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Young Hearts
Movie

Young Hearts

2024 • Drama, Family, Romance

Woke Score
5
out of 10

Plot

Elias develops feelings for his new neighbor Alexander. He soon realizes he's falling in love for the first time.

Overall Series Review

Young Hearts is a Belgian-Dutch coming-of-age drama that dedicates its entire focus to the theme of sexual identity and first love. The plot centers on Elias, a 14-year-old boy in a rural setting, who is confronted with his own burgeoning same-sex attraction when his confident, openly gay neighbor Alexander moves in next door. The film is characterized by a gentle and humanistic tone, treating the queer relationship not as a struggle against trauma but as a universal experience of first romance. It operates within a strongly secular and progressive framework, though it notably avoids extreme criticisms of Western institutions. The central conflict is Elias's internal battle between hiding his feelings and embracing his sexual identity, with this theme overshadowing all other possible narrative concerns. The acceptance by the older generation, including Elias's farming grandfather, is immediate and enlightened, which diffuses external conflict. The film’s high score is driven almost exclusively by the complete centering of the LGBTQ+ ideology, while the other woke categories remain mostly dormant.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics3/10

The narrative does not center on an intersectional hierarchy of immutable characteristics or class struggle. All main characters are white, and the story’s conflict is purely personal and relational. The characters are judged by their authenticity and self-acceptance, not by systemic oppression or vilification of whiteness.

Oikophobia2/10

The film does not frame the home culture or Western civilization as fundamentally corrupt or racist. Elias's family unit is stable and supportive, with his rural farmer grandfather being depicted as 'enlightened' and accepting of the relationship. Institutions like the family are largely presented as a positive and safe environment.

Feminism2/10

The core plot focuses on the emotional journey of two male protagonists. The female characters, such as Elias's sort-of girlfriend, are peripheral to the main emotional arc. There is no presence of the 'Girl Boss' trope, nor is there any overt anti-family or anti-natal messaging.

LGBTQ+9/10

The story's entire premise is the sexual awakening and centering of a same-sex relationship between two teenage boys. The film dedicates its runtime to exploring this specific sexual identity and the protagonist's process of coming out, moving far from a normative structure. This theme is the most important trait in the narrative's construction.

Anti-Theism3/10

Traditional religion is entirely absent from the film's conflict and themes. The movie adheres to a secular morality based on self-acceptance and emotional honesty. It does not actively demonize Christianity or religious characters but operates within a spiritual vacuum where morality is entirely subjective and humanist, avoiding the acknowledgment of any objective moral law.