Close: An Un-breakable Bond

The quote “a friend is one soul abiding in two bodies” has never rung clearer to me than after seeing Lukas Dhont’s 2022 coming-of-age drama. Dhont as a director shows illustrious awareness of spaces and color and as a screenwriter, lands (with help from fellow co-writer Angelo Tijssens) a well-grounded dialogue that feels fresh, vibrant, and natural; just as natural as the relationship between our two central characters. Leo (Eden Dambrine) and Remi (Gustav De Waele) are two teens not only entering a new school but a new chapter of their lives and friendship; a friendship that transcends the physical world. An amazing casting work has led to one of the most connected and organic teen relationships on screen in recent years. They go through thick and thin, through the good, the day, and the ugly.

It's tough to talk openly about this movie because the inflection point of the plotline takes place in the first half of the movie and dictates the pace of most of the film. Therefore, I will only talk about what makes this a great film based on the symbolism, color, and message. Regardless if you have seen the film or not, this review will give you some sort of clarity on the intentions behind it.

Child actor Eden has uniquely big and beautiful eyes which makes Leo give the phrase, “The eyes are the window of the soul”, its true meaning. He’s attentive to his surroundings, observant of Remi, and shows his emotions through his eyes. He admires and loves Remi above all else but sometimes someone’s biggest virtue is also their flaw. As much as his eyes hold Remi’s heart, they also hold the weight of the external world. He becomes afraid of what outside people would think. After the first day at school, he’s constantly scanning the rooms to check if people are looking at them or speaking of them. He’s an innocent young kid, resembled by his white attire, who when confronted by a social narrative, doesn’t have the tools to stand up for what he believes. 

On the other hand, we have Remi, clothed by constant red colors, who has a full heart thanks to Leo and is not afraid to prioritize that over anything, to anyone, or anywhere. Aside from his clothes, the strong red accents in Remi’s room represent how much love, passion, and affection he has to give to the world. He can’t help but “feel” red, to be engulfed by it and similarly to Leo’s faults, this doesn’t allow Remi to speak up on his feelings regardless of how visibly hurt or angry he might look. He just gives the action, the end product but no context of why he’s feeling the way he is. When Leo confronts Remi about his feelings and asks if he’s okay, he’s dismissive, as much as Remi doesn’t want to shut down Leo, he can’t help it and as he puts it “I’m in my head”; leaving Leo no other choice than to move forward. 

Lukas Dhont effectively uses the setting to summarize the teen's relationship. From the very first scene up until the inflection point, we are greeted by seas of beautiful colorful flowers and the two boys running through them. Past the inflection point, the harvest season takes place. The flowers are plowed with big machinery, the skies turn dark, and Leo and his family are left picking up the waste, the dirt; the broken pieces. Leo starts doing physical work, lifting heavy sacks, anything to make him feel less emotional and more masculine…

 There is a constant narrative Dhont presents and he uses the relationship of these two teens and their insecurities to talk about masculinity. He argues that society views differently girls' and boys’ close-knit friendships. An external pressure that puts into question multiple relationships between two boys who love each other as friends. It also has to do with age, he suggests; younger kids filled with innocence (like Leo) talk about their male friendships with unconditional love because they haven’t been exposed to societal pressures. For Leo, everything changes when other students interrogate the pair of boys about the nature of their relationship. Remi stays silent and just listens but Leo, almost justifyingly, denies the accusations and you can feel him changing. From that point, his facial expressions change, he grows colder towards Remi, starts making new friends, and even joins the ice hockey team to feel more “masculine” and shield himself with a “mask”. His feelings haven’t changed or been lost, he still feels the same love towards Remi; he has simply added a new feeling, fear. Fear of the attachment, of giving it all to the other person, of not feeling “manly” enough because he shares the same bed as his friend. “Close” is not preaching that everyone should be like Remi but rather everyone should be who they truly are, deflect social narratives if they don’t make sense, and that innocence can lead to beautiful things when managed correctly.

“Close” is one of those movies we need at least once every year; food for the heart. I appreciate any director who takes on complex and sensitive topics and breaks them down for the audience in a more digestible form. That’s a testament to the impact movies have in our lives and one of its many goals. Regardless that it might not be the most ambitious movie, technically speaking, it’s ambitious in its subject matter, symbolism, and imagery. Its richness in color, dialogue, acting, and vibes propel this film into the film contender who will steal many hearts.