Brace Your Heart

One of the central practices of the Sami people is reindeer husbandry, and it’s under threat. Climate change has throw a spanner in the seasonal herding patterns, while governments encroach on their land rights. It can be difficult to appreciate the traditions that are held fast by the Sami without seeing them in practice up close. But Amanda Kernell’s perceptive and knotty drama Brace Your Heart might just be the next best thing.

After her father unexpectedly passes away, Ejva (Elli Sara Valkeapää) has little time to mourn. The vast reindeer herd he shepherded needs tending and Ejva, raised by her father to follow in his footsteps, must now prove her worth to her family. But she quickly learns that, as a woman, it won’t be easy to be admitted to the male-dominated council that governs the community. After making some mistakes while out with fellow herders in the unforgiving tundra, during the deep freeze of winter, Ejva wonders if she’ll ever be taken seriously. She also has the added pressure of being a role model for her younger sister Elle (Risten Alida Siri Skum). But when Ejva accepts the romantic advances of Heaika (Andte Gaup-Juuso), an influential leader in the community, she’s brought into the circle of shepherds and herders.

Ejva settles into her relationship with Heaika with all the excitement of a compromise, but as winter turns to spring, her passions are inflamed by his cousin Nejla (Vincent Niia). Their flirtations bloom into a genuine connection that’s apparent to anyone looking — including Heaika. When Ejva attempts to end things, Heaika asserts his dominance with rape, and reminds her the only reason she’s been integrated with the others is because of him. The assault causes her hands to shake uncontrollably, threatening her ability to take care of the herd. And if she can’t manage the reindeer, Ejva wonders what her identity is as a Sami.

The screenplay evokes the richness of Victorian era novels, transposed to the Swedish north, fusing together environmental and emotional landscapes, and reflecting them back on each other. Indeed, this story about a woman whose loyalties are torn and reputation is threatened is the stuff of classics. Kernell, born to a Sami father and Swedish mother, updates these elements in her screenplay that both honors her Indigenous background and challenges the archaic and sexist structures that may still be ailing some segments of the community.

It’s thanks to the sensitive and considered writing that the cast — largely made up of actual reindeer herders — are able to shine. None more so than Elli Sara Valkeapaa. She’s a magnetic and natural presence, subtly evoking and admirably handling the vast spectrum of feelings Ejva grapples with over the course of a year. Niia is similarly impressive, finding the right balance to play a more sensitive variant of the otherwise masculine and macho herders Nejla works with. The actors warm the center of the picture’s wintry landscape, one of frozen lakes and hard crunching snow and reddened cheeks, that Sophia Olsson’s camera handsomely captures.

The film’s title is a phrase that’s commonly said to young, Sami reindeer herders. And as the picture moves into its third act, Ejva is faced with having to put that advice into action in order to survive. But asking someone to make themselves brittle leaves them closed off to the things that make us human such as desire, wonder, longing; it asks one to refuse to be vulnerable. Kernell’s solution to the paradox is an ending that’s elegant and rings with hard truths. She allows Ejva the dignity to move on while shifting her burden to the community around her to consider. Just as in life, justice is imperfect, but Ejva, with Elle by her side, is ready to show the next generation how to face challenges from within and without with a full heart and head held high.

Director: Amanda Kernell
Screenplay: Amanda Kernell
Cast: Elli Sara Valkeapaa, Andte Gaup-Juuso, Vincent Niia, Risten Alida Siri Skum, Siri Marakatt, Arild Skaltje, Nils Peder A Gaup
Producers: Eva Åkergren
Cinematography: Sophia Olsson
Production design: Sabine Hviid
Costume design: Sandra Woltersdorf, Sara Svonni
Editing: Linda Man, Theis Schmidt
Music: Rebekka Karijord, Kristian Eidnes Andersen
Sound: Brian Dyrby, Kristoffer Salting
Production companies: Nordisk Film Production (Denmark), Forest People (Norway), Compass Films (Iceland), Invictus (Bulgaria), Filmpool Nord (Sweden), SVT (Sweden), Film i Väst (Sweden)
World sales: TrustNordisk
Venue: Toronto International Film Festival (Platform)
In Northern Sami, Swedish
97 minutes