The Man Who Loved Yngve – Men som elsket Yngve (2008)

Directed by: Stian Kristiansen | 90 minutes | drama, music, romance | Actors: Rolf Kristian Larsen, Arthur Berning, Ida Elise Broch, Ole Christoffer Ertvåg, Jørgen Langhelle, Trine Wiggen, Knut Sverdrup Kleppestø, Andreas Cappelen, Vegar Hoel, Mari Langfeldt, Erlend Stene, Lasse Holdhus, Marko Iversen Kanic, Kristoffer Joner

Stavanger 1989. The Berlin Wall has just fallen, but seventeen-year-old Jarle has other things on his mind than the political consequences of this event. The hormones are coursing through his young adolescent body and his creative brain is working at full speed to write songs for his Mattias Rust Band, Stavanger’s most hardcore punk band, according to Jarle and his band mates. With a beautiful girlfriend and a bunch of passionate band members, Jarle seems to have everything going for it. But his life is turned upside down when he realizes that he has fallen in love with a boy. And not just any one. Yngve embodies everything that his friends say Jarle should be ashamed of. He plays tennis and he listens to the soft music of Japan!

Where ‘Fucking Åmål’ (also called ‘Show Me Love’, 1998) showed in an infectious way a budding lesbian relationship between two teenagers, ‘The Man Who Loved Yngve’ opts for a gay relationship. Furthermore, the films differ in perspective: ‘Fucking Åmål’ tells the story from the point of view of the girl who already knows she is a lesbian and ‘Yngve’ is based on the boy who has yet to discover his homosexual feelings. But in terms of feel, the films are not that far apart. Both reflect very well the world of teenagers and the major mental consequences that the smallest events can cause.

What makes the films so strong above all is that the actors are completely believable. We’re dealing with real youngsters here, not baby-faced fake teens in their late twenties (as in many Hollywood movies). In addition, young people who bring a wonderfully natural game. Rolf Kristian Larsen is an excellent Jarle with his engaging smile and whimsical character. And Ole Christoffer Ertvåg convinces as the modest Yngve, the pivot around whom everything revolves. Their interplay, full of probing glances and uncertain silences, possesses a poignant authenticity that you do not doubt for a moment.

With a beautiful soundtrack full of songs by bands such as Joy Division, The Cure, Roxette and The Jesus & Mary Chain and a wonderfully relaxed tempo (in the late eighties people were considerably less in a hurry than they are now), the film is a pleasant seat for people who maintain such modesty. The only point of criticism is the editing. No doubt due to the fact that ‘Yngve’ is a book adaptation, some scenes follow each other very suddenly – as if a few pages have suddenly been skipped. But that just means the movie could have been even better than it already is. And it is already more than worth it!