Close (I) (2022) User Reviews

Youth acting masterclass

[birdo71 · 9/10 · 27 August 2022]

2022 NZIFF. Probably should have waited until tomorrow to do a more measured review, but watch this film for the acting masterclass from Eden Dambrine (Leo). To say so much with expressive eyes without uttering a sound; excitement, beguile, love, sorrow, terrible loss - one can't look away. What a find, and congratulations to the casting director. As for the film, kudos to the director Lukas Dhont for such exquisite framing, sequencing, colours and sound. Special mention to the flower farm hard work scenes, and the scenes following the boys at speed, whether running on a beach or through the flower farm, or on their bikes - amazing tracking. The topic of unbearable loss creating misplaced guilt is dealt with a sensitive directorial hand, and the maturity shown by a thirteen year old to navigate such a role must not go unrecognised. Also need to mention Gustav De Waele as the best friend of Leo and Igor van Dessel, Leo's brother - both are brilliant in support, and I also loved the subtle role of Leo's mother, played by Léa Drucker. But this is Eden Dambrine's film.

Close

[CinemaSerf · 7/10 · 21 October 2022]

Thirteen year old "Léo" (Eden Dambrine) and his schoolfriend "Rémi" (Gustav De Waele) are inseparable. The play together, eat together, sleep together - an ideal fraternal relationship. At school, though, their classmates start to make disparaging remarks about them, and the naturally more gregarious "Léo" begins to shun his friend a little, then a little more... Tragedy ensues after "Rémi" doesn't show up for a school trip and the repercussions hit the young "Léo" and "Sophie" (Émilie Dequenne) - the mother of his friend - especially hard. On one level this film is about cruelty. Not a deliberate, malevolent style of cruelty - but one of indifference, of ignorance - a bully's sort of cruelty. On another it is a story of love, loyalty - betrayal even. It is an highly emotional film with two excellent performances from the young boys conveying their respective responses to a bewildering array of suspicion and judgements being thrust their way by those who knew no better - but should have. It's about parenting, about openness and about how people deal with tragedy in their own, personal way - and it is very effective. It really does leave a lump in your throat afterwards. Well worth a watch.

sooo Close to a perfect coming of age film

[TrueWouve · 9/10 · 25 September 2022]

Close is a masterfully crafted look at the changing adoration shared between two adolescent boys. It is a skillfully written and directed by Lukas Dhont, who breaks the films into a classic three part narrative. Each chapter progresses though summer, fall, winter and then spring again and each depicts a new phase of the boys friendship. These changes are told with great effect and provoke emotions in the viewer ranging from joyful satisfaction and warm comfort to betrayed anger and even grief.

Close is set in the seemingly bucolic Belgian country side. And the film-makers take full advantage of the beautiful but labor intensive flower farm our one lead is growing up surrounded by. It is here amidst the farm's blossoming glory we are introduced to the indelible adolescence friendship of Léo and Rémi. For the first third of the film the two are inseparable. Rémi who lives on the same road to town spends his days at the farm and Léo then stays over at Rémi's most nights. Both are not yet burdened with chores of the rural life. So they get to idle away the rest of their last summer before secondary school in play and hi-jinx. Clearly this is how the friendship has been for a long while. And in that moment both would swear nothing could ever divide them.

The inseparable boys share a closeness that they manifest in a tactile intimacy with each other. This tenderness is nurtured by both families and particular by Rémi's Mother, a maternity ward nurse, who also likes to cuddle warmly with the boys. As an audience we observe the tender support and devotion each offers one and other with natural questioning of their sexuality. We, at the Directors leading, begin to wonder if at least one of the boys feels more than just platonic love for the other. To be clear the film presents almost no spoken homophobia from its many secondary characters to this possibility. The film is clearly set in present day Belgium. So much so even the main sport depicted in the film is hockey. So when at the end of summer the two are still inseparable amongst their new classmates. The fellow students although immature respond mostly with curiosity or disinterest to this possibility. But as the film's setting shifts fully into the classrooms and court yard of a new larger secondary school, some adolescent bullying and unwanted attention increases. The boys begin to question if new personal boundaries are being laid out. Sadly this effects one boy more than the other but both must deal with the consequences.

