Film Review: BRAVE NEW LOVE: Kathrine Thorborg Johansen Carries This Dramatic Gem of a Film [Locarno 2026]

Brave New Love Review

Brave New Love (2026) Film Review from the 79th Annual Locarno Film Festival, a movie directed by Maria Bäck, written by Maria Bäck and Eskil Vogt and starring Kathrine Thorborg Johansen, Anders Danielsen Lie, Simon Sears, Angeliki Papoulia, Noemi Carbone Mannov, Solvej Kyung-Sook Christiansen, Aria Farjadi, Kirsti Kærn, Sofia Nolsøe and Ika Nord.

Kathrine Thorborg Johansen is wonderful in filmmaker Maria Bäck’s drama, Brave New Love, which is about sex, love, depression, romance and the bond between family members. Johansen plays a hypnotherapist named Kate, who starts attending a knitting club with other women who openly discuss their personal lives. Kate is having an affair and the movie lovingly portrays her confusion and lust for romance as she tries to figure out what to do next with her life at middle age.

Kate seems like she loves her husband, Orla (a well-cast Simon Sears), but it also feels that the other man in her life, Andreas (Anders Danielsen Lie), understands her just a bit more. Noemi Carbone Mannov plays Kate’s daughter, Athena. One day, Kate steps on Athena’s beloved pet bird, an action that, if revealed, would make the daughter very angry. Perhaps, even angry enough to tell her dad, Orla, that there’s another phone number in Kate’s phone and it’s that of a man named Andreas.

There are a lot of intriguing scenes at the “knitting club.” This group of women get together and love hearing Kate discuss her sex life. These scenes are very humorous and show the women’s cravings for gossip, especially regarding Kate’s love life. Kate also goes to a hip hop club, which basically helps her get enough free time to pursue Andreas as Kate has seemingly gained the trust of Orla.

Oddly enough, there is a bit of frontal nudity and steamy sex in Brave New Love, but it serves a greater purpose about the need for human longing and desire. One intense sexual encounter has Kate putting her hand in Andreas’ pants after he has ejaculated. A twist in the plot later in the proceedings ups the stakes, and Kate comes to a crossroads where she must figure out her life, and the movie doesn’t shy away from showing the darker side of Kate’s sudden depression.

Johansen is phenomenal as Kate, who doesn’t think that Athena will ever have a sibling, but in this story, anything is possible given Kate’s free-spirited nature in her attempts to find romance and sexual satisfaction. Johansen is both believable in the role and appropriately cast for it, projecting the image of a character who is in the middle of her life, but yearns for sexual satisfaction, almost as if she was a much younger woman.

Anders Danielsen Lie is perfect as the other man in Kate’s life with his sensitivity projected upon Kate in a touching manner that drives the film forward. Andreas is just as much in love with Kate as she thinks he may be, but there’s the matter of Orla, who is a staple in Kate’s life, especially considering that they have the daughter together.

Athena is well-written and well-played by Mannov as her character is the one the movie decides to show at the conclusion of this moving story. This film is dedicated to the filmmaker’s daughter, so it makes sense that the film is something of a love letter to the children who hold their parents’ love in their hearts, which helps keep families together, for better or worse.

Brave New Love takes a lot of risks and is all the more successful as a film because of that fact. Johansen makes the film succeed many times over, although it is possible one may not entirely sympathize with her because of the fact she strays from her family to have an affair. There is also the fact that Johansen makes us completely understand the choices she makes in her life, such as when she considers doing something in a conversation with her doctor that could make some viewers feel a tad uncomfortable.

In the end, Johansen sells the character of Kate, and drives the movie home. There are a bunch of scenes in this film that ring particularly true for anyone who has ever struggled between two partners competing for their romantic love. Brave New Love is an excellent example of a movie that doesn’t really care what the audience thinks because it’s too concerned with being realistic in terms of the way it presents the elements of the very complex character that is Kate. Johansen is going to be remembered for her great work in this film.

Rating: 8/10

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