Sightlines · reception

How Thelma was received

2017 · Joachim Trier · Thelma on Sightlines

The arc

It premiered at TIFF in 2017 and got strong reviews, with critics calling it Joachim Trier's surprising turn to genre filmmaking. Since then it has become a well-loved slow-burn: the queer coming-of-age story that happens to have telekinesis in it.

What’s debated

Fans argue over whether it's a cool, cerebral Nordic *Carrie* or a film too restrained to commit to the horror it teases. The ambiguous ending splits people too: some read it as liberation, others as something darker.

Its footprint

Its images get posted all the time: the birds hitting the glass, the snake, the drowning in the swimming pool. It's a regular pick on 'elevated horror' and queer-horror lists.

Where it stands

It's a cult favourite on Letterboxd that many people find through Trier's Oslo films or *The Worst Person in the World*, and it's often called his hidden gem.

Did you know? Norway submitted it for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, but it didn't make the final nominees.