Movie review: Finnish gravidkaos in the Stupid young heart

Selma Vilhunen starting to be a private social realist genre in Finland, with a focus on young girls who are struggling to take their place in the world. The documentary ”Hobbyhorse revolution”, which came two years ago, was a minor sensation. A heartwarming journey into the strange subculture that revolves around käpphästridning (!) among the young adults.

Vilhunens spelfilmsdebut ”Little wing”, which won the Nordic council's big film prize in 2017, was also quite delectable, albeit more melancholic. A stripped-down, tender-hearted coming of age drama about a teenage girl who seeks out an absent father and ends up in the middle of a charged psychodrama.

With his new film ”Stupid young heart” takes Vilhunen out of the turns properly. Secondary school students Kiira and Lenni feel less than each other when it turns out that they are expecting a child together after a fyllefest six weeks earlier. In addition, they are extremely different. She belongs to the cool gang, have a lot of followers on Instagram and a clear exhibitionist side. He is a scrawny little kid who barely looks to have outgrown the toys in the pojkrummet.

”Stupid young heart”. Photo: Uwa Iduozee

the duo, residing in an immigrant dense Helsingforsförort, is that none of them have their own family life to hang in the christmas tree. They have no mothers who really have the energy to bother – and definitely no dads in sight.

the Baby in the stomach becomes a kind of flyktprojekt, a center for dreams of a life where the two hope to get to feel rewarded and needed. A fragile construction that falters early on when the Lenni starts easily after male role models in a group of högernationalistiska neighbors.

Not to draw comparisons, but Selma Vilhunen has the same impressive ability to find the perfect actors as her closely related british colleague Andrea Arnold (”Fish tank”, ”American honey”). Pink Honkonen and Jere Ristseppä manage to balance their considerably uncomfortable roles; the two children who ended up in adult life too early.

Rasistspåret hits, however, not quite right. It is a little too coarse tillyxat and give the rest of it so nice and tightly wrought drama of a painfully obvious bias.

See more. Three other films about teen pregnancy: ”the Boys in my life” (2001), ”Juno” (2004), ”Precious” (2007).

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