taking his hand in building a relationship. At the same time, De Saeger portrays the ease of a boy who knows who he is and what he wants; Alexander is confident in his sexuality and struggles to understand Elias’s reluctance and fear. For both young men, Young Hearts is undoubtedly their springboard to successful acting careers if they choose that path, and I hope they do.

Equally strong is Anthony Schatteman’s direction as he moves from short-form films into his first feature-length production. Schatteman’s delicate, assured, and sincere screenplay is rich in emotional honesty, and when coupled with Pieter Van Campe’s vibrant cinematography, Ruben De Gheselle’s gentle score and a fantastic ensemble cast, Young Hearts becomes a journey you don’t want to end. Not that long ago, an LGBTQ+ film like Young Hearts would have likely ended in tragedy or heartbreak, much like Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, but Schatteman concludes with an upbeat message that true love is rare and worth fighting for no matter your fears, as who knows if it will ever come around again. Young Hearts instantly finds a special place in the heart with its beautiful portrait of first love and the complex emotions, uncertainties, and unbridled excitement it brings.