Budding Humans
Gunhild Westhagen Magnor / / 2022
The incredible friendship of two 2-year-old Norwegian boys in a delightful and seriously cute film with all the ups and downs that accompany any real friendship. A tale about how two little humans take shape along the way.
Balder and Haakon are best friends. They are two years old and attend the same Norwegian kindergarten. With red cheeks and blond hair, they tumble around the playground, make trouble in the living room and use their imaginations to turn two sandwiches into a father and a mother. Through four seasons, the camera follows the two boys’ friendship and life in the kindergarten’s microcosm, through all the ups and downs that come with any true friendship. But ‘Budding Humans’ is also a study in parenting and in children’s development of empathy and appreciation of others. The cuteness is utterly top notch, and there is a serious risk of becoming broody. But the film is not just a sugary portrayal of life as a child. It’s love and frustration and teasing and laughing and pushing and crying in one big snot-nosed pearl. In other words, it’s life. Whether you’re an adult or a child.