A moving BL drama set in Europe

[PeterRS]

I have called it a BL movie but I am not sure if that is the right description, if only because the boys in the movie - both amateurs who act superbly - are 13 and just about to reach puberty. In 2022 CLOSE was nominated for a Golden Globe, an Oscar for Best Foreign Movie and won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. Following the showing, the Cannes audience gave the actors a 10-minute standing ovation. Since then it has won a slew of awards all over the world. It is a movie which had quite an effect on me to the point where I was almost in tears at its beauty, an effect which it has had on many who have watched it, including hard-bitten reviewers.

Having decided this was a movie he wanted to make, the young Belgian director wondered how on earth he would cast it. One day on a Belgian train he found himself seated next to a group of school kids all chattering and laughing. One stood out for him, one of the most animated and with the most amazing eyes. He asked the boy if he would be interested in a casting session and then discussed it with his mother. This boy was then cast as the main protagonist in the film, Leo, whose eyes tell much of the story. 

I don't want to give too much away, but the first 15 minutes or so of the movie are about Leo and his best friend Remi, about how they play together one summer holiday, have fun together as all kids do and even sleep over in Remi's bed. It is extremely beautifully filmed. There is nothing sexual here. But when they both go to the same secondary school, their close friendship attracts attention, the sort that Leo finds difficult to accept. I will go no further as that will give the rest of the story away. I will just say again it is a beautifully filmed, amazingly powerful movie. The review which I post here does have the spoiler so be prepared to look away at this point if you do not want to know what happens. The movie was shown two weeks ago on True Visions but ridiculously in French without English sub-titles. I have heard from True that it will be shown again towards the end of April with sub-titles.

[PeterRS]

For anyone interested, TrueVisions in Thailand is showing a sub-titled version of Close at 8:00 pm on Tuesday 28 April Channel 223.

[Pete1111]

I've seen Close.

In the States, you can stream it free on TubiTV.

Another coming of age gay film called Heartstone (2016, Iceland), has similar themes as Close. 

praised for its intimate portrayal of youth, stunning Icelandic scenery, and authentic performances, it won the Queer Lion at the Venice Film Festival. 

In the States, stream it on Kanopy, TubiTV, YouTube and other platforms.  Very good film.

[PeterRS]

I watched Close last week and loved the movie. The two amateurs playing the boys were magnificent. How the director got them to appear so amazingly natural was superb. I think Eden Dambrine as Leo, the boy with the fair hair, performs that role better than Timothee Chalamet had played his role in Call Me By Your Name. Why he failed to win an Oscar nomination as Best Actor beats me.  

Three shots more or less just with Leo's face and his large eyes made one realise exactly what he was thinking. When his friend Remi is performing his oboe with the ensemble those eyes showed how much he loved his friend. On the bus coming back from the school trip and his mother tells him that Remi is no longer with us, that look of sharp disbelief tells us he knows what has happened. And then then scene at the very end. Whereas at the start we had seen Leo and Remi running and laughing through fields of flowers, a year later we see Leo in the same fields but he stops and turns around. He has started to mature in the intervening year but those eyes tell us he still misses Remi.

Pre-pubesent male friendships is an unusual subject for a movie. At the Cannes Film Festival, after the ten-minute standing ovation from the audience, the director takes a microphone and explains why he made it. It is a very short moving speech. You can see it in this longer vdo. Start at 10:00 minutes in. It lasts only 1 minute 26 seconds.