Close (2022 film)
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Close is a 2022 coming-of-age drama film directed by Lukas Dhont, and written by Dhont and Angelo Tijssens, reteaming after their first feature film Girl (2018). The film stars Eden Dambrine, Gustav de Waele, Emilie Dequenne and Léa Drucker.
Close premiered at the Cannes Film Festival[2] on 26 May 2022 to critical acclaim and the Grand Prix. The film was released by Diaphana Distribution in France on 1 November 2022 and by Lumière in Benelux on 2 November. On 16 September 2022, the film was announced as Belgium's submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.[3] It also won the award for Best Foreign Language Film from the National Board of Review.[4]
Contents
Plot
Thirteen year olds Léo and Rémi spend the long summer holidays in innocent intimacy, but come the school year, their close friendship is thrown into disarray as their relationship is noticed and commented on by their contemporaries. In reaction to their sometimes insulting or intrusive comments, Léo attempts to distance himself from Rémi.
Cast
- Eden Dambrine as Léo
- Gustav de Waele as Rémi
- Émilie Dequenne as Sophie
- Léa Drucker as Nathalie
- Kevin Janssens as Peter
- Marc Weiss as Yves
- Igor van Dessel as Charlie
- Léon Bataille as Baptiste
Production
On 19 December 2018, it was announced that Lukas Dhont was developing a follow-up feature film to his 2018 Cannes Film Festival award-winning directorial debut Girl. Co-writer Angelo Tijssens and producer Dirk Impens were attached to re-team with Dhont for the then-untitled film, with Dhont stating that "It's going to be different but also in the style of Girl", and that "At the centre of it is a queer character."[5] In writing the film, Dhont was inspired by psychologist Niobe Way's book Deep Secrets, which documents her study of intimacy among teenage boys. Dhont named the film after "close friendship", a recurring term in the book.[6]
There were no further developments until 23 July 2020, when it was announced that Dhont had set up an open casting call for the two male lead roles, set to be played by amateur actors, with casting scheduled to take place at the end of August. In addition, filming was scheduled to start the following summer.[7] The casting call was open to speakers of both French and Flemish, and Dhont decided to film it in French after casting.[8] On 20 October 2020, it was announced that the film would be titled Close and that international sales agent The Match Factory had joined the project. Dhont's brother Michael Dhont was also attached to produce.[9] On 29 June 2021, the film featured on Eurimages' annual list of co-production financing, with the fund supporting the film with €300,000.[10]
Principal photography began on 9 July 2021. Alongside the start of production, it was also announced that Emilie Dequenne and Léa Drucker were cast in main roles. Speaking about the film, Dhont said: "Three years after the overwhelming trip of Girl, it's incredibly good to be back on the set, with this hugely talented cast and crew, especially as this story is close to my heart."[11]
Release
Close had its world premiere in competition for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival[12] on 26 May 2022, where it was later awarded the Grand Prix. It also played in the Official Competition at the 2022 Sydney Film Festival, where it also won the Sydney Film Prize.[13]
The film was released by Diaphana Distribution in France on 1 November 2022 and by Lumière in Benelux on 2 November. It is set to be released by A24 in the United States on 27 January 2023, following a limited one-week theatrical run in New York City and Los Angeles on 2 December 2022.[14][15]
At Cannes, streaming service Mubi acquired distribution rights for the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Turkey and India.[16]
Reception
Critical reception
On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Close holds an approval rating of 91% based on 46 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's consensus reads, "So moving for a majority of its runtime that not even a manipulative ending can ruin the experience, Close is a tender and powerfully acted look at childhood innocence lost."[17] On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film holds a score of 83 out of 100 based on 13 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[18]
In a poll by IndieWire of 75 critics at Cannes, Close was named the best film of the festival.[19] Dhont shared the Grand Prix with Claire Denis' Stars at Noon.[12] The film also won the Film Prize in June 2022 at the Sydney Film Festival.[20]
Accolades
See also
- List of submissions to the 95th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
- List of Belgian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
References
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External links
- Official website
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- ↑ https://nationalboardofreview.org/2022/12/national-board-of-review-announces-2022-award-winners/
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- Pages with reference errors
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- 2022 films
- 2022 drama films
- 2022 LGBT-related films
- 2022 multilingual films
- 2020s Dutch-language films
- 2020s French films
- 2020s French-language films
- Belgian coming-of-age drama films
- Belgian LGBT-related films
- Belgian multilingual films
- Cannes Grand Prix winners
- Dutch coming-of-age films
- Dutch drama films
- Dutch LGBT-related films
- Dutch multilingual films
- Films directed by Lukas Dhont
- French coming-of-age drama films
- French-language Belgian films
- French LGBT-related films
- French multilingual films
- LGBT-related coming-of-age films
- LGBT-related drama films