As you might imagine for a film like this to succeed the two actors playing Léo and Rémi, need to be thoughtfully cast and very talented. And Eden Dambrine who plays the thoughtful Léo and Gustav De Waele who portrays the talented Rémi do so with skill beyond their years. Their performances are without truly fault. But some might find Léo's cold unemotional response to the third act hardships as disconnected from the warm Léo we've been introduced too. This can be explained by the circumstances. But when the suppressed emotions are final dealt with in a wonderfully written climatic scene, one almost feels the response is just a little off the mark. And this is only notable because you do spend most of the third act waiting for this moment.

Close is well deserving of the critical praise it is receiving at top European festivals. And like the film's plot which moves us from one season to the next it will be interesting to see if the film can find as much praise in an english theater market.

I do want to end on a small spoiler. This film does not end in a feel good moment but rather one that is as harsh and honest as the rest of the third act. It deals with real complex subject matter and young viewers should be prepared for truly sad story shifts.

Are We All Murderers ?

[jromanbaker · 10/10 · 24 November 2022]

I cried too throughout this film, but above all I felt angry. Lukas Dhont is an exceptionally good director, and he trod delicately over very sensitive subject matter. Eden Dambrine as Leo the thirteen-year-old has received well deserved praise for his acting, but then so should Gustav de Waele as Remi the youth who depends upon Leo's love, and yes let us call it by its name. Friendship there is as in all true loving but loving it is and due to crass homophobic remarks at school disaster strikes, and things are never the same again. Who was really responsible for the disaster? I think all of us as we are all afraid of this kind of loving and more often than not persecute it. Are we all murderers of the heart that has so many ways of feeling, so many forms that we wish harm upon even unconsciously? There is a stare at us from Leo and I will not spoil it for viewers when it comes. It is harsh, bitter and accusing, and despite its despair defiant. He looks at us the audience and even I winced away. This is a great film, and maybe I have overused this word too often, but from the depths of me I believe it ranks as one of the finest films I have ever seen. I must also mention Remi's mother played to nuanced perfection by Emilie Dequenne. A lot of very fine films come out of Belgium, but this one cuts to the bone of our communal responsibility in seeing love for what it is, and to refuse macho standards as seen by the sport thrusts that intercut various tender scenes. Homophobia in sport is commonplace, and there again it is another murdering ground for the sensitive and different. This is my opinion of this masterpiece, and I hope I have not misinterpreted Lukas Dhont's intentions. To sum up I have not seen a film about the tender birth of loving so delicately portrayed and acted with such burning grief and joy.

Heartwrenching

[avenuesf · 10/10 · 23 December 2022]

I've seen literally thousands of films and I have to say that "Close" ranks as one of the finest I've seen. As someone who had a very close friend who rejected me simply for who I am when I was younger, this film brought that experience so much more into focus for me that I openly wept throughout most of the last half of its running time. As a result, I found myself having a hard time forgiving the character of Leo as the film progressed, but eventually I felt I had no choice.

The performances and the chemistry between the two leads who play the main characters are so real and natural that at times I forgot I was watching a scripted and directed film rather than a documentary. I found the same true-to-life characterizations in Lukas Dhont's earlier film "Girl." He's clearly a very gifted director, and I would love to watch this man direct actors to understand how he's able to pull such amazing performances from them.

The film is also beautifully photographed, much of it taking place in the French countryside.

"Close" is reportedly going to be nominated for an Oscar here in the U. S., and I hope that helps it get the wide exposure to audiences it so richly deserves. The message in this superb, heartbreaking film is that friendships are so much more important than we actually realize and that as males, the toxic masculinity we encourage among ourselves can ruin lives.

A Truly Exceptional Film, that will break your Heart

[Dr_Zen · 10/10 · 15 November 2022]

Wow!. I'm glad I didn't know what this film was about, before watching it. The only thing I knew beforehand, is that it was about the close friendship between two young boys. I recommend watching this film with little to no knowledge of what happens, but make sure you have plenty of tissues ready to use. The acting performances of everyone in the movie is top shelf, but the two lead actors are truly exceptional, especially the lead actor "Eden Dambrine".

It's been a long time since a film has had such a BIG and profoundly deep impact on myself. It touched a part of my heart I had completely forgotten about, from my own childhood. I suspect many people will have a similar reaction. I'll be thinking about this movie for weeks to come and look forward to buying it on Blu-ray disc, when it is released. This brilliant movie has earnt a place in my top ten desert island collection of best movies ever. I can't recommend this movie enough - if you have a Heart, watch it. Highschool kids should watch this movie and discuss it afterwards.

