This movie is a rare jewel.
Out of the gay "coming-of-age" stories I have seen, this one hit home the hardest for me. I never saw such an accurate portrayal of how it felt to fall in love when I was around fifteen years old myself. The acting in "Jongens" is amazingly natural and believable. Although it is isn't a high budget film, it doesn't detract from the experience at all. The cinematography and music perfectly accompany the drama.
Loving someone and not being able to show it. The elation of being in love, the lying awake and dreaming of someone, the enormous heartache felt when you still feel that showing what you really feel is impossible, driving you to do things that disgust and hurt you inside.
All children around the age of 11-15 should see this movie. And adults will understand and appreciate the drama, too, whether they are straight or gay. I don't remember seeing such an authentic portrayal of gay teenage love and of the difficulty gay teenagers experience even in a tolerant country such as the Netherlands.
Fantastic to see a gay-themed movie without anything remotely explicit, but that still so clearly shows the enormous tension and love between the lead characters. The German movie "Sommersturm" (Summer Storm) came close, but contains scenes that, while realistic and innocent too, may be found a little offensive by homophobes. "Jongens" is therefore the perfect movie to show to mixed crowds, and to educate people on the normality of being gay. This is the kind of movie a gay kid might show his parents.
Huge compliments to the makers for such a fantastically realistic portrayal of gay teenagers. Let's hope this movie will be shown to children all over the world, for homophobia is still rampant in so many countries. And this sincere drama won't offend even the most uneducated and intolerant person, if they are willing to learn the truth.
