Sebastian

Only our friends in Scandinavia and Holland handle the topic of sexuality so well. I would have liked this film more if one or both of "the parents" had been somewhat more negative, making the film more realistic.

If you liked this one, try "Doing Time On Maple Drive", an American attempt at a similar plot, but I have to say, with more depth.

Basically I watched this movie because there was nothing else better on TV and because of pure curiosity. It sounded like a nice coming of age story, taking place in the summer and I thought it would be rather enjoyable. I was wrong.

Sebastian, the protagonist, is a teenager growing up in a Scandinavian idyll: His family is intact; he has a younger sister, a bunch of friends who love him and leads a normal life. Sebastian is about to become a man and as it is often the case with boys going on men he often locks himself in his room, thinks about the meaning of life and nearly drives his parents mad with his behaviour. One day, Sebastian finds out that he's gay. I don't want tell how this goes on because one more sentence and there you have the really stupid rest of the movie. Let me express it this way: Unlike other teenagers, Sebastian will not face any difficulties with his coming out and I suppose that even when he made a big poster having written "I am gay" on it and would parade with it through his village wearing a pink boa, still nobody would bother or say anything.

Being a teenager is sometimes hard enough – being 16 and facing the fact that one's gay is definitely not that easy. I don't mean to be dramatic – maybe there are enough gay teenagers whose parents and friends don't have a big problem with them being gay. But I know that in most cases it's a painful and difficult process – I speak from my own experiences. Therefore I think it's a shame how easy this process is portrayed in the movie – it is trying to imply that it's OK to be gay and come out with it – nobody will hate you for that and nothing will change. I mean of course it's OK to be gay, but you can't tell me that everyone will take it as if you tell them that the sky is blue. "Sebastian" is shallow, hypocrite, definitely not a big help for a teenager who comes in terms with his sexuality because it's unrealistic. I would even go so far and prevent them from watching it, or if they do, they just shouldn't take it seriously. Nice performances by the young actors, though.

It is like comparing Coca Cola with some no name coke drink. Both look the same, smell the same and taste sweet. But no other drink gives you the refreshing effect of the original. Same it is here: It seems to be a movie that shows a teenager coming in terms with his homosexuality. But there are much better movies dealing with this topic – I especially recommend "Beautiful Thing" and "Edge of Seventeen". Compared to those movies, "Sebastian" is the no name product – tastes too sweet and leaves no impression at all.

A film of astonishing emotional depth, accurately portraying real life and situations. Everything that happened to Sebastian on screen happened to me in exactly the same way in real life.

I don't understand what sex and bed scenes other reviewers are talking about-when you fall in love, if you're not a complete wreck, you dream of mutual attention and recognition, not just bedroom pleasures.

Sebastian's parents do indeed react very gently, but the shock of the parents, who in the best Norwegian traditions do not unleash their aggression on the child, is left off-screen. This is a genuine reaction, not theatrical. They simply believe in other methods of upbringing. Similarly, many people I know in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden practice such a gentle approach to children.

Yes, everything is exactly as shown in the film-you stand by the window and worry, think, talk to yourself, and still can't understand who you are. All the phrases, behavior, and thought patterns are taken from real people. Of course, not everyone feels and thinks this way, so not everyone understands that it is realistic-people may simply feel differently and therefore not understand this film or find common ground with it.

For me, Sebastian will forever remain a film of poignant longing, dreams, sadness, and sorrow about the fact that I never met such a Sebastian, but was him and experienced a similar story as he did with Ulf.

OK, so there was no gratuitous sex in this coming out story. And too, there wasn't even any male on male kissing. If that's what you're looking for it can be found abundantly in some other coming out stories like Beautiful Thing and Edge of Seventeen (both of which I highly recommend). To me this story WAS sweet, and pleasantly so. It was kind of like a Norwegian after-school special--Remember those from the 1970s?

So I'll grant that it wasn't overly realistic. But at least it did provide a positive resolution. That's something many a gay teen in the 80s didn't think was remotely possible. In essence it was a squeaky clean feel good take on coming out. I'm sure there have been at least a few of those in the past and likely more and more up to the present.

So to sum up, in my opinion Sebastian is not nearly as bad as some would have you think. It's nothing deep, nothing profound--but still enjoyable in my book...There's definitely some fun 80s kitsch going on too!

Wam & Vennerød have produced quite a lot of gay films over the years, and this one proved to be like its predecessors, it was so bad that it was entertaining, and not in any way managing to send out the message it was supposed to in a fashionable way.

To make it short, the plot is realistic, but it is carried off with an extremely superficial and cliché-ridden screenplay. The acting is not in any way credible, except if we are supposed to believe that the mother is psychopath. The cinematography is nice, but there are so many scenes that doesn't have anything to do with the story, and should have been edited away, but on the other hand the film would probably have been half an hour long or something like that. I guess that says it all; a very weak story, but the whole thing is very entertaining if you choose to watch it with such an attitude.

As a serious film with a serious message, it's worth nothing, but if you want to have fun, see it! If not, see "Beautiful Thing" 100 times before you dare laying your hands on this one!