Thelma

Joachim Trier's Thelma (2017) is a Norwegian supernatural thriller that refuses to sit still in one genre. It opens with a chilling image: a father aiming a rifle at his six-year-old daughter in a snowy forest, then lowering it. That moment sets the tone for a film that blends coming-of-age drama, queer romance, and psychological horror into something entirely its own. Trier, known for Oslo, August 31st and later The Worst Person in the World, teams up with regular co-writer Eskil Vogt to craft a story about a sheltered young woman whose repressed desires trigger terrifying psychokinetic powers.

Thelma (Eili Harboe) is an 18-year-old from a strict Christian family who moves to Oslo for university. She studies biology, a subtle irony given her devout upbringing, but she's utterly unprepared for the social freedoms of campus life. When fellow student Anja (Kaya Wilkins) shows her a small kindness, Thelma is overwhelmed by feelings she's never been allowed to explore. As her attraction to Anja grows, so do her seizures, which turn out to be manifestations of a power her parents have suppressed her entire life. The film's visual language, shot by Jakob Ihre in 2.35:1 widescreen, contrasts the cold, controlled world of her childhood with the chaotic, vibrant energy of Oslo.

Made for about €5 million, Thelma grossed just $1.5 million worldwide, but its impact far exceeded its box office. It was Norway's Oscar submission for Best Foreign Language Film and won four Amanda Awards, including Best Norwegian Film and Best Director. The film has since become a touchstone for discussions of queer representation in genre cinema, praised for its refusal to punish its protagonist for her desires. Trier has described it as a superhero origin story told through an art-house lens, and that ambition shows in every frame. [edit]

Thelma, a young woman from a deeply religious family, arrives in Oslo to start university. Her parents, Trond and Unni, are intensely controlling, calling her multiple times a day and questioning her every move. She's lonely and isolated, struggling to fit in with the partying students around her. One day in the library, a student named Anja sits next to her and strikes up a brief conversation. Moments later, Thelma suffers a violent seizure, collapsing on the floor. She's taken to a doctor who suspects epilepsy, but Thelma insists she's never had anything like this before.

After the seizure, Anja approaches Thelma again, this time at the pool where Thelma swims laps, to ask if she's okay. That small gesture of concern overwhelms Thelma, and she begins to develop intense feelings for Anja. As their friendship deepens, Thelma's seizures return, but they're unlike any medical episode. Birds fall dead from the sky when she's upset. Windows shatter without warning. Objects move on their own. Thelma realizes something extraordinary is happening, but she's terrified of what it means.

Her parents, especially her father, seem to know more than they let on. When Thelma visits home, she notices strange tensions and half-forgotten memories surfacing. She learns that her seizures stopped as a child when her family found God, suggesting their religious devotion was a way to suppress her abilities. As her feelings for Anja intensify, so do the supernatural events, and Thelma begins to lose time, haunted by fragmented visions of her past.

She confides in her father, resting her head on his shoulder, but the image of him aiming that rifle at her as a child lingers. Thelma's psychological state deteriorates as she grapples with her sexuality and her powers. She's caught between the life her parents have built for her and the person she's becoming. The mystery of her past and the truth about her abilities become increasingly intertwined, leading to a confrontation that forces Thelma to choose who she really is.[edit]