Siemiany (2009)

I suppose if we think back to our own sexual “activation”, it ought not to be surprising that these two lads, in what looks like their early teens, are beginning to experience their own physical and psychological awakenings at quite a young age. “Andrzej” (Damian Ul) and “Michal” (Michal Vlodarczyk) have been friends since their early childhood, and they mess about and frolic without thought. They boast about getting a boner whilst rolling about but always suggest it’s because they are thinking about their pal “Agnieska” (Aleksandra Radwanska) and, obviously, not each other. It’s fairly clear that the latter lad is the more mature, certainly the more inclined to experiment - but that proves to be the problem for his friend who might be envious, especially when the flirtatious and older “Dorota” (Joanna Opozda) appears on the scene and when he also continues to get bullied by some older lads doing their impersonation of a (dyed) blonde-haired “Magnificent Seven”. This illustrates something of the ennui faced by young people in rural Poland, of their fascinations with their own bodies, with guns and to an extent sex, but by casting it’s net quite so wide it doesn’t really deliver anything very interesting about any of that. There are a few scenes between the boys that might have had potential to explore a little of just what growing up meant for them, but instead we dart about too much before a conclusion that fizzles rather than flares. It’s disappointing, sorry.