Close Review: An Unforgettable Meditation On Friendship & Boyhood
Two 13-year-old boys, Léo and Rémi, spend the summer playing hide-and-seek with pretend troops and running through the flower fields where Léo's family works. The intimacy experienced by the two in the idyllic bubble they have built is revealed via many sleepovers and whispered discussions. However, as soon as the new school year begins, Léo and Rémi's connection comes under the close observation of their peers. When Léo starts to remove himself from Rémi, the transition from young innocence to adolescent awareness becomes too much for Rémi to handle. Affection gives way to fear.
Four years after Dhont won the Camera d'Or and the Queer Palm for his contentious film Girl, Close made his Cannes debut last year. Together with Claire Denis' Stars at Noon, Close took home the Grand Prix. It's not difficult to understand why the movie was nominated for Best international Film at the 2023 Academy Awards. To match the uncertain nature of Léo and Rémi's connection throughout the movie, Dhont presents his story with a sharp eye through carefully observed moments as opposed to dialogue-heavy scenes.
Dhont initially declared that his next movie would star a homosexual character after the release of Girl. In the end, Close's decision to leave open to interpretation the sexual orientation of its two young stars gives the movie a much more devastating portrayal of male friendship and how society prevents guys from falling in love with one another, gay or not. It's terrible that they weren't given the chance to consider if Léo and Rémi's fondness for one another goes beyond anything platonic because of the outer factors that intrude into the boys' idyllic existence.
Ultimately, the trip Léo is left with after the final, irrevocable image is what makes Close so heartbreaking. Dhont avoids a blatant conclusion in favour of a more subdued one that emphasises the idea that Léo is one of the lucky ones in the data-face of irreparable loss. He will be able to progress and heal in certain ways. Rémi won't have that opportunity. Even if it might be fair in some ways, Dhont chooses forgiveness over hatred or bitterness.