''Sebastian'' (alternative title ''När alla vet'') is a 1995

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

film based on the novel by Per Knutsen that chronicles the

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

experience of a teenage boy. It is directed by

Svend Wam Svend Olaf Wamnes Akstuft, known as Svend Wam (5 May 1946 – 7 May 2017), was a Norwegian film director. Wam was born in Son, Norway. He was best known for his collaborations with Petter Vennerød, creating fourteen films under the moniker ' ...

Plot

16-year-old Sebastian ( Hampus Björck) has nice parents and a great circle of friends, is doing well in school, has good looks, and leads a happy life—or at least that is what everyone thinks. Secretly, he has been brooding for some time over the fact that he is in love with his best friend, the rather hunky Ulf (

Nicolai Cleve Broch Nicolai Cleve Broch (born 14 November 1975) is a Norwegian theatre and film actor. He rose to national fame playing one of the leading roles in the 2002 drama series ''Lekestue'', which aired on NRK in 2002. He is also known for playing the prota ...

). One evening, after some playful frolicking around with Ulf, Sebastian plants a kiss on Ulf's lips, not exactly to the latter's delight. Being sexually rejected in this way throws Sebastian into an even deeper depression about his sexuality. He refuses to discuss these issues with his parents and only after a long talk with a female friend of his, who is also in love with Ulf and guesses correctly what Sebastian's problem could be, he opens up to his family and friends, only to find that it is not all that problematic to them. Even the coming out to Ulf, which he anticipated to be very painful, turns out to be not so bad and actually takes a comical turn when Ulf admits to having had a

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

experience himself some time ago. In the end, basically nothing has changed, except that Sebastian no longer has to waste energy guarding his secret and can instead concentrate on being happy, having fun with his friends, and perhaps finding a real boyfriend someday.

Cast

* Hampus Björck as Sebastian *

as Ulf *

Ewa Fröling Ewa Fröling, (Eva Marie Fröling; born 9 August 1952) is a Swedish actress and director who was born in Stockholm. She is internationally most recognized for her leading parts in Gunnel Lindblom's ''Sally och friheten'' (as Sally) and Ingmar B ...

as Mother *

Helge Jordal Helge Jordal (born 17 February 1946) is a Norwegian actor. He was appointed a Knight of the Royal Order of St. Olav in 2006 for his long career as an actor both on screen and on stage, and for his position as a "grand old man" among Norwegian a ...

as Father *

Rebecka Hemse Ingrid Rebecka Elisabet Hemse (born 4 August 1975) is a Swedish actress. She is best known for her role as Martin Beck's daughter Inger. She works at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. In 2008, she was Ofelia in Staffan Valdemar Holm's t ...

as Lisbeth * Lena Olander as Linda * Emil Lindroth as Jan *

Karin Hagås Karin may refer to: *Karin (given name), a feminine name Fiction * ''Karin'' (manga) or ''Chibi Vampire'', a Japanese media franchise *Karin Hanazono, title character of the manga and anime ''Kamichama Karin'' *Karin Kurosaki, a character in ''Bl ...

as Inga *

Mira Mandoki Mira (), designation Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, abbreviated Omicron Cet, ο Cet), is a red-giant star estimated to be 200–400 light-years from the Sun in the constellation Cetus. ο Ceti is a binary stellar system, consisting of a vari ...

as Lisa * Stig Torstensson as Fyllie *

Sara Alström Sara Catharina Alström (born 28 October 1975 in Stockholm) is a Swedish actress. She started acting when she was 11 years old, then together with her younger sister Hanna. She studied at Balettakademien 1993–95 and Kulturama 1994–96 and ...

as Girl #1 *

Johanna Sällström Johanna Maria Ellinor Berglund-Sällström (30 December 1974 – 13 February 2007) was a Swedish actress, best known for her portrayal of Linda Wallander in '' Wallander''. She worked as an actress for more than 15 years, before her death in 200 ...

as Girl #2 *

Bård Torgersen Bård is a Norwegian masculine given name. It is a Norwegian form of the Old Norse name ''Bárðr''. Sometimes it also appears as a surname. It may refer to: Given name * Bård Borgersen (born 1972), Norwegian football player * Bård Breien (bo ...

as Vendor

Reactions

In critical reviews, ''Sebastian'' is frequently dismissed as escapist gay youth fare that does not address any deeper issues. However, as the movie points out correctly, the most difficult part of the coming out process is fighting one's inner uncertainty and self-doubt. And even if (as in the case of Sebastian) a coming out is comparatively eventless, the inner resolve required to take that step stays the same.

External links

* 1995 films Films directed by Svend Wam Swedish LGBT-related films LGBT-related drama films LGBT-related coming-of-age films 1995 LGBT-related films 1995 drama films 1990s Swedish films {{LGBT-drama-film-stub