Speechless.

[LassieVegas · 10/10 · 2 November 2022]

As a semi-closeted gay guy having been dealing with alienation and depression my whole life and trying to get close to people without reciprocation, this hit me like a ton of bricks. I've never seen a movie hit the nail on the head in such a way before. I've been crying non-stop because of how real it is.

The acting is out of this world especially from those young boys. But people who can keep it dry during Kevin Janssens' dinner table scene, lack any empathy whatsoever.

I hope this will provide more people with much needed insight. They better give Lukas an Oscar for this. If only to show and tell this story on an even bigger global stage.

Hurting and Healing

[Sees All · 7/10 · 27 January 2023]

CLOSE is a story of pubescent friendship in the 21st Century. Two boys are inseparable. They spend their days and nights together, running, cycling, and playing video games. Remi is artistic. He draws and plays the oboe. Leo is athletic. He plays ice hockey. They have fun together and have frequent sleepovers. When they are put in the same class at school, their closeness is noticed by their fellow pubescent classmates, who ask them if they're "a couple." And thus begins a dramatic change in the boys' friendship. This is a very sensitive film with fine naturalistic performances by a cast that makes it seem at times that we're watching a documentary. Especially impressive are child actor Eden Dambrine as Leo and Emile Dequenne as Remi's mother. It's an odd film in that a lot of details, as far as the events are concerned, are missing. There are a lot of unanswered questions. But the emotions are vivid and extremely detailed. This is a sad yet provocative film that is well worth seeing.

everything is so close and be aware that a tear will be flowing

[trashgang · 8/10 · 5 November 2022]

Normally I don't go to this kind of flicks but it has been said that this Belgian entry for the Oscars could win. So on a rainy night in a foreign city I went to see it at a very small venue.

The title says exactly what you get. A story about two teenage friends getting close somehow in their friendship and people do ask themselve if they are in love. But not only that is close. The way it was shot also brings you close to the characters.

I can tell without spoiling that at the end of this flick I heard a lot of crying at the venue. Why? Because most people do recognise thelselve in the storyline.

Excellent performances by the teenagers knowing that they weren't actors at all.

Okay, I agrre, Belgium is on the road for an Oscar.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 0/5 Story 3,5/5 Comedy 0/5.

Very sensitive little film

[searchanddestroy-1 · 22 May 2023]

This is a beautiful little drama speaking of pure friendship between two young teenagers, a friendship without interest but unfortunately smashed by the other people's glance that slowly but surely erased, deleted this strong relationship. It is beautiful but also sad, bitter. I have seen stories more or less like this but concerning girls instead of boys, and this without the least even suggested homosexuality. Such movie gems exist but you have to be lucky enough not to miss them. It is realistic, believable, you even have the feeling to watch a documentary. The must see here is the slow "destruction" of this beautiful link between those two boys. Poignant and gloomy.

Good first half, manipulative and empty second half

[PedroPires90 · 6/10 · 15 January 2023]

Thang god Colin Farrell didn't kill himself on Banshees!

The first half of the film is quite interesting and reveals the fragility of our pre-adolescence, the social pressures, and the dangers of male toxicity that are passed down from generation to generation. Lack of communication is always bad and the film approaches it from different perspectives as well.

The problem is what it does with its narrative shock. It could have done interesting things but it turns into something worse. With an excessive number of close-ups so distracting to the point of thinking that the title is a tribute to the technique, Close hits the same key over and over again to end exactly where we predicted (at the time of the shocking revelation) that it would end. It's manipulative but much worse than that, it does little with that manipulation except begging for our tears.

Even so, it is a film worth seeing, really well acted, with a great performance by the kid Eden Dambrine.

This movie absolutely broke me

[branstark · 10/10 · 29 November 2022]

The movie follows the lives of two 13 year old boys, Léo and Rémi (played by the talented Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele) who are incredibly close but their relationship is put to the test by a world hostile to male intimacy. After graduating to a new High School, their classmates begin to question their relationship which prompts Léo to slowly push his best friend away as he's desperate to fit in. Rémi, who cannot work out why Leo no longer wants to spend time with him is distraught at the gradual loss of his friend. As each day goes by, their friendship crumbles bit by bit and one day when Lèo fails to meet up with Rémi to cycle to school, Rémi confronts him in the schoolyard about his friends behaviour. This results in a scuffle and both boys in tears. The following day, Rémi killed himself and when I say this movie broke me, it absolutely destroyed me.

