Berlinale 2025: Dag Johan Haugerud’s Golden Bear Winner ‘Desires’
by Alex Billington
February 23, 2025
“I used to be merely head over heels in love with Johanna. That is why I wrote it down. To maintain it with me.” After one other lengthy winter movie pageant on the finish of February, the 2025 Berlin Movie Competition introduced the award winners – giving the Golden Bear prime prize to Norwegian filmmaker Dag Johan Haugerud and his movie referred to as Desires (in English). This heat and fuzzy Norwegian movie is deserving of the highest prize at this 12 months’s pageant, lastly a winner that appears to be much less of a political choose and extra about fantastic filmmaking getting reconigition. I am glad I had an opportunity to meet up with Desires on the finish of Berlinale, proper earlier than it could go on to win, as it’s a critically healthful and uplifting cinematic expertise. Everybody feels higher after watching it. And I am glad I might catch this one on the large display screen and take it in, be wrapped up in it, really feel the heat it exudes like the heat of the sunshine from the projector. Desires is the third characteristic in Dag Johan Haugerud’s current trilogy & it’s undoubtedly the perfect of the three. He actually did save the perfect for final.
Desires is initially referred to as Drømmer in Norwegian, each written and directed by Norwegian filmmaker Dag Johan Haugerud. It is the third his Intercourse / Love / Desires trilogy, following the opposite movies Intercourse (which premiered on the 2024 Berlin Movie Competition one 12 months in the past) and Love (which premiered on the very finish of the 2024 Venice Movie Competition final 12 months so not many individuals noticed it there). All the movies cope with romance, and with particular points of romance and love, together with the dynamics of intercourse and the intricacies of affection and the facility of ardour. Desires is about precisely what that title is – the desires and wishes and fantasies we now have about different folks. The story follows a younger Norwegian teenager named Johanne, starring Ella Øverbye, who experiences her first overwhelming emotions of affection for one more lady. It simply so occurs to be a lustful ardour for her French trainer, named Johanna (performed by Selome Emnetu), although nothing ever actually occurs. She writes all her emotions & wishes down in a 95-page journal, which she lets her grandma learn in a while, who then shares it together with her mom. This story shocks & upsets & surprises them, till they give it some thought extra and are available to slowly admire her remarkably sincere expression of affection and the way potent it’s.
Watching this fantastically sincere and healthful movie looks like being wrapped up in a heat scarf, tenderly twirled round you by your grandma who smiles with the loveliest look as she tugs at it to be sure you’re all comfortable and comfortable. What a beautiful, poetic, peaceable, passionate work of cinema. That is as soon as once more the last word energy of actually nice cinema, and I am glad Berlinale gave this movie the Golden Bear because it actually stands out on this 12 months’s choice. Dag Johan Haugerud lastly found out how you can let the heat of the filmmaking play correctly into the story being informed so actually by the characters. That is additionally the perfect Norwegian movie about younger love informed via the eyes of a younger lady in Oslo since 2021’s The Worst Individual within the World, and actually deserves simply as a lot admiration and appreciation. I watched Haugerud’s different movie on this trilogy, Intercourse, at Berlinale final 12 months, and was largely underwhelmed, because it goes on and on for 2 hours with out actually leaving an enduring impression. Not a really uplifting movie, both. I have not had the possibility to observe Love but, however critiques from Venice have been blended. Desires is ready to inform its story, specializing in the lives of a number of Norwegian girls and their deep wishes, whereas additionally being an enlightening expertise. You’ll really feel wiser afterwards.
Even when I do assume this can be a fantastic movie, it isn’t good (is love ever good?) and does have just a few points that trouble me. I used to be a bit unhappy in regards to the ending and what is going on on with Johanne, however fortunately it corrects itself by the point the credit roll. The purpose of the movie is not to deal with every little thing about her and her decisions, and it form of skips over the truth that that is her queer sexual awakening, however that is effective. The movie is far more about ardour and fantasy and love. It is also fascinating to select up on what he is making an attempt to say with this story. The load of the entire state of affairs is so intense for everybody concerned, however as time goes on, everybody strikes on from it as nicely. That is how these experiences are for a lot of. It at all times sounds harsh within the second, however you will transfer on and discover another person, you’ll go on to have even larger love… or perhaps not. Whereas her story revealed as a ebook could also be useful for some, it is simply one in all many examples of need. Above all, I am delighted that Desires is one other cozy, intimate, tender movie that leaves an impression by being so heat and hopeful when so many different movies aren’t lately. Extra of those form of movies, please and thanks.
Alex’s Berlinale 2025 Score: 8 out of 10
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