Horses of Healing and Hope in Heartstone

Abstract

This article analyses the forms and functions of horses in director Guðmundur Arnar
Guðmundsson’s 2016 Icelandic drama film Heartstone, which explores the summertime
coming–of–age experiences of two male teenagers and best friends, Christian and Thor, as they
gradually come to terms with both their burgeoning sexuality and true depths of their feelings
for one another. Because daily life in their small, isolated fishing village lacks any semblance of
privacy or secrecy, Christian — as he continues to acknowledge that he is gay and falling in
love with Thor — increasingly seeks out moments of healing and hope, both individually and
with his best friend, among the horses at an adult friend’s farm, far from the prying eyes of
others. The limits of the horses’ ability to provide solace to Christian, however, is deleteriously
tested after it becomes obvious that other young people in town have become aware of his sexual
orientation. In contrast to other films that feature horses as primary or supporting characters,
this article instead focuses on the symbolic and storytelling significance of noteworthy
representations of horses in their natural environments, as they demonstrate their natural
behaviours. In doing so, it demonstrates how these animals provide for greatly expanded
understandings of the range of emotions this central teen character is experiencing — as well
as the various sorts of comfort they can provide to humans — as the plot moves forward.
Christian finds himself contemplating suicide as a potential alternative means of escape from
his repressive daily circumstances.