Close (2022) dir. Lukas Dhont

A quietly devastating film about adolescence, grief and friendship “Close” is centred around two inseparable best friends whose close bond is excruciatingly picked apart as they start school. Very much “show don’t tell”, Lukas Dhont manages to portray grief in an unflinchingly tender and graceful manner.

Never insincere or melodramatic, this film could’ve been easily a cliched mess but Dhont’s film hangs and floats across the idyllic Belgian countryside to let Leo and Remi’s tender friendship both blossom and evaporate.

Carried by Valentin Hadjadj’s luscious score and phenomenal acting by newcomer Eden Dambrine and Émilie Dequenne, “Close” is a restrained masterpiece. An ode to that first best friend you ever had, a painstakingly accurate portrayal of the confusion and complexity of loss, a scathing indictment of toxic masculinity and already one of the best films of the year.

Highly recommend you get out and see it! Playing in cinemas now.