The 32 wins for the 2016 Icelandic coming-of-age drama "Heartstone" precludes summarizing those accolades for this recent addition to the Breaking Glass Pictures DVD catalog. Although the awards likely play a role in Breaking acquiring this film, this being a honest portrayal of teen boys struggling with their feelings toward each other and with life in general likely is why it makes the Breaking cut.
The following YouTube clip of the official "Heartstone" trailer shows why it wins so many awards; it further provides a brief synopsis of a tween summer to which many gay audience members who get their first of their sexual orientation at a relatively early age can relate.
"Heartstone" centers round tween boy Thor and his best friend (with potential benefits?) Christian in their small Icelandic fishing village. The many relatable challenges of Thor extend beyond his being smaller and less developed in every sense than his peers, being the only male in the house that he shares with disgraced divorced mother Hulda and two older teen sisters, and developing an "its complicated" relationship with classmate Beth.
Sister Rakel is a particular challenge; her worst torment of her brother includes teasing him about wearing a towel around Christian only to strip him of that covering and lock him out of the house. She further delights in catching her sibling engaging in an act of either self love or abuse depending on your perspective.
The domestic life of Christian is not better; the mixture of good and bad news is that his abusive father often is away from home. The rumored homosexuality of a local man apparently being the basis for a fist fight between that man and "Dad" does not help the situation of Christian.
Enlightened viewers get a sense of where things are going when Thor repeatedly gives the more attractive Christian the look, friends and family tease the boys about being a couple, and the horseplay between the boys advances toward an intimate level that may as well include the question "have you ever wondered about doing it with another guy?" The evolution of this relationship is one of the many aspects of "Heartstone" that warrant the aforementioned exceptional festival love.
The adventures of our boys include a highly secretive sleepover (complete with same-sex making out) with the girls, repeatedly contending with the local bully, and facing tremendous embarrassment regarding activity that is highly gay from any perspective.
This symbolically builds to the end of the summer of innocence in a manner that includes a meaningful early snowfall. Consistent with the overall bleak existence of our boys, the ending falls short of Thor and Christian publicly declaring their love and walking through their school holding hands accompanied by an uplifting Motown tune. Such things only happen in Logo movies.
The always special Breaking bonus feature include the actors who play Hulda and Thor discussing their roles. The boy who plays Thor shows surprising depth and sensitivity for a 14 year-old boy. We also get notable Icelandic folks discussing childhood memories of things such as confiding in friends and getting their first kiss.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Heartstone" is strongly encouraged either to email me or to connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy,
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