Film Fest 919: Close Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Film Fest 919 Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

As much as it may be devastatingly sad, Close is also a very powerfully-moving and brilliant film. The story follows a pair of teen boys named Leo (Eden Dambrine) and Remi (Gustav De Waele). Best friends, the two and their families were very close with one another. The camera often seems to revel in a series of intimate moments between the boys, bringing audiences into their relationship. Meanwhile, back at school, the two boys’ close relationship doesn’t go unnoticed by their fellow schoolmates who begin to speculate about its true nature. This speculation sets off a powder keg of events that takes audiences and all those involved off on an emotional rollercoaster for the remainder of the film.

Directed and co-written by Lukas Dhont, the screenplay is barebones as dialogue was sparse with the film relying on periods of silence to convey mood and emotion while his vision behind the camera is unmistakable. What he extracts from his young cast is nothing short of remarkable. Their performances, especially from Dambrine as Leo, easily stacks up with some of the best performances by any of their adult counterparts this year. The rest of the ensemble, including those playing the boys’ parents, deliver strong performances that are also deserving of recognition. The film’s aforementioned intimate sequences for which it relies on heavily all have a very cinematic feel to them thanks to some stellar camerawork. The pacing was deliberately on the slower side at first before the unleashed powder keg of events is set to leave audiences reeling from that point on all the way until the end. While the end result is sure to emotionally wreck a large portion of audiences, it also features some touching and sentimental moments that have the potential to serve a greater purpose that goes beyond the film itself.

In the end, Close is simply incredible cinema that takes audiences on a journey of understanding, acceptance and ultimately forgiveness. Cinephiles, film lovers, but especially those with children will undoubtedly fall head over heels for the film. That being said, some general audiences might find themselves not too far behind if they give this little foreign film a chance as they will not regret it.

(original review)

still courtesy of A24

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Russell Miller

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