2022 Directed by Lukas Dhont
Thirteen year olds Leo and Remi have always been incredibly close but they are drift apart after the intimacy of their relationship is questioned by schoolmates. When tragedy strikes, one is forced to confront why he distanced himself from his closest friend.
Eden Dambrine Gustav De Waele Émilie Dequenne Léa Drucker Igor van Dessel Kevin Janssens Marc Weiss Léon Bataille Serine Ayari Robin Keyaert Herman van Slambrouck Iven Deduytschaver Jeffrey Vanhaeren Hélène Theunissen Baptiste Bataille Pieter Piron Freya De Corte Cachou Kirsch Ahlaam Teghadouini Hervé Guerrisi
Frans van Gestel Michel Saint-Jean Dirk Impens Arnold Heslenfeld Jacques-Henri Bronckart Laurette Schillings Michiel Dhont
Agat Films & Cie / Ex Nihilo Diaphana Films Topkapi Films Versus Production Menuet Eurimages Les Films Velvet VTM RTBF Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds (VAF) Nederlands Fonds voor de Film Canal+ Ciné+ Sacem Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel de la FWB La Culture avec la Copie Privée Casa Kafka Pictures Screen Flanders Lumière The Match Factory
Tuvu, Yakın, Blizu, Lähestikku, Közel, Blisko, Близко, Blízko, Tình Bạn, We Two Boys, Together Clinging, Cerca, クロース, 親密, Proches, 親陌
Underdogs and coming of age Moving relationship stories school, teacher, student, classroom or kids gay, sexual, relationships, feelings or homophobic teenager, friendship, sad, adolescents or coming of age family, emotional, touching, emotion or kids surfing, teenager, friendship, kids or adolescents Show All…
A man turned to me at the end of this and goes “next time get tissues, you were very annoying”
As a queer person, there is an age when sacrifice comes so easily because you've not yet figured out who you are, and so don't know who you need the most.
Toxic masculinity is harmful. In Close, the tender, beautiful friendship between two teenage boys is put to test by a world hostile to male intimacy. It is flawed, but the message it conveys is undeniable and timeless.
Hampered by its conventional storytelling skills, Close never fully lives up to its potential considering its hard-hitting subject matter, but it does have glorious moments that lure the audience in. The gorgeous cinematography ensures a visual treat, and the two child actors were captivating in delivering the struggles of two close friends ridiculed by the homophobic outside world. Other than that crucial midway twist, nothing comes as a surprise in this understated tale of heartbreak and melancholia, but it's still an experience that's heavily needed and appreciated.
this movie can only be described as the most raw depiction of grief. how life still goes on but the pain is still there. it was shot beautifully. a real tear jerker but in the right way, a way that makes you feel human at the end.
sunshine fading, flowers dwindling,
a sensitive soul is fragile, and yet healing.
The most tender and gentle heart wrenching gut-punch imaginable. Absolutely incredible performances- everyone on screen is pouring their heart into this.
The 15 Minute standing ovation actually didn’t feel absurd.
I think the thing that scares and upsets me most in life is the fact that some things will always get to grow, heal, return, live on, while some won’t. Cut short, caught in a moment, taken from those who blame themselves but did as much as they could. It’s nobody’s fault - all that we can do is water the soil, feed our souls, and give more love than anything. So much more. Always.
Feeling pretty torn leaving Close because it poses a question that I have yet to figure out— at what point does a movie cross a line from being tender and honest to emotionally manipulative? I’ve seen some great discourse from both sides of the aisle and I’m not exactly sure where I lean.
Is it manipulative if the tragedy depicted is the reality for children across the world? I don’t believe so. But in some ways it feels like the film wants to make its audience cry, which admittedly its very successful at doing. I think the first half is much more effective in its exploration of masculinity, which is all but abandoned in the second half in favor of exploring grief, which I felt was less potent.
I don’t know. Some incredible performances and I adored the score, but there’s a lot to think about here and my eyes hurt from crying.
Oscar Gauntlet: #36/54
Dhont has created some very powerful moments here, not to mention - some quietly devastating ones too. The level of raw emotion hit me like a ton of bricks. Excuse me while I curl up into a ball and weep in darkness until the sun rises.
