Close is the second feature of Belgian writer and director Lukas Dhont, which tells a heartbreaking story of two young boys whose intimate friendship is pulled thin by schoolyard homophobia when the other kids question if they are a couple.
Leo and Remi are thirteen and their love for each other is wide, and unquestioned. It’s summer, and Leo takes Remi to his family’s flower farm where they run through budded fields, and make a pillow of each other as they lay under the sun. At night, they fall asleep between whispers and smiles. Their intimacy is an open space. “Remi is like a brother”, says Leo. But when high school starts, and their peers poke and prod with assumptions, Leo pulls away from his affection in fear of how he may be perceived. As this distance becomes more pronounced, Leo fails to recognise the isolation he has left Remi in. After a harrowing hit to the heart at the film’s midpoint, we follow Leo for the second half of the film wading through guilt and loss.
The film takes a strong look at the ways in which masculine emotionality is expressed and received, making clear delineations in the various spaces of Leo’s life: the playground, the classroom, the hockey rink, the family. The unspoken laws of these environments complicates Leo’s capacity to be honest with those around him, and with himself. In the playground, Leo and Remi battle with passive remarks, and later, they battle physically; it’s a place of subtle social antics and power play. The classroom frustrates Leo when it tells him to share his feelings, despite having not earned this intimacy. In visits to Remi’s family home, we see a delicacy in the way they love each other. Remi’s mother, especially, has an astute read over moods and secrecy. We see how she listens. We see how much she cares. In a telling moment towards the end of the film’s second act, we see Leo cry for the first time: as his arm is being wrapped in bandages. Broken. Now with the badge of physical pain, can Leo let out his grief.
Close is a deeply moving film. Its structure is clean and dialogue restrained. The landscapes, production design, cinematography and light control is delicate and astoundingly beautiful. At Cannes this year, Close shared the Grand Prix alongside Stars at Noon. The film also took home the Sydney Film Prize at Sydney Film Festival in June. These accolades are very well deserved; Dhont is one to definitely keep on your radar!
Madison Stephens
Close
Melbourne International Film Festival