The movie manages to be about everything it hopes to explore without doing any of its themes a disservice.
We experience this alongside her as Johanne talks us through the nuances of her feelings in voiceover.
The camera aligned with her warm gaze, managing to be flattering and desirous without ever becoming leery.
But it’s clear she carries some guilt over having hidden this from her family.
Karin then insists Johanne’s mother, Kristin (Ane Dahl Torp), be allowed to read it.
It is, we understand, a strikingly intimate memoir.
Custom image by César García
Haugerud is more interested in having us process our way through nuance and ambiguity, as his characters must.
And the movie helps us along as inLove, scenes are often structured as discussions that verge on dialectic.
Are we hearing her memoir?
Dreams (Sex Love) follows a seventeen-year-old girl’s sexual awakening as she falls in love with her female teacher. Capturing her emotions in a vivid diary, the story explores how her mother and grandmother, unaware of her true intentions, consider publishing the evocative writings.
One ofDreams' strengths is that its dramatic devices pair well with its interests.
And once we realize Johanne’s voiceover is retrospective, there’s an element of narrative intrigue at play.
Are we hearing her memoir?
If thisisn’ther memoir, what is the context of her narration?
How much does knowing what really happened actually matter?
When Haugerud’s trilogy makes its way into US theaters, this entry certainly isn’t to be missed.
