This movie may not be everyone's cup of tea. The main theme is a one-sided sexual relationship between an overbearing adult and a naive and gullible adolescent boy. Jonas being "already" sixteen years of age may make sexual intercourse with him legally permitted, but the fact remains that there's a huge unbalance between the two of them: the adult party acting as a self-appointed teacher and as the last hope of Jonas' ambition to succeed for his final exams, while young Jonas is (or at least feels to be) totally dependent of Pierre.
It's appalling to witness the machinations of Pierre and his two adult friends, who very gradually but deliberately succeed in sexual corrupting Jonas, making his first sexual experiences with his girlfriend into the favorite topic at the dinner table, with total disregard to Jonas' uneasiness on the subject, and at some point start to "teach" him the real stuff: making him witness them having sexual intercourse and going down on him, in the process teaching him so many adult tricks that his girlfriend can't cope with it and shies away. It's only in the very end of the movie that the balance weighs a little bit back in favor of Jonas, who - with the sleek opportunism of his age- , sees that his knowledge of Pierre now gives him control over him and makes him get what he wants: a degree. If the choice he makes is morally a good one is questionable, apparently the director wants us to judge for ourselves.
The adult actors have a bit of a pompous way of delivering their lines, but maybe that's to emphasize their deliberate and self-righteous character. Young Bloquet as Jonas however acts very natural and is totally convincing as the slightly dumb but eager to learn, impressionable adolescent, outwardly shrugging away his problems rather than facing or discussing them, but all the while subtly showing the inner turmoils and doubts he harbors. The direction calmly lets unfold the story by itself, there are no artistic mannerisms to distract the viewer; on the contrary, the direction is almost clinical and with that chillingly effective.
To sum it up: it's an impressive and bold movie with a repulsive story and a questionable morale, that lingers in your head for a long time and can cause some serious discussion on the topics of sexual exploitation and opportunism. Movies like this, that shake you up rather than entertain you are not a bad thing at all.
It's appalling to witness the machinations of Pierre and his two adult friends, who very gradually but deliberately succeed in sexual corrupting Jonas, making his first sexual experiences with his girlfriend into the favorite topic at the dinner table, with total disregard to Jonas' uneasiness on the subject, and at some point start to "teach" him the real stuff: making him witness them having sexual intercourse and going down on him, in the process teaching him so many adult tricks that his girlfriend can't cope with it and shies away. It's only in the very end of the movie that the balance weighs a little bit back in favor of Jonas, who - with the sleek opportunism of his age- , sees that his knowledge of Pierre now gives him control over him and makes him get what he wants: a degree. If the choice he makes is morally a good one is questionable, apparently the director wants us to judge for ourselves.
The adult actors have a bit of a pompous way of delivering their lines, but maybe that's to emphasize their deliberate and self-righteous character. Young Bloquet as Jonas however acts very natural and is totally convincing as the slightly dumb but eager to learn, impressionable adolescent, outwardly shrugging away his problems rather than facing or discussing them, but all the while subtly showing the inner turmoils and doubts he harbors. The direction calmly lets unfold the story by itself, there are no artistic mannerisms to distract the viewer; on the contrary, the direction is almost clinical and with that chillingly effective.
To sum it up: it's an impressive and bold movie with a repulsive story and a questionable morale, that lingers in your head for a long time and can cause some serious discussion on the topics of sexual exploitation and opportunism. Movies like this, that shake you up rather than entertain you are not a bad thing at all.