For the rest of the movie, Léo is forced to come to terms with the death of his friend and the feelings of regret and trauma are perfectly captured by the young Dambrine. How does a 13 year old deal with such a tragedy? A tragedy of which he is solely to blame for? Every single actor put their heart into this movie and you can tell from their incredible performances. The movie perfectly captures the innocence of childhood, the beauty of childhood friendship, the lengths children a prepared to go to be accepted by their peers and their desperation to fit in.

Close to being great, but drops the ball in its second half.

[Pjtaylor-96-138044 · 6/10 · 8 June 2023]

I'll tread lightly so as to avoid spoilers. There's a marked shift partway through 'Close (2022)' that moves its focus away from exploring a specific form of toxic masculinity and onto a much more typical examination of grief. It essentially throws away its unique theming in favour of some far less interesting stuff. Worse still, it doesn't even deal with that stuff particularly well, ultimately finishing before it can quite make its point. Some of it is pretty problematic, primarily because it backgrounds a certain character and therefore seems to imply that their most important decision stems entirely from the one thing we know about them. Even if this is accidental, it certainly makes the movie's handling of its heavy subject matter that much more clumsy, as does the fact that this element feels principally designed to shock and to make you feel bad for the protagonist rather than the person who it arguably impacts the most (again, I'm being vague to avoid spoilers). Basically, one of the core characters is rendered as nothing more than a plot device. In any case, the back half of the experience wears thin before it's over, opting to revel in its misery rather than tangibly develop its characters. Of course, it does feature some subtle character work and its subtlety is kind of the point, but it doesn't go as deep as it ought to and misses several opportunities to tie everything together. There comes a point where you realise that the piece is designed to make you cry. Its story is undeniably sad and there are a handful of affecting moments, but its emotionality sometimes feels forced and never quite hits home as hard as it should - even when it's at its most genuine. When it finishes, you're just left unfulfilled. Perhaps that's the intended effect, but the ending doesn't feel designed to leave you in the lurch; it seems to think it has tied everything together just enough to have made some sort of statement (which it doesn't manage to do in a meaningful way). Despite all of its problems, though, it's important to remember the film's strong first half. It achieves a marked sense of naturalism (which, to be fair, carries on throughout the entire experience), both through its earthy yet colourful cinematography and its revelatory performances. The two leads turn in perhaps some of the best performances I've seen from someone in their age bracket, totally inhabiting their innocent and introverted characters while saying far more with their eyes than with their voices. The screenplay touches on genuinely intriguing themes and develops its somewhat unconventional relationships incredibly believably. It reaches a subdued level of real-life tragedy that maybe hits even harder than the arguably exaggerated, though certainly realistic, calamity that resonates throughout the back half. It really feels as though it's going to be something special, and even as it moves past its midway point it appears to be going strong. However, it starts to run out of steam and its ending inspires the retrospection which leads to the overall affair souring in your mind. The more I think about it, the less I like it. I have to give credit to its stellar opening movement (and even some moments that arrive later on), but this is ultimately rather disappointing.

Overwrought and Overhyped

[brentsbulletinboard · 5/10 · 4 February 2023]

I know I'm going to catch hell for this (and probably be accused of having ice water coursing through my veins), but, when it comes to writer-director Lukas Dhont's Oscar-nominated second feature, I'm just not buying it. This overwrought, overhyped drama (and I do mean drama) explores what happens when an arguably vague schism occurs in the extremely (and I do mean extremely) close friendship between two teenage boys who bring wholly new meaning to the term "BFF." I'm supposing the ambiguity of their intimate, though supposedly "platonic" relationship has been deliberately incorporated here to add another level of nuanced depth to the ostensibly thin narrative, but, considering how this overlong, needlessly stretched-out story unfolds, constant watch checking is not to be unexpected, no matter how serenely beautiful the cinematography is. It's indeed disappointing to me how many other fine international film candidates were overlooked in the process of showering this offering with undeserved praise. "Dhont" say you weren't warned.

Beautiful and moving story

[jeremykellett-53270 · 9/10 · 3 August 2022]

I saw this at the NZIFF, it was a very well presented movie.

The changes from wide open fields of flowers and freedom for two young boys, to the drabness of a classroom and the sterile colours of an ice hockey rink.

