Wij Zijn 18

Nine 18-year-old boys who don’t know one another are taken from their familiar surroundings and brought together in a posh country house. We see the young men in all their vulnerability and strength in dark shades of black-and-white. There’s a lot of talking: drugs, alcohol and sex, but also intimacy, bullying and the future are covered. Admitted to the adult world, their self-awareness starts to grow. The young men feel conflicting emotions in all their ferocity, as they wrestle with feelings of responsibility and desire for freedom. Some of them are aware of the chaos this brings. “I like chaos, but this degree of chaos means a complete muddle. And it won’t get you anywhere, either,” Rutger replies when filmmaker Tomas Kaan asks him whether he would like to stop time at this point in his life. The confusion involved in becoming a man permeates the film. Left to their own devices in their temporary home or horsing around by an open fire, the boys’ interaction evokes Lord Of The Flies. The existential musings, adult conversations with philosophical leanings and fledgling wisdom provide some amazing insight into the heads of these young men on the verge of adulthood. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)