Heartless
Heartless is a sumptuous and triumphant coming-of-age film. It’s absolutely gorgeous to behold. 8.1/10
I complain so much about the over abundance of coming-of-age movies. I think I need to be more specific with my criticism. It’s actually just individual countries or continents where I’m tired of it. Most of Europe and North America? Nah, I’ve seen it. Asia? Depends on the region. Oceania? I’m good with them actually, but you’re on thin ice. South America? Actually, I think I’ve liked most coming-of-age movies I’ve seen from there. Today’s film, Heartless hails from Brazil. And I thought it was excellent.
In 1996, Tamara spends her summer with a group of friends before her family is set to move to Brasilia in a few weeks. Tamara and her friends explore, swim and experiment with early romance and sexuality. There’s also a girl who’s not exactly a friend, who many of Tamara’s cohort bully and call “Heartless.” Tamara doesn’t understand their bullying. She develops an interest in Heartless and begins to spend time with her as Tamara’s feelings grow.
Among Tamara’s friends, sexual experimentation is pretty common. The boys kiss each other, the girls kiss each other, the boys and the girls kiss. Though this is not a film that’s about how the younger generation is simply beyond considerations of gender. When two of Tamara’s male friends dance together in public, they’re met with violent homophobia. Instead, the casual experimentation shows how close-knit this friend group is. They’re doing something still unusual and societally frowned upon; but within their bubble of youthful adventure, this is another thing to share with people who you trust.
Heartless is an incredibly visually evocative movie. Vibrant and excellently utilizing coastal Brazil’s natural landscapes, you can feel the heat and humidity of Tamara’s summer adventures. The coming-of-age film is a subgenre populated by really beautifully shot films. Heartless still stands out among them. Partially because of how well it uses its location and because I am less familiar and jaded in seeing that location. The flora and fauna of Brazil rendered in such dreamy vibrance is such a gorgeous backdrop for this particular story about a teenage summer.
With films that primarily detail teenage crushes, I sometimes overthink their inclusion on this site. Confusion is more than common at this age, and a fixation on a person isn’t always proof of their sexuality. In Heartless, it’s clear that this is a romantic crush for Tamara rather than some intense friendship. Tamara enjoys watching VHS lesbian porn. She’s shown to desire women even before she fixates on Heartless. But a real girl is much scarier than those women on the TV screen. So despite the openness of her friends and Heartless’s magnetic presence, Tamara always struggles to fully cross that line. At least, until the end of the summer, when Tamara is about to leave. With little left to lose, only here does she act on her feelings for this other girl.
Heartless is a sumptuous and triumphant coming-of-age film. It’s absolutely gorgeous to behold. Populating the stunning visuals is a story of youthful freedom, the agony of romantic feelings and the ever-present threat of the outside “adult” world that impedes on the freedom of these young people.
Overall rating: 8.1/10
Other WLW films in similar genres
One summer of youth
Films from Brazil