Sound design was on point as well.

All of this was able to show the different worlds the characters inhabit

The main story hits some real emotional notes, some that hit very close to home for me. It doesn't pull it's punches.

The two lead boys, both are amazing, for boys so young to give such great performances. The adults do really well, especially Remis mother.

The emotions that the actors could portray, even without saying anything were extraordinary.

Tragic Coming Of Age

[berndgeiling · 10/10 · 27 January 2023]

The bright summer light. The rich colours of flower fields. A boys close friendship, ever so intimate, so innocent, so beautiful.

Attending secondary school it's confronted by the ugliness of social pressure and prejudice. One of the boys feels so distraught by this pressure, that in the resulting process of estrangement the friendship breaks, with devastating consequences. As a result one of the boys has to deal with his fear, his guilt and his desperation.

It's as distressing for the viewer than it is for the boys. I have never seen before children actors playing with such authenticity and heart breaking emotionality. An astonishing experience, intense direction and photography , beautiful music. Strongly recommended!

Not Just Another Coming of Age Film...

[Xstal · 8/10 · 6 March 2023]

You're inseparable and enjoy your time together, you're best friends and will remain so, always forever, but as you start a new school year, there are those who joke and stare, as if there's more to being friends, that gives you pleasure. So you create a bit of distance to get space, but now your friend has got the feeling he's displaced, he's upset and quite distressed, feels let down and cast adrift, it takes you to a place, no teenage boy (or girl or non-binary) should face.

Great performances in a challenging piece of film that may get you thinking of how you behaved when you were that age and whether the events portrayed relate.

One of the best I've seen this year

[hm-31761 · 10/10 · 6 December 2022]

I don't know where to start and if words can express my feelings! Being born a gay teenager and in an Arab country that persecutes homosexuals, this movie was hurtful to me and I cried nonstop because this is true and this is what many persecuted gays feel in society, especially the eastern society, where you are afraid to reveal your inclinations only. Or that you open your feelings or that one day society sees your true identity that there will be a percentage that you will be eliminated just because you are gay. I loved my classmate at school, I loved him very much, but I did not dare to reveal my love to him for fear of society and his reaction, but I knew that he had feelings for me, but I refused to confess my feelings to him. , and now I really regret not telling him because I miss him so much. It's been 4 years and I haven't seen him. I hope that one day homophobia will end in the Middle East and that everyone will be free and proudly reveal their sexual orientation. The movie was great and better than what I've seen, but don't forget to put tissues next to you.

Not as good as I hoped and expected

[bert-huys-242-355755 · 6/10 · 29 January 2023]

I do not share all the positive comments on this movie. Yes, 'Close' is not a bad movie. I did like it a lot more than 'Girl', also a picture of Lukas Dhont. But Close could and should have been a lot better.

The character drawing of the parents leaves much to be desired. I am so much more touched when I see the movies of the brothers Dardenne, the best directors of Belgium. For example 'Tori et Lokita', the latest movie of the brothers Dardenne, is so much better than 'Close'. No, not an Oscar winning movie for me... And the storytelling is not good enough for me.

I hope that the next movie of Lukas Dhont will be more mature and elaborated.

A heartbreaking but important coming of age story

[kristofspitael · 10/10 · 31 October 2022]

Having seen 'Girl' from the same director, expectations were high, but Lukas Dhont took those expectations, threw them in the trash and topped them in a dazzling way.

We see the story of 2 young boys, living their seemingly perfect life in an environment with loads of love and understanding. They way they interact and bond is almost like twins.

This idealistic setting however takes a turn for the worst once they are dropped in a new environment with different social expectations and patterns.

Their relationship is being looked at from a more hetero normative point of view and although their sexuality is not a topic, their surroundings make it one.

The acting of the 2 young main characters just blows your mind. The emotions you read in their eyes and unspoken words, will bring you to tears and will make you curse the role models society puts on the shoulders of young people. (And this has nothing to do with being 'woke' or 'conservative', just being human).

This is not a great story, this is an essential story, for all the young people out there, to live their lives as it feels right for them, not how society things it should look like.

The fascinating ambiguity is the strength of this film.

