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PG-13

2022

1h 45m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

154 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Leo and Remi are two thirteen-year-old best friends, whose seemingly unbreakable bond is suddenly, tragically torn apart. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Lukas Dhont's second film is an emotionally transformative and unforgettable portrait of the intersection of friendship and love, identity and independence, and heartbreak and healing.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Daphne Merkin

The New Republic

03/16/2023

[It] not only invokes a common theme but represents an increasingly rare cinematic foray into the sort of complex and intentionally ambiguous material that may not play well at the box office but lingers with the viewer...

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Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

03/05/2023

4/5

Builds upon the promise of 2018’s Girl, confirming Dhont as a deft and empathetic chronicler of the tumultuous anguish and ecstasy of adolescence.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

03/04/2023

4/5

An authentic study of loss, buttressed by two extraordinary child actors, and complemented by a handful of impeccable adult players, most notably Émilie Dequenne...

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Anna Hoang

Boston Hassle

Jul 17

3/5

If AFTERSUN was piecing the puzzles of a muted mystery through MiniDV recorder videos, CLOSE is sobbing in the present while the surrounding life forms the challenging, yet halcyon, days of boyhood.

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Joe Lipsett

The Queer Gaze (Podcast)

May 1

5/5

Devastating is the word to describe this film. What's fascinating is how the boys do not technically identify as queer; it's the hateful world around them that poisons their beautiful, innocent friendship

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Nicolás Medina

Montevideo Portal / Latido Beat

12/19/2023

8/10

The film deals with a level of intimacy, care and a subtle camera accompanying two young actors who really bring it all, with themes varying from innocence, bullying, friendship as first love, to guilt and grief. [Full review in Spanish]

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Debra O

04/17/2023

An engaging & heartbreaking tale about the friendship between two young boys as they become Teens. Innocence and budding sexuality leads to confusion an unspoken rejection resulting in a terrible tragedy. The characters are genuine, the cinematography gorgeous and the story unbearable. Minimal dialog. Subtitled. A beautiful slowly unfolding foreign film leaving many unanswered questions at the end. Tissues required.

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Jaime R

03/03/2023

a devastating look into adolescent social status, friendship, and loss

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Casey C

03/02/2023

Terribly sad, but not just for the obvious reasons. I’m not sure what the director intended, but I read the film as an allegory for a singular individual’s experience, told through two characters. The loss of part of one’s self will forever remain partially in memory, but it will never come back to life again.

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Google U

03/02/2023

An incredible film and one of the very best of the year, featuring some of the best cinematography of the year. Newcomers Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele give beautifully natural performances. Dambrine is a tour-de-fource and De Waele broke my heart. Émilie Dequenne is also great in her supporting turn. A shame she didn't get any awards attention. I didn't know this movie was going to go where it did. I only knew the basic storyline. It was an absolute gut-punch. I was in tears the majority of this film. Director Lukas Dhont is able to effectively establish a really beautiful friendship early on and in a relatively short period of time. As a viewer we are just as devastated by the loss of that friendship as if we had already watched an entire movie about these characters. This film is going to stay with me for a while. I drove a couple hours twice so I could see it a couple times.

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Oscar Joel

03/02/2023

A truly devastating story that implores you to fight back against ridiculous rules of intimacy we allow to exist through our inaction.

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James L

03/01/2023

This film was not what I expected. However, it was one of the most powerful films I have seen recently. I was very glad I saw it.The acting by the young boys was outstanding

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Lukas Dhont

Director

Eden Dambrine

Léo

Gustav De Waele

Rémi

Émilie Dequenne

Sophie

Léa Drucker

Nathalie

Kevin Janssens

Actor

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Synopsis

Leo and Remi are two thirteen-year-old best friends, whose seemingly unbreakable bond is suddenly, tragically torn apart. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Lukas Dhont's second film is an emotionally transformative and unforgettable portrait of the intersection of friendship and love, identity and independence, and heartbreak and healing.

Director: Lukas Dhont
Producer: Michiel Dhont, Dirk Impens
Screenwriter: Lukas Dhont, Angelo Tijssens
Distributor: A24
Production Co: Versus Production, Diaphana Films, Topkapi Films, Menuet Producties
Rating: PG-13 (Suicide|Brief Strong Language|Thematic Material)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 2, 2022, Limited
Runtime: 1h 45m
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1

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