I’m thrilled to have press accreditation for this year’s Locarno Film Festival. Over the next week you’ll be getting bonus reviews covering whatever I manage to see. First up, from the “Concorso Internazionale” section is Brave New Love.
Title: Brave New Love
Director: Maria Bäck
World Premiere: August 9, 2026 (Switzerland – Locarno Film Festival)
Runtime: 1 hour 45 minutes
Kate (Kathrine Thorborg Johansen) lives a seemingly happy life. She’s a hypnotherapist by day, has a wonderful daughter named Athena (Noemi Carbone Mannov), and a loving husband named Orla (Simon Sears). Despite having all of this, there’s something missing for Kate.
That something happens to be a man by the name of Andreas (Anders Danielsen Lie).
They met by chance one day in the woods. Kate was doing some nude photography and Andreas had gone for a swim. When they first locked eyes, they sheepishly nodded at each other before going about their days. Before leaving, Kate managed to slip her number into the fold of Andreas’ towel.
Three years have passed and Kate has been living a double life the whole time. She plays housewife and mother when at home, but when she goes out for her “hip hop lessons”, she’s actually meeting up with Andreas. However, this isn’t your typical affair. There is practically zero physical contact between Kate and Andreas. Everything that occurs between them primarily stays at an intellectual and emotional level.
One day, Andreas learns that his work will be taking him back to Greece, not far from the town he grew up in. So, that’s it. After three years, he’s leaving and Kate is left alone. Just her and a house that manages to feel empty despite being full of love.
With Andreas gone and the affair behind her, can Kate readjust to a life at home consisting of just her husband and daughter?
Brave New Love is messy. But the reason it works so well is because it’s a different kind of messy than what we’re accustomed to.
In nearly every movie that deals with infidelity, it’s always about sex. Writer and director Maria Bäck chose to show a different side of infidelity, one where physical contact is longed for but not at the forefront of the relationship. Kate isn’t trapped in a loveless marriage, she’s not in an abusive relationship, she just wants something… different. Meanwhile, Orla just wants her to be happy. At one point he even tells her “don’t make me sad” when she says she has something she needs to tell him. If she’s happy, he’s happy, even if it means being kept in the dark about it all. Though he might be smarter than he’s leading on.
Johansen does a superb job as Kate. She’s funny when it’s called for but all throughout there’s a quiet pain that can be felt. There’s never really a point in the film where I find myself actively rooting for or against her, but I still found myself invested in her outcome. Watching Kate navigate the minefield of her own creation is like watching a train wreck, you know what’s coming isn’t going to be pretty, but you can’t look away.
The highlight of the supporting cast goes to the church knitting group. Whether busting each other’s chops or laying bare some blunt truths, they provide both the film’s comic relief and its most honest moments. The knitting circle is the one place Kate feels she can breathe, surrounded by women who know but don’t judge.
At times, the narrative is a bit abstract, and you could argue that things are tied up a touch too cleanly. But neither of these are reasons to steer clear of this film.
With Brave New Love, Maria Bäck has given us a new perspective on infidelity.