Tits

Ahead of a day at the beach with friends, teenage Oscar pulls on two t-shirts, observes himself closely in the mirror, turns sideways. It’s not his belly he’s looking at. There are other things about his shape which worry him. There’s a reason why he keeps one of the t-shirts on when he goes swimming, and it’s not just because he’s red haired and worried about getting burnt on this hot summer day.

Iben is squabbling with a friend when we first see her. They police each other’s sexual choices, though it’s not all that serious – it’s something which their closeness makes room for. The turn of conversation upon reaching the beach makes it clear that girls against boys is the rule at this stage in their lives. That doesn’t preclude sexual encounters, however, and Iben wastes no time in getting intimate with Jonas, whom she hopes to take back to a temporarily parent-free home. He, however, is more interested in watching their friend Nils dive and observing how well built he is. Frustrated, Iben goes for a swim herself – and then it becomes clear that if Jonas has no actual sexual interest in girls, he is still capable of fitting in to that assured heterosexual masculine social space by committing, or going along with, a misogynistic act.

This could simply have been a film about cruelty, but we’ve seen that before. Instead, it concentrates on what happens afterwards, as Oscar comes to Iben’s rescue and the two re-evaluate their impressions of one another. Defensive assumptions are set aside and there are moments of honest human contact. It’s a sweet look at the struggles of adolescence and the relief which accompanies a gradual emergence into respectful adult spaces. Although this is only a brief moment in time, we get the sense that it will stay with them, also changing the way that they think about other people – and about themselves.

With beautiful cinematography by Andreas Bjørseth, who captures the bright, fresh airiness of the beach but also the sense of intimacy and shifting possibilities which emerges as night falls, Tits is a deftly handled film which expresses a lot more than you might expect through its slight story. Directed with a light touch by Eivind Landsvik, it’s acutely aware of the fragility of its characters, and makes room for its young actors to deliver vulnerable, naturalistic performances. Nominated for the 2023 Cannes Film Festival Short Palme D’Or, it’s a refreshing treat.