Holger & Vilde

A simple one. About trust and swimming and talks and flash of lantern. And about a summer vacantion, changing everything. The delicacy and grace are the lead virtues of film. And a lovely atmosphere, bitter but useful, clear and wise used. The end of childhood and the choices . And the melancholy. Enough for a profound beautiful film.

This is one of the many many films that's far better than its rating suggests and I'd almost say it's a hidden gem in way.

The whole story about a sweet friendship of two sympatetic kids on the verge of their first teenager years just looks sentimental and sugar-coated at first but it isn't.

It seems to take place in an alternative history sweden with lots of angel like blonde children and without gang violence and terrorist attacks but it has its darker sites, nontheless.

You have alcoholic and childish single moms, demanding soccer moms, absent dads and most importantly two teenagers who age at different speed which makes it hard to tell if they can preserve their childhood friendship.

This short film profits from its great child actors, a sharp and precise script and a thoughful execution that never tends to portray characters as purely black and white.