CLOSE
★★★★
OUT 3 MARCH / CERT 12A / 104 MINS
DIRECTOR Lukas Dhont
CAST Eden Dambrine, Gustav De Waele, Émilie Dequenne
The pain and vulnerability of coming of age is framed with life-shattering repercussions in Lukas Dhont’s Close, a portrait of two 13-year-old boys’ intense friendship, and the huge impact of their growing apart after they experience homophobia. Eden Dambrine plays Léo with wondrous sensitivity, while Gustav De Waele’s performance as his best friend Rémi is heartbreaking. Dhont is fascinated with the wars we wage within ourselves, looking closely at the weight of performative masculinity, but carefully avoiding gratuitous violence while communicating the tragedy of their broken friendship. They run through rainbow-coloured flower fields, wear bright whites and poppy reds, and in the end, hope remains that wounds can heal. A beautiful, brave story.