I’ve been watching clips of both Close and Young Hearts on various video social media. It’s given me a disjointed picture of both of them, but the plot summaries I’ve seen have helped me stitch them together. Close is tragic. The homophobia the kids in it experience from their peers drives them apart and the end of it is heartbreaking. Close is basically, near as I can tell, a story about prejudice. Young Hearts is a love story.

I have a fragmented view of this film, from watching the clips of it people have been posting from overseas. So I have almost zero knowledge of the dialog in the clips because the language is Dutch and when there are subtitles those are either in German or French…maybe I’ve seen one or two in English. But I can make out a bit of what’s being said from context, and the fragmentary and miniscule German I know when there are subtitles. And by guessing at the Dutch.

The first part of it is Elias becoming very fond of his new neighbor Alexander, and then falling in love with him. When he’s alone with Alexander he’s happy to acknowledge his love, but when it’s among classmates and family it gets complicated. Especially as he has a girlfriend he gradually becomes more distant to.

There a scene with Elias in the car with mom and his older brother in the front seat, and dad next to him in the back seat, and he comes out to them and it’s a very emotional scene. The kid is crying and telling them he tried to change but he couldn’t, and his mom stopping the car, getting out and coming back to him to tell him he doesn’t have to change, he is loved.

But in the clips I see I don’t get the reactions of dad and the older brother.

I suspect there was some static there because there is another scene that takes place at a costume party, Elias is wearing the costume of a knight and Alexander is dressed as the Joker. Elias tearfully breaks up with Alexander, telling him he isn’t gay like him (Alexander is played as being completely comfortable with his orientation, and not taking any static from his classmates), and that none of this would have happened if he had just stayed in Belgium. They have a fight, and it seems to be over.

But the synopsis I have read say they reconcile as Elias learns to accept himself with the support of his family, and eventually his girlfriend. So I kept looking around for clips of that. There is one where Elias is tossing pebbles at Alexander’s window in the middle of the night and he comes and Elias tries to get back with him but Alexander isn’t having any of it and pushes him away. So that one wasn’t it.

Last night someone posted the reconciliation scene to three Facebook reels. I’m doom scrolling (I guess it’s called now) and I hit this one I hadn’t seen before and it’s the moment the two kids put it behind them and get back together and no kidding it brought me to tears.

Elias is at some big outdoor party with lights and music…his dad is singing on stage…and he’s apparently looking around for Alexander and doesn’t find him and sits down on the grass distraught. Alexander was supposed to be there. Maybe he left because he didn’t want to run into Elias. But then Elias’ older brother comes over and tells him (I think), that Alexander is inside the main tent and he should go find him. Elias gives his older brother a joyful hug…I’m assuming it’s because now he knows his brother is good with it and still loves him. His brother pushes him off with a smile, telling him to go now and find Alexander.

So he goes through this crowd in the main tent looking for Alexander. And here the filmmakers pull out all the stops.

The scene goes into slightly slow motion, a beautiful evocative music soundtrack music comes in (it reminds me very much of passages in the music to In A Heartbeat, but the composers are different), and we see Elias stop suddenly and by the look on his face you know he’s spotted Alexander. I knew Exactly how that felt once upon a time, and that young actor made me relive it all over again. Butterflies like I haven’t had in decades. Then we see from his point of view Alexander, in the crowd, turn slightly, and see Elias. More butterflies.

Where do they get these young actors who are that damn good?? That one scene, just a minute or two maybe, is pure cinematic gold. I hope they and the filmmakers win every award they enter the film in. Not that I would expect the Motion Picture Academy to do anything for this film.

So the two of them reconcile, and then dad stops singing, steps off the stage and comes over to Elias and embraces him. And all the other grown up couples smile, and so does Elias’ girlfriend who accepts him now too. And the two of them, Elias and Alexander stand side by side, happy together again, and Elias puts his head on Alexander’s shoulder…and fade to black.

Supposedly it will be released for US audiences on March 15. Heh…the day after Valentine’s Day. But this is exactly the sort of thing the New American Order doesn’t want anyone to see, so I’m not sure it’ll actually get a USA release.