film “CLOSE” speaks through silence

From Belgian Lukas Dhont, director and writer, it is not a big surprise that CLOSE is in the running for the Oscar for Best International Film, after having won the Grand Prix award at the last Cannes Film Festival. It is the second of his filmography to be featured at the awards; Dont won the Palme d’Or in 2018 for Girl.

At the long, two extremely close friends have their friendship cut short. Prior to the moment that separates the two, the relationship is discussed through themes such as sexuality, masculinity and childhood – since they appear to be around pre-adolescence.

Siblings or a couple?

What was simply “coexisting” now needs to be assigned a label. The boys Rémi and Léo live together, sleep together, eat with each other’s families and seem inseparable – until the simple “living together” of childhood is no longer enough, and the boys have to answer whether they are brothers or a couple (which also brings other consequences of treatment such as homophobia, exclusion and enmities).

film photography

Lukas’ direction is crafted in silence. Each shot takes its time, with a slow montage that allows us to appreciate the great actors – especially Éden Dambrine (Léo) and Gustav De Waele (Rémi) –, in addition to his photography full of personalityas there are no open shots and, yes, “close-ups”, which make us feel cozy (but also suffocated).

Art direction

It is also satisfying to pay attention to the art direction. Through Rémi’s always reddish costumes, we come to associate color with the character, who seems to be present in scenes where he is not present, for example, in the red of the roses, walls and reflections in contrast to Léo’s white.

Rémi’s red reminds us of love, but also of the blood that goes with it. When the reddish tone disappears, almost like a cheese with guava paste, a little of the taste disappears with it.

By Antonio Carqueijo

Studying Cinema at FAAP/SP, in addition to being passionate about the Marvel universe