Close

The bright summer light. The rich colours of flower fields. A boys close friendship, ever so intimate, so innocent, so beautiful. Attending secondary school it's confronted by the ugliness of social pressure and prejudice. One of the boys feels so distraught by this pressure, that in the resulting process of estrangement the friendship breaks, with devastating consequences. As a result one of the boys has to deal with his fear, his guilt and his desperation. It's as distressing for the viewer than it is for the boys. I have never seen before children actors playing with such authenticity and heart breaking emotionality. An astonishing experience, intense direction and photography , beautiful music. Strongly recommended!

I do not share all the positive comments on this movie. Yes, 'Close' is not a bad movie. I did like it a lot more than 'Girl', also a picture of Lukas Dhont. But Close could and should have been a lot better. The character drawing of the parents leaves much to be desired. I am so much more touched when I see the movies of the brothers Dardenne, the best directors of Belgium. For example 'Tori et Lokita', the latest movie of the brothers Dardenne, is so much better than 'Close'. No, not an Oscar winning movie for me... And the storytelling is not good enough for me. I hope that the next movie of Lukas Dhont will be more mature and elaborated.