Thelma’s director explains why he made a dreamy gay coming-of-age superhero story

A few years ago, no one would have pointed to Norwegian director Joachim Trier as a likely candidate to make a lesbian coming-of-age superhero fairy tale. His previous films, including 2015’s Louder Than Bombs and 2011’s Oslo, August 31st, are serious dramas about people dealing with death and disappointment. They’re naturalistic films about lives gone wrong. But his latest, Thelma, takes similar themes in a different direction. It’s a dreamy, shocking fantasy about a young college student discovering she has mysterious powers. Her ultra-conservative parents want to repress them, and Thelma herself (played by Eili Harboe) doesn’t know what to do with them, especially when they spiral out of control. There’s a strong sense of erotic...

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