[helgis-63120 · 7/10 · 22 February 2023]

The director's intentions were quite clear and he didn't even try to hide them in the marketing of his second feature, but the very young age of his actors, I think, did not allow him to make another "typical" movie with LGBTQ label. Hence much wider appeal, bigger success, all the deserved awards and finally an Oscar nomination. You can read the story as you want really regardless of your own sexual orientation - as the story of two queer kids whose still innocent first love is crashed under the hostile pressure of the outside world, as the story of a platonic childhood bromance hunted, bullied and destroyed by homophobia or you may assume that one of them is straight and the other one not. Simply put, you may try to answer the question who was the chicken and who was the lizard at the end... Everybody praises Eden Dambrine, but I must say that the moment when Gustav De Waele disappeared from the screen for good was the moment when the film lost all his magic for me. The second half as already mentioned is really much worse, not only because it's depressive, rainy and less colorful. It's also indeed quite manipulative. I didn't shed a tear at the end, in fact I think the scene in the forest is the reason Eden lost his Best Actor slot at the Oscar Awards. Beautiful performance, though, coming from the heart, completely uncalculated. "Close" will be discussed for years to come, I think.

A story that needs to be told (but I kinda wish I haven't seen it)

[y-12236 · 8/10 · 10 August 2022]

The story was simple and tragic: the breakup of a beautiful friendship due to toxic masculinity and homophobia. It's a story like this that reminds us of how much work we still have to do to make sure this world is a place where everyone can get to be truly themselves.

The movie is beautifully shot, with great acting. However, the main plot twist felt somewhat sudden and staged, and it's kind of off-paced at some parts. But that's not the reason that I wish I hadn't seen this one.

Out of all the characters, the one that I'm related to the most was Remi's mom. It just tore me apart once I started to think about what's happened from her point of view.

You never would expect your 12 year old (ish) son would kill himself all of a sudden, just like you never would expect that his best friend, the boy who you treated as your own son, would be the one who broke his heart.

But what can you do? They are only kids, they didn't know better, and deep down you knew that this is not really anyone's fault. You are the adult, even though you're hurting like hell inside, you're supposed to be the one who keeps it together and make the rational decisions, otherwise you're going to hurt another innocent little boy. In the end, all you could do was just leaving this place that brings you so many memories and trying to move on with your life, because there is just no other way.

See? I really wish I hadn't seen this movie but I did. I guess I'll just have to continue to be adult and move on with my life, just like Remi's mom.

Too Close...

[EdgarST · 6/10 · 14 April 2024]

Labeling a film in which there is a character who seems to have homosexual tendencies, with the acronym LGBTQ (which for many does not mean anything or seems like a riddle) not only pigeonholes any work in the category of films focused on characters that confront traditional notions of gender, but also does it a disservice by driving away en masse those people who need to become aware of their intolerance. The more so a film like «Close», which sheds light on a phase in the growth of the male adolescent, in which they are often victims of prejudice and ignorance of parents, friends, educators and religious figures. (*)

«Close» presents a situation like that posed by E. M. Forster in his novel «Maurice», which takes place among the British upper middle class, while the Belgian film is set among Belgian farmers. In «Maurice» there is a passionate romance between two university students, Maurice and Clive; in «Close» there is a beautiful friendship (as in the Greek "agape") between two 13-year-old teenagers, Léo (Dambrine) and Rémi (Waele). In both movies, one of the boys rejects the other and the relationship ends in a painful manner. However, if «Maurice» tells its story from the point of view of Maurice, the rejected young man, in «Close» the center of the plot is Léo, the boy who rejects Rémi.

We know that children and adolescents of the same sex often can adore each other, and that sometimes they practice sex in a way or another. The same is the case with girls. For many it is just a phase in their lives, not a deterministic past that will "haunt" them forever. The reasons for the change are common: it is an "adjustment" in the growth of individuals, in which they choose the way of life that they are going to live the rest of their days, because they want to or to climb the social ladder. If, as certain LGTBQ militants affirm, those who "converted" are reluctant gay people who adjust to heteronormative life (which is true to a considerable extent), in many other cases it is not so.

And that is what Léo does in «Close». Léo wants to "belong" to the youth culture in his school, to interact with others, and he does not want to be labeled as Rémi's lover. None of his actions contradicts the fact that there is a deep love between the two boys. It is not a case of "sissies in love." No, it is the love between two like-minded people, for whom the moment comes when their intimacy must evolve or change.

