kiss kiss bang bang

Director Ollie Launspach is making his graduation film at the Netherlands Film Academy about what it’s like for his girlfriend Sterre Mulder that he’s transitioning. But over the course of their tender yet halting conversations, she makes him realize that his wariness mainly reveals his own insecurities.

Scenes in which he literally backs her into a corner and fires questions at her that all seem to boil down to “Are you going to leave me?” are intercut with a playful, colorful, and uplifting collage of diverse material, including home videos, childhood photos, and diary excerpts filmed word for word, all to the beat of the soundtrack.

Even when the intimate conversations become uncomfortable, there’s still room for laughter. And the more the insecurities, doubts and misunderstandings come to light, the more kiss kiss bang bang becomes a declaration of love to a relationship that embraces all of this, both literally and figuratively.