It’s time to turn back the clock. Let's go back
to the year 2008. Back when the internet was a bit stranger, where things
seemed a bit simpler and when I was an awkward teenager.
The same year Mannen Som Elsket Yngve (The Man Who Loved Yngve) was made.
The same year Mannen Som Elsket Yngve (The Man Who Loved Yngve) was made.
Mannen Som Elsket Yngve is a Norwegian foreign language film set
in Stavanger, Norway in the year 1989.
The film follows a trio of high school friends (Jarle, Helge and Catherine) who love music and whom form a rock band with dreams of making it big.
The three friends are absolutley different from everyone else in their city, and that’s their defining feature. They find everyone else uninteresting and couldn’t give a damn about what others think.
The film follows a trio of high school friends (Jarle, Helge and Catherine) who love music and whom form a rock band with dreams of making it big.
The three friends are absolutley different from everyone else in their city, and that’s their defining feature. They find everyone else uninteresting and couldn’t give a damn about what others think.
However, this all changes when a new kid named Yngve moves to town. He is different from the trio in almost every conceivable way, but Jarle
finds himself drawn to him for an unknown reason. This has drastic effects
on his relationship with Helge and Catherine.
Mannen Som Elsket Yngve touches on themes relating to forming
an identity in your adolescent years, the importance of personal relationships
and highlights how abhorred it was to be gay at that time (even in a progressive country like Norway).
Synopsis
As touched on earlier Mannen Som Elsket Yngve follows Jarle, Helge and Catherine as the three live out their high school days in style.
Jarle and Catherine are even in an exclusive relationship. They are crazy for each other. Young love, right? We’ve all been there. And Jarle and Helge have been best friends for quite some time.
The three of them always stick together and hate everything that it considered popular, mainstream or preppy.
So it’s a huge surprise when Jarle finds himself drawn to a
new kid named Yngve, who dresses like a prep, plays tennis and loves 80’s synth
pop. Jarle begins to spend more time with Yngve which takes away time from his
band-mates (who can’t stand Yngve).
As the film goes on, things between the three friends become
heated. Jarle finds himself confused and in a huge mess. And Yngve is caught in
a crossfire between the three friends.
What exactly is it between Jarle and Yngve? Is it friendship?
Intrigue? Love? Lust? Or is it something entirely different?
Important Themes
Mannen Som Elsket Yngve quite rightly touches on sensitive themes focusing on young love, adolescence and understanding yourself.
1989 was a time where all things were uncertain. The Berlin Wall was about to fall, the Cold War
was about to be put to an end, political opinions were all over the place and
caught in between all of that were a generation of teens who were trying to grow into themselves.
At the time, Norway was
considered to be a progressive country with many advocating for peace,
inclusion and social cohesion. However, this did not go as far just yet to be all-inclusive
for people with LGBTQ or alternative lifestyles.
Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1972 in Norway. The country actually became the first nation to enact a law to prevent discrimination against LGBT
people by amending the country’s penal code in 1981.
But, same-sex marriage and adoption only became legal in 2009. So it’s not hard to imagine that from 1981 to 2009 being gay was something that was tolerated, but not altogether widely accepted.
But, same-sex marriage and adoption only became legal in 2009. So it’s not hard to imagine that from 1981 to 2009 being gay was something that was tolerated, but not altogether widely accepted.
Mannen Som Elsket Yngve touches on this point vividly through
it’s depiction of the character Yngve. As everyone at his school had a ‘feeling’
that something was ‘off about him’.
Nevertheless, Norway has continued to be a country proud of
it’s liberal values and progressive attitude toward social issues.
Pushing the Norwegian government to be a prime example of how national policies should change along with the changes of it’s citizenry.
Pushing the Norwegian government to be a prime example of how national policies should change along with the changes of it’s citizenry.
Conclusion
Mannen Som Elsket Yngve is one of those films that left a lasting effect on me.
Maybe it was the actors; maybe it was the believable 1989 atmosphere they created; maybe even the music. But for some reason I have always remembered it as one of my favourite Norwegian films.
Sometimes the film gives you some Breakfast Club vibes about
a group of misfits swashbuckling through life and at other times giving you a
taste of the party life seen in Risky Business. Which is an amazing feat.
For me Mannen Som Elsket Yngve was
a one of a kind experience in that retrospect. It played on nostalgia very
well, while telling a different and entertaining story.
Be sure to see Mannen Som Elsket Yngve. It’s a
classic. It’s worth your time. And it sure is good.
