The Movie:

In the Dutch made-for-television movie Boys, an awkward teen bonds with a teammate on his high school's track team. It counts as yet another gay coming-of-age tale, yet director Mischa Camp directs this familiar story with a keen subtlety and understanding of what real teens go through. The setting may be a semi-rural suburb in the Netherlands (where teenagers apparently prefer outdoor activities to videogames and texting on their phones), but this tender coming-out story is presented in a way that's identifiable to most anyone who's ever grappled with being gay and in the closet.

The quiet, meditative Boys unfolds with lovely photography and toned-down performances that complement the melodrama-free story. For once, the teens in this story are played by actual teenagers - and they're excellent. Danish actor Gijs Blom does a nuanced job as the lead character, Sieger, a hesitant 15 year-old living in a single-parent household with his widower dad, Theo (Ton Kas), and a rebellious older brother, Eddy (Jonas Smulders). Being gay but not openly so, his outlet is the track and field team at his high school, where he has been promoted to the competitive relay team along with his longtime friend, Stef (Stijn Taverne). One of the other relay team members, Marc (Ko Zandvilet), is an outgoing boy on whom Sieger has had a crush. Sensing the attraction, Marc attempts to find ways to get them alone together, but Sieger keeps pushing him away since being in a boy-boy relationship would disrupt his already jam-packed life. Sieger can't deny his strong feelings for Marc, however, which ends up causing complications for everyone - from both guys' families to their teammates and friends.

Boys certainly has a keen understanding of the teen conundrum of trying to fit in with peers, even if it means suppressing one's true self - dramatized here with Sieger and Marc's mutual romantic attraction. As it plays out, Marc becomes Sieger's secret friend, while in public he goes on casual double-dates with Stef and the girl he gathered the courage to ask out. The girls are part of an older clique at school who spend their extra-curricular time drinking beer and racing motorcycles in the forests outside their town. That party-hearty group includes Sieger's confrontational brother, Eddy, whose presence contributes to the boy's nervous refusal to let his guard down. Sieger's discomfort in his own skin also becomes apparent to Jessica (Lotte Razoux Schultz), the sweet classmate who is set up as Sieger's "girlfriend" by their mutual friends. The Sieger/Jessica relationship is done as realistically as his falling for Marc. As with Sieger's home life with his dad valiantly trying to raise two very different boys, the screenplay and direction is done with a great deal of respect for the characters. Like the changing of the seasons, the action unfolds organically from one situation to another.

Besides a few passionate kissing scenes between Sieger and Marc, Boys is done with a thoughtful eye toward a wider (non-gay) audience - it's ideal for LGBT kids and their parents to watch and discuss. The director, Mischa Camp, does indulge in a few cliché bits such as starting each scene in an out-of-focus haze (an effect that looks dreamy at first, then quickly becomes repetitive), although he does have a knack for getting comfortable, realistic work from the cast. Despite its few flaws, the movie is a sweetly understated treat.