Showing @ Odeon, Edinburgh, Sun 29 Jun

Kenneth Elvebakk / Norway / 2014 / 75 mins

Two years ago, EIFF introduced UK audiences to director Bess Kargman’s First Position, a beautiful and emotionally powerful documentary following a selection of young people’s commitment to a beautiful and emotionally powerful art form: ballet. Focusing on children of varying ages and nationalities, Kargman’s film put viewers through the wringer, racking up the tension as we watched bodies and nerves pushed to the limit for the pursuit of dreams. Some of them made it; others were not so lucky.

At first glance, Kenneth Elvebakk’s Ballet Boys seems a similar beast, following the trials of teenage boys Lukas, Syvert and Torgeir as they attend both high school and ballet class together in Oslo. Focusing exclusively on the male, Norwegian perspective, however, the film seems to lack something. Our time with the boys is pleasant enough – they’re all likeable and the sense of camaraderie between them is a joy to watch – plus each of them is undeniably talented at dancing. And yet therein lies the problem.

Though the dance school auditions that make up the film’s centre are nail-biting and provide fascinating insight into the rigorous testing young dancers are made to go through, with all three boys being pretty good at what they do, the drama feels slightly forced. Shifting the emphasis onto their personal lives helps – the balance between school and ballet, the worry of potentially having to leave home – but also has the adverse effect of leaving us with relatively few dance sequences. As a result, though Ballet Boys often entertains, it rarely gets the chance to soar.

Showing as part of Edinburgh International Film Festival 2014