We Are Okay Now | Vi er okay nu (2017)
We Are Okay Now | Vi er okay nu (2017)
Synopsis (adapted from IMDB):
Jonnah (Lasse Steen Jensen), a troubled gay teen, hangs out after a party with his straight best-mate, Demitri (Peter Ousager), who he is in love with. A recent traumatic experience, however, looms over them.
Review:
We Are Okay Now | Vi er okay nu is a Danish 19-minute short, directed by Rebecca Emcken (who also directed Cognitio (2018)) and Andy Deshaun. It’s the story of two friends rebuilding their dynamic after a traumatic event, with an effective script and strong acting. Potentially not the most memorable short film out there and not necessarily one you’d watch again and again, but I would recommend giving it a watch.
The short film starts with a boy with brown hair, Jonnah, running away from something, seemingly scared. This is our first indication that something bad has happened. In our next seen we see the same boy, but now rebranded with dyed bright, white hair, lying drunk on the ground outside at a party. He’s joined by Demitri who is checking up on him, and the two sit outside and have some drunk chat. Jonnah talks about taking a trip together to Germany and then asks Demitri if he can kiss him, with Demitri initially saying no. Jonnah continues trying to convince him, and Demitri eventually gives in, as long as his girlfriend doesn’t find out, and the two kiss. After the kiss things are a little awkward and they leave together to get home from the party.
We then enter an uncomfortable dream sequence involving Jonnah, Demitri and another man. The dream starts with the kiss between Jonnah and Demitri and morphs into a nightmarish scene where Jonnah is assaulted by the other man as Demitri watches.
With Jonnah having stayed over at Demitri’s house, the two casually chat in the kitchen in the morning. There’s brilliant friendship chemistry in this scene, and it’s clear the two are old friends – the acting is very natural, it feels like a very real friendship. This chat is abruptly ended when Demitri’s girlfriend calls and it is clear Jonnah feels deserted by his friend because of the girlfriend. After the call, Jonnah tells Demitri that what happened to him was not his fault.
By this point it has become clear that Jonnah and Demitri were best friends, and that Jonnah had fancied Demitri and had been trying to make moves on him. Demitri had wanted to stop Jonnah’s advances, so encouraged him to go with another man, and this man then raped Jonnah.
Demitri feels responsible for having redirected Jonnah towards this other man and subsequently he wants to make up for his perceived failing as a friend – he wants to become a person of comfort again and is now fiercely protective of Jonnah.
Jonnah on the other hand, can see how his friend feels and wants to unburden him of responsibility for what happened – but he also still clearly has feelings for his friend as seen by how he wants to travel with him to Germany and how hurt he looks at being left for the girlfriend.
The sensitive way this film handles a horrendous incident should be lauded. It’s well-paced and not over-the-top at all. It’s not the most captivating short film out there, but it does what it is trying to do well. It’s a story of Jonnah’s impossible love, a traumatic occurrence, and the guilt of Demitri. The plot is simple and the chemistry between Jonnah and Demitri is spot on.
Favourite Quote:
“But well…I’m a pretty good kisser. You’re missing out, but that’s up to you.” - Jonnah
Tone: Sombre
Score: 6/10
Other observations:
The place is Germany that Jonnah wants to visit seems to be Prora, which has a short film of the same name, Prora (2012).
Jonnah is played by Lasse Steen Jensen of short film Cognitio (2018) and the music video of Kadie Elder’s First Time He Kissed a Boy (2014).
This film highlights the pain of having feelings for someone who can’t feel the same back, and how even when one knows that it is never going to happen, it is hard to just turn those feelings off.