52 Films by Women Vol 3. 17. THE HEART (Hjãrtet) (Director: Fanni Metelius)
T he Heart ( Hjãrte t), the debut feature from Swedish thirty-year old writer-director-actress Fanni Metelius, begins with a conversation that many of us have had during our lifetime, though hopefully only once: do you masturbate? Mika (Metelius) doesn’t believe in pleasuring herself, which is to say she is wearing a ‘situation vacant’ sign around her neck. Listening in is Tesfay (Ahmed Berhan), a fellow student – she’s into photography, he into music production. He complements her on the music on her personal music player – the only decent music played at the party they both attended, apparently. Mika is attracted to him. He’s tall, of African descent, has tattoos and fixes her with a stare that is difficult to read. You sense that Mika is not like any women he has known to this point. They probably wouldn’t allow a man to join in a conversation about masturbation. To be fair, he doesn’t offer a confession about his own self-pleasuring habits. You wouldn’t in mixed company. In a...