Gino clearly has feelings for Pim, but acknowledges that life is about “choices,” and his is to pursue a life with a woman.īoth mothers, Yvette and Marcella, also seek love but in different ways: Yvette looks to the future, seeking a free, unshackled life, running away with her young boyfriend, while Marcella is trapped in the past, each day regretting the painful moments of her life.
Pim, who has been deprived of a male role model, yearns for acceptance from the men around him, often retreating in a fantasy world of drawings and admiring the objects he collected from those he admires. When Marcella’s health fails, Gino returns, forcing the boys to finally confront their feelings and future.ĭefurne and co-writer Yves Verbraeken take the typical coming out story and weave a much more complex story. When Zoltan moves in with Yvette, jealous Pim moves next door with Gino’s ailing mother and sister, Marcella (Katelijne Damen) and Sabrina (Nina Marie Kortekaas). Both Pim and his mother are looking for love and the boy falls for Gino (Mathias Vergels), his 17-year-old neighbor.Īfter a summer of innocent, yet very romantic sexual encounters, Gino announces he has found a girlfriend, devastating Pim. Pim’s father has been on out of the picture for years and Yvette seeks male companionship from Etienne, a man who drives her to her accordion performances at seaside bars, and later Zoltan (Thomas Coumans), a young carnival worker.
The year is 1974 and 14-year-old Pim (Jelle Florizoone) lives on the Belgian coast with his mother, Yvette (Eva van der Gucht). His longing leads to a chance sexual encounter and, after the usual angst, they accept their attraction and the screen fades to black.īut, unlike the usual film school projects that seem to crowd every gay and lesbian film festival schedule, North Sea, Texas, the first full length feature from Belgian director Bavo Defurne, offers a mature and beautifully filmed variation on the typical coming out story. You’ve seen this story before: A shy young boy, in a quest for love and acceptance, falls for the handsome boy next door.