Heartstone. Corazones de piedra

With Heartstone (2016), Icelandic writer-director Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson delivers an outstanding feature film debut about adolescence.

The setting of the story in a small isolated Icelandic fishing village, combined with truly amazing performances by the young actors, gives the themes of friendship, identity, love, puberty and sexual awakening an incredible power. Added to this, the beautiful photography and use of landscapes and, not the least, the wonderfully composed score by Danish Kristian Eidnes Andersen, make the film a heart-breaking, beautiful force - and a proof of true filmmaking talent.

Seen at the Film Fest Ghent 2016 (website: filmfestival.be/en). Despite earlier resolutions to never see coming-of-age movies again, I booked tickets for this one as it looked different, and it indeed was different too. Of course, the usual pubertal problems were not avoided, but did not stay in the foreground too much, thereby not overwhelming the real issues this movie was about, as outlined in the IMDb synopsis, plus some other interesting topics as an extra freebie.

The total running time of over 2 hours is well spent, and is really needed to explore the relevant topics and the insides of the main protagonists. Part of the time is devoted to related problems in the environment of the two young men. One example is Thor's divorced mother, also Christian's parents as a second example, each with their own set of problems. All this combines nicely together in the main story line, taking care of a welcome deviation from the central theme that some may consider not heavy enough to stand on its own feet. Thor's sister as well as the two young women who are the obvious candidate partners for Thor and Christian, have their own useful role, yet are a bit sidelined in the overall story.

All in all, it is obvious that Thor and Christian are the main protagonists, who succeed very well in carrying the full story from A to Z. Apart from aforementioned threesome girls (Thorn's sister plus two) being portrayed a bit too stereotypical, the rest of the cast performs very well in their respective roles, be it large or small. All of them act believably and none are cardboard characters. And finally, can we deem Island's nature to be an additional protagonist, perfectly casted and playing very naturally??

This film tells the story of two young boys, who are experiencing and exploring romantic feelings in their Icelandic summer.

Much of the first half of the film portrays violence, bullying and animal cruelty. The antisocial behaviors are quite shocking to me, as I have always imagined the idyllic Iceland to be a peaceful place with nice people. As the turbulence grows, the tension between the children increases. It is sad to see that Thor does not see what is blindingly obvious, and it takes a tragic event to wake him up. This story is a harsh coming of age film.

Very hard movie to watch very beautiful landscapes and setting. In Iceland blood runs thick I think it was all done very well and Realistically and it is so sad such a sad story All the animal abuse was not fun to watch but added a reasonable and important effect to Kristján and Thor's mindsets. I think there is a lot of talent in all of these child actors but I do think the subject matter breached comfortability for me watching them act. Very rough scenes: when Kristján is screaming underwater When Thor almost falls down the cliff When Kristján is crying in the horse stables

2020 Edit :

This movie has been in the back of my mind the whole day. I think it's because there's a lot to unpack here and I went to bed last night without processing it all. Before I get into the actual review let me just say that this was visually, emotionally, and captivatingly stunning.

So at first, I thought that I only enjoyed this because it was filmed in Iceland and the landscape (and skies and sunsets and clouds!!) were amazing. Looking back, I think that wasn't entirely it. The imagery was intertwined with the emotive connotations of each scene so thoughtfully. I take back what I said in my last review about moving to Wales, I'm going to Iceland instead.

Heartstone is a coming of age film revolving around the lives of two best friends, Thor and Christian. Both boys have difficult familial relationships and are going through the awkwardness and drama that comes with being a teen. They can rely on each other, their friends, and the two girls that take romantic interests in them. It was so fun to watch them learn from their town and their friends and grapple with really introspective feelings and thoughts about themselves. I felt like I was there with them and often felt this weird aesthetically stimulating sensation which was so cool to experience.

I liked that there was no big revelation or "aha moment" of self-discovery because your identity isn't something you just come to terms with overnight (although Christian does experience some very detrimental and critical things that do change his life quite drastically, he is multifaceted and continues to battle with these things throughout the entirety of the movie). These moments are scaffolded and broken down into reasonable pieces. I thought the film did a great job of expanding on this, and it alludes to the fact that both of these characters will probably still be battling an internal struggle in the future. Coming of age teen movies often feel the need to tie up all loose ends, but I'm glad that this didn't. The actors were did a fantastic job of expressing the complexity of what the characters were feeling.

If you are looking for a couple of hours of solitude, beauty, and reflection, this is your jackpot. There is so much more I could say about this but I think I'll rewatch and maybe do another review so I can nuance my thoughts a bit more.

Must watch! The movie just grips you from the start and does not let go. The acting is superp and the shots are beautiful. It portrays the harshness of the wilderness with the first feeling of the youth coming of age.