Cannes Review: ‘Close’ by Lukas Dhont

Belgian Luca Dont takes a rightful step in the competition at the Cannes Film Festival CloseIt’s only his second film: A minimalist melodrama that shows a slight increase in visual style, but may challenge some with an intentionally slow, Eric Romer-esque aesthetic. Dont’s bona fide debut international success girlThe young trans ballerina has been outraged in the US, where GLAAD has ramped up complaints about false statements on behalf of the trans lobby. Close This is a much safer proposition, but can still swim in troubled waters with themes of youth suicide.

Of course, from personal experience, newcomer Eden Dambrin plays Leo, a 13-year-old boy who lives with his best friend Remy (Gustave de Waelle) in rural Idyll. The Leo family runs a flower farm and flowers are a constant theme; growing, blooming, planting or collecting and packing. Two boys run wild through this idyllic wonderland until their first day at a new school. Leo and Remy’s closeness is immediately noticed, but despite their laughter, their schoolmates never resort to bullying.

Still, it’s strange to pay attention to Leo, and while Donty’s film can certainly be read as a not-so-subtle allegory due to the anxiety of the young gay teenager (Dumbrine spit on his director). Close There really is a movie about the loss of innocence and the abandonment of childish things. Leo begins to distance himself from Remy and later joins the ice hockey team after a fight that will prove crucial. The camera never leaves Leo’s side and returns after a long absence with Remy, often on a school trip to the beach, where the mother awaits the simple but devastating news that Remy is “gone”. . “.

Following the Xavier Dolan precinct, focusing on mothers, and especially Remy’s mother, Sophie, the drama is played with devastating serenity, with the return of Cannes hero Emily Decken (Best Actress in the 1999 Darden Brothers Palme d’Or named Rto’s). rose).

Based on the theme of The Boy on the Threshold, we’ll never find out what happened to Remy while the adults were fighting (details are scattered here and there). There’s no reason for that either, but Leo is convinced it’s the cause: Judas, who betrayed his friend.

Dhonti’s doll-eye view can be somewhat repetitive and not particularly innovative; Indeed, some of the school scenes in the movie are reminiscent of last year’s under-appreciated Un Certain Regard. play ground By the Belgian Laura Vandel. Similarly, the film’s continued internalization of such an emotional theme may alienate those who prefer Mediterranean-style dueling, such as Nani Moretti’s overcooked skin punch. son’s room (As the school urges his classmates to learn of his loss, Leo refuses to agree with their cursory remarks about a boy they barely know.)

However, the slow pace of the movie will reward the patient in the final parts, as we are beginning to realize that only Sophie can understand her loss and vice versa. But will they ever make that connection? The resulting tension, expressed almost entirely physically in a non-verbal film, brings the situation to a highly emotional yet cathartic climax.

One of the strongest films to premiere in this year’s competition, Close It has great reward potential across the board. It is unfortunate to say that they will need them; The fur laurel is of little use, because only the golden palm branch really matters for such a candid film. This Close A little movie that can do? As for the positive side, it can be very good.