Rémi is a character that moves the audience: he has a bright future as an oboe player, he is sensitive and sweet, but Rémi does not understand Léo's rejection. Léo does not know how to manage the matter. And the tragedy occurs 44 minutes into the film. The remaining 60 minutes are the time for growth, for accepting responsibilities and guilt feelings and defending options.

More melodrama than pure drama (especially with that "opportune" turn 44 minutes into the story), with music guiding emotions, it is, however, a sober melodrama with good music and well dosed. As Cannes was fond of giving gifts to everybody in 2022, in addition to the Palme d'Or that «Triangle of Sadness» won, the jury awarded the Festival's Grand Prize to «Close».

(*) I may be wrong but I think of the LGTBQ community as a group of grown-up persons, emotionally and physically, including young adults. But I am not so sure of including kids who are still looking for their identity, which nowadays is recognized as a construct of many colors and weights.

What's the limit of drama?

[davidpmribeiro · 5/10 · 4 March 2023]

Unhappily, this movie banalizes children suicide. I was really intrigued about how easy it was to come up with such a sad and intense story, feeling that some highly important issues weren't discussed:

1. Does this story represent a significantly relatable problem for kids of this age? Is this sample a good picture of the society?

2. What is the actual impact that this movie can have? How will children perceive it?

Regarding the first one, I decided to do some simple research. I will quote studies (can't leave the link, don't know why)

The proportion of students (high school) who reported having attempted suicide remained relatively constant in the 1990s and early 2000s (from 7 to 9 percent) but declined from 8 percent in 2005 to 6 percent in 2009. This trend reversed in 2011, with the proportion increasing to 8 percent that year and 9 percent in 2015, before dropping to 7 percent in 2017.

In a recent study, we looked at 134 suicide deaths of children aged 5 to 11 years between 2013 and 2017. Most of the children were between 10 and 11 years old, and 75% were male. Among the children who died by suicide, we found that: * 31% had a mental health concern or diagnosis, with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and mood disorders such as depression being the most common diagnoses * 24% had a prior psychiatric hospitalization * 78% were receiving mental health treatment before their deaths

And now let's state all the incoherences or gaps of the movie:

* The % of students who thought about committing suicide was 17% in 2017. 7% actually did it. Wouldn't it be better to have explored the 10% who didn't? Wouldn't that be a stronger motivating weapon to beat these suicide rates?

* None of the three main reasons that lead to suicide in children was shown in the movie. The kid was healthy and apparently happy. Some lack of confidence, independence and extrovertedness could be identified, but those are features of personality, not mental problems * The victim never suffered direct bullying from the colleagues. In the world of bullying - which is undoubtedly dangerous and concerning - what actually happened was quite soft and respectable. Both kids were asked if they were a homossexual couple and Leo was once joked inappropriately for supposedly being homossexual

So basically the movie made a child kill himself because his best friend (or eventually lover) started getting distant because he was feeling judgement of his peers for supposedly being gay?

There are 2 fights between the children, one of them public, and no professor or school worker decides to have a conversation with both children?

Two children sleep together almost everyday, their peers think they are in an homossexual relationship, and their parents never noticed that something could be a bit precocious? I mean, is it normal that two 13 year old children who might be sexually attracted for each other sleep together everyday?

And the last question, which marks the moment of the movie where it could turn into something actually horrible to see.

How can the first impulse of a mother be to blame her son's best friend for his death? Even if she wasn't expecting that announcement (which would surprise me, since I would expect a mother in that situation to think deeply about all the possible reasons of the suicide) how wasn't her first impulse to say "The death of my son is obviously not your fault. The responsibility of educating him and guaranteeing that everything was okay with him wasn't yours, but mine and from his father. If responsibles are in this death, definitely you're not the one." How could the plot be so dramatic to put me thinking that would actually turn into an horror movie where the mother would kill that innocent and humble child?

Summary: too dramatic, dangerous with the message, easy screenplay, lack of study.

A VERY INTERESTING FILM FROM BELGIUM.

[edhart-14937 · 8/10 · 18 June 2022]

I just saw this film at the Sydney Film Festival. I enjoyed it immensely. Excellent, believable, heart wrenching performances from the 2 main principal young Men and the supporting cast...BUT, the sound in the wonderful State Theatre was so loud with the cuts from each scene badly interspersed from moving, touching, tearful scenes suddenly loudly sporting/schoolyard etc ones blasted into the screen...like a sledgehammer. Needs an edit.