Fri 10 November – 19:30 The Venue
Belgium 2022
Dir: Lukas Dhont
Cert: 12A
104 mins
Starring: Eden Dambrine, Gustav de Waele, Émilie Dequenne
Rural Belgium, the present day. When “Close” opens it is the summer holidays and we first encounter inseparable friends, 13-year-olds Léo and Rémi, playing happily in the fields near to where they both live. The image of an idyllic, innocent childhood is richly wrought, making its subsequent loss all the more shattering. The two boys enjoy a close physical and emotional bond, forever in each other’s company, with Léo regularly sleeping over at Rémi’s house. However, when the holidays come to an end and Léo and Rémi start a new school, hitherto unimaginable cracks in their friendship start to appear. The boys are taken aback when asked bluntly by a fellow pupil if they are “a couple” – a concept neither of them had considered! Some homophobic slurs follow and Léo, keen to fit in, concedes to peer pressure and deliberately starts seeking new friends, gradually easing the uncomprehending and increasingly desperate Rémi out of his life. It seems their still undefined intimacy had to be labelled – and so destroyed. “Close” has been critically acclaimed for its depth, poignancy and the extraordinary performances of its two young stars. It won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2022.
Trailer:
