Right after I watched this movie I was feeling so saddened and moved that I rated it as a 9 but after two hours of reflecting on the subject I realised that it just was sad, nothing more. Yeah it was well-performed and thought after but that's it. Suicide, sexual orientation, bullying, puberty, grief, and guilt were the subjects this movie wanted to address but it failed to do so for almost all of them. Let me give you some examples: 1. Suicide happens more in queer community and it has multiple reasons. No one commits suicide just for one reason. It's always a combination of depression (or being prone to it) and other factors like family and society. For a teenager with a stable and loving family and some friends at school (which both are shown in the movie) being dumped by your best(or boy)friend is not enough reason to take your own life and I'm saying that as someone who has actually worked with patients with suicide history. 2. The main plot was that the protagonist was trying to distance himself and his best(or boy)friend because of harsh opinions of others and bullying at school. What I saw instead was two supporting families, two nosy girls at school who just asked about their relationship and a slap on the ass cheek by an asshole. I don't know about you guys but I won't consider that enough bullying to dump the person I truly love. You may say "Oh Archie, they're just kids! they don't know any better!" Well they have to. Because if teenagers start making major decisions like leaving someone or this world based on such stupid things, they're gonna be facing some problems pretty soon in their lives.

I don't rate a film 10/10 unless it's wonderful and my reviews tend to be motivated by either abject disappointment or outright admiration. I think that's very much most people's experience of film, you either love it or you don't.

With Close, there's everything to love and it is an exercise in pure love, not just in its storyline but also the art of film, acting and storytelling. Importantly. It is akin to a dissection, an expert analysis of youth told through the eyes of two boys in tremendous pain. It is nuanced and a near savant, perceptive commentary on the predjudices cultivated within the human predicament from the very outset. It captures perfectly how instilled bigotry dessicates pure innocence from the moment a child sets foot into wider society via the educational system and it is a damning indictment of what we've become or failed to become, more accurately.

The storyline shows how deep rooted prejudice can destroy a pure and innocent love between two boys, and it perfectly contrasts how the insipid and evil innuendo from female quarters feeds into to the outright violent machismo in male quarters, together combining to destroy the boys' idea of what their friendship was, to sully it unjustly and to make them feel that what was wonderful is wrong, to make them paranoid and defensive. It is a tale as old as time, the despicable and mean way jealous observers seek to destroy what they can't have, because they don't have that capacity. And it is infuriating as a viewer to see homophobia cast onto an innocent friendship at a tender age because it is precursive homophobia targeted at closeness, at innocent brotherly love. It is infuriating because it shows how deep rooted homophobia is in both girls' and boys' upbringing - bigotry that is used to target close friendship and innocence as a near precautionary measure, vaccinating the world at large against any male affection just in case it might turn into something more.

There is much praise for this film and the writer/director Lukas Dhont is talented beyond what many critics seem to be able to bring themselves to admit, for he has, at a rather youthful age, created a work which leaves many in the industry probably wondering how he does it and where they went wrong.

If Hollywood is the centre of the movie business, it is only due to money, and Lukas Dhont has, in this Belgian film, and as much French cinema has done before, shone a light on what cinema can and should be, and by comparison, he puts the typical offerings of Hollywood to shame. It is truly a comparison of fast food to haute cuisine.

By way of another comparison and a similar study of loss, there was much praise for Aftersun and I gave it a great review. Having now seen Close, I think Aftersun is rudimentary in comparison and I wonder if the fact that Close is in French/Flemish is sufficient enough a reason for it to languish behind in terms of accolades and praise when compared to Aftersun, which, while deserving of much praise, is nothing of equal merit whatsoever - not even Close.

For anyone wanting to learn about cinema and storytelling on screen, about acting and direction, Close is the objective to aim for, a masterclass in perfection. It will break your heart.

"Close" is certainly an interesting film, covering numerous intriguing topics such as growing up, young friendship/love, toxic gender roles, estrangement, as well as mental health. However, I found myself bored for long stretches of the runtime. This was not due to the young lead actor, Eden Dambrine. He does a solid job. In terms of production, too, everything is competently filmed and accompanied by a fitting score.

However, I was very annoyed by the way the dialogues were written. There is never any real communication. There is a lot of silence between the characters, which drags everything out because no one is really talking to each other. The estrangement between the two 13-year-old best friends, Léo and Rémi, which takes place mainly in the first few minutes of the film, also failed to convince me. Even between the two, communication is mostly non-verbal. No wonder that after the tragic twist, no one really knows why all this actually happened.

Despite all my criticism, you certainly can watch "Close" without hesitation. Sadly, it failed to take me along emotionally. But in my theater, I noticed that some people shed a tear or two. In the end, it surely depends on how well you can immerse yourself in the setting. I at least didn't feel transported back to the time when I was 13 years old.

Well, that was an emotional roller-coaster of a movie. I genuinely cannot tell you the last time I cried so much watching a film.

(Note - The following contains spoilers, so if the spoiler tags don't appear, then don't read if you haven't seen it).

[spoiler]The opening as you see and witness the true friendship of these two young boys, clearly having grown up together and become so close, like they were brothers. Spending so much time together, their clear love for each other. The epitome of childhood friendship and their bond together. It was simply adorable. I am sure we can all link our own experiences as young children, we all had that one special friend who you always had at your side, and things would never change .. but they do.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]As they did here. Moving to their new school, getting teased about their closeness, and it not wanting to define who Leo was, he starts pushing Remi away - you can clearly see the inner turmoil working overtime for both of them, and the school playground scene, whilst short, is ultimately where things all changed. Remi couldn't bottle things in anymore and had his release. It was a very emotional scene which really tugged at the heart. [/spoiler]

[spoiler]What followed was the unfolding of grief, anger, denial, and Leo believing he was responsible for what happened and I genuinely feel his heart was broken and would do anything to turn back the clock to make things different. [/spoiler]

[spoiler]Leo throws himself into his Ice Hockey, and seemingly deliberately breaks his arm, sobbing uncontrollably whilst having is plastered at the hospital. like this he's able to cry and release himself from the guilt and hurt he is feeling, a truly poignant moment. Will Leo ever let go of how he feels, I certainly hope so.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I honestly felt so emotionally attached to both Leo & Remi, just wanting them to be happy and for that bond to be broken in the cruel way it was, I just felt so sorry for them both. Distraught even. I wanted to give Leo a hug and tell him it was all ok.[/spoiler]

Just a "must watch" movie. Wonderfully written. Wonderfully case. Wonderfully executed. Worthy of every accolade you can throw at it.

Thirteen year old "Léo" (Eden Dambrine) and his schoolfriend "Rémi" (Gustav De Waele) are inseparable. The play together, eat together, sleep together - an ideal fraternal relationship. At school, though, their classmates start to make disparaging remarks about them, and the naturally more gregarious "Léo" begins to shun his friend a little, then a little more... Tragedy ensues after "Rémi" doesn't show up for a school trip and the repercussions hit the young "Léo" and "Sophie" (Émilie Dequenne) - the mother of his friend - especially hard. On one level this film is about cruelty. Not a deliberate, malevolent style of cruelty - but one of indifference, of ignorance - a bully's sort of cruelty. On another it is a story of love, loyalty - betrayal even. It is an highly emotional film with two excellent performances from the young boys conveying their respective responses to a bewildering array of suspicion and judgements being thrust their way by those who knew no better - but should have. It's about parenting, about openness and about how people deal with tragedy in their own, personal way - and it is very effective. It really does leave a lump in your throat afterwards. Well worth a watch.