Film
Heartbeat
Other titles called Heartbeat: the 1946 film, the 1992 series (ITV1).
A 16-minute Swiss drama about four long-time friends on a camping trip, where an unspoken abortion becomes the invisible weight between them. It's quietly devastating, shot with intimate precision, and built entirely from glances and silences. For anyone who knows that some conversations happen without words.
If you liked this
Never Rarely Sometimes Always2020
A road movie about two teenage girls navigating abortion access across state lines. Quiet, compassionate, and structurally brilliant—it trusts you to feel without spelling anything out. The emotional weight accumulates like Heartbeat does.
But It moves very slowly and deliberately. Some viewers find the pacing distant rather than contemplative, and the documentary-realism style won't give you easy catharsis.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire2019
Intense, visually gorgeous study of unspoken emotion between women. Built from glances, proximity, and the electricity of what's not being said. It has the same power-in-restraint that makes Heartbeat magnetic.
But It's deliberately paced and sensual in ways some find indulgent. The ending will sit with you as a question, not a resolution.
The Farewell2019
Family gathering where a massive truth hangs unspoken between people who love each other. Balances humor and genuine grief while exploring what it means to hold something back from those closest to you. Similar emotional architecture.
But It's funnier than Heartbeat, which might feel tonally jarring if you're seeking something equally austere. Some find the cultural specifics create distance.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Heartbeat
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Aftersun2022
Both are intimate character studies under 90 minutes where the emotional truth lives in what's *not* articulated. Both use formal restraint as their primary tool. Both are about love tested by the unsayable.
Charlotte Wells' debut: a father and daughter on holiday, seen through VHS grain and memory. Devastatingly spare. What's happening beneath the surface—the love, the struggle, the things that can't be said—is communicated entirely through atmosphere and body language. It's essentially Heartbeat's reverse angle.
But It's melancholic and offers no resolution. The experimental structure (mixing film stocks, videos, photographs) can feel indulgent. Requires active engagement.
More like this (6)
Moonlight2016
Three chapters of a life told in fragments and silences. Achingly attuned to the weight of what people don't say, and how identity forms in the spaces between words. Small, powerful, devastatingly human.
But Plot is minimal and structure is experimental. If you need clear narrative momentum, this will feel deliberately evasive.
A Ghost Story2017
Two people, a house, time, and loss. Builds meaning from mundane presence and absence. It's formally strange but emotionally direct—a film about what remains when everything else is gone.
But The formal experiment (including a famous scene of Casey Affleck under a sheet) can feel pretentious. The pacing is glacial and some will find it precious.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer2017
Psychological thriller where the real horror is the disintegration of unspoken family trust and the inability to say what needs saying. Eerily controlled. A master class in tension built from what's withheld.
But It's deeply unpleasant and designed to be. Calculated coldness throughout—some viewers find it clinical rather than moving.
Climax2018
Dancers at a retreat descend into chaos after their drinks are poisoned. Starts controlled and precise, then fractures into nightmare. Explores how quickly communities collapse when trust breaks. Visually audacious and ruthlessly committed.
But Extremely graphic violence and disturbing imagery. It's an endurance test and makes no apologies for it.
Under the Skin2014
Scarlett Johansson in an almost wordless, hypnotic film about something vast and alien. The power comes from suggestion, atmosphere, and the strangeness of watching someone navigate the familiar. Totally unique.
But It's deliberately obscure about its narrative and themes. Some will find it frustratingly opaque rather than mysteriously compelling.
First Reformed2018
A priest confronts faith, despair, and his inability to help those he loves. Formally inventive, philosophically dense, and raw. Explores how people isolate even in the presence of those who care.
But It's theologically heavy and unrelentingly bleak. The final sequence is confrontational in ways that might repel rather than provoke thought.
People
Cast
Directing
- Michèle FluryDirector
Writing
- Martha BenedictWriter
- Michèle FluryWriter
Production
- Michèle FluryProducer
- Vicky Sara RamsayProducer
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