Final Rating: 3.5/5
“Have you ever been in love?”
Belgian director Anthony Schatteman’s poignant coming out story, Young Hearts, chronicles the challenges Elias (Lou Goossens) faces as a young man coming to terms with his sexuality. Elias lives with his parents and brother in a small Belgium town. A new family moves in across the street, including Alexander (Marius De Saeger), his father and younger sister.
Alex, being the new kid at school, is invited to join a group that includes Elias and Valerie (Saar Rogiers), essentially his girlfriend. One day Elias and Alex stop on their way home from school to have a snack and chat and when the subject of if they’ve ever been in love arises, Alex divulges that he had a boyfriend back in Brussels. This comes to a surprise to Elias, not just the fact itself but the openness with which he speaks about it.
The boys soon become good friends, visiting Elias grandfather Fred’s (Dirk Van Dijck) nearby farm, and biking around town, earning mockery from some older kids at school who one day utter homophobic slurs at them, only to have Alex kick over their bikes prompting the bullies to pursue them. They’re chased down, hiding out in an abandoned old house before sneaking away, but this plotline is quickly eschewed, serving rather as just a sense of how (some) people in town feel about this sort of thing.
Elias’s father Luk (Geert Van Rampelberg) is a popular singer who has a number one hit on his hand and is touring various venues with the help of his family and Valerie who sell his merchandise at these shows. He is certainly very much interested in his own affairs more so than what’s happening with the rest of the family, but ultimately is not as distant or uncaring as Elias may feel.
Elias takes a trip with Alex to visit Alex’s aunt and uncle in Brussels and when he’s there alone with him, he’s happy, and openly able to be his ‘petite companion’. However, when they return home, things are not so simple. He has to consider Valerie as she clearly has feelings for him, and he also is worried about what his friends and family will think should he come out. This understandably angers Alex as he feels like he’s being used in a certain manner, and wants to know where things stand. Elias decides to attend Valerie’s costume party in a couples costume with her, but things soon come to a head and Elias lashes out at his friends, his frustrations getting the best of his as he battles with these feelings.
Meanwhile, things are no better at home, as Elias lashes out at his father for seemingly only caring about his career after he finds a magazine some kids defaced with him on the cover, and inquires about him being bullied or if Elias did it himself. After this Alex goes on a trip with his grandfather to the countryside, and they spend a few days getting away from it all. This allows them to chat and for Elias to confront his feelings and heed his grandfather’s wisdom. After getting picked up at the train station by his mother Nathalie (Emilie De Roo), Elias opens up about his true feelings and is embraced by her.
They attend the harvest festival where Luk is performing and by this time, it is well known that the boys like each other, and there is the big moment of acceptance from the father as well as Valerie. The two boys connect, and while it’s well tread territory, it feels earned. The film utilizes many of the tropes any coming out story relies on, but the performances and cast give it a warmth and humanity that helps it resonate. The characters feel very real and their emotions and feelings honest as Elias charts his journey to accepting himself.
Young Hearts was seen during the 2025 International Film Festival of Ottawa.
