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Close (2022 film)
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Wikipedia article
'Close' is a 2022 French-language Belgian drama film directed by Lukas Dhont from a screenplay by Dhont and Angelo Tijssens, reteaming after their first feature film 'Girl'. The film stars Eden Dambrine, Gustav de Waele, Emilie Dequenne and La Drucker.
The film premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, on May 26, 2022, where it was later awarded the Grand Prix. The film will be released by Lumire in Benelux, by Diaphana Distribution in France, and by A24 in the United States. On September 16th, 2022, the film was announced as Belgium's submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.
Plot
Thirteen year olds Lo and Rmi 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, Lo attempts to distance himself from Rmi. When Rmi disappears, Lo grows closer to Rmi's mother, Sophie.
Cast
* Eden Dambrine as Lo
* Gustav de Waele as Rmi
* milie Dequenne as Sophie
* La Drucker as Nathalie
* Kevin Janssens as Peter
* Marc Weiss as Yves
* Igor van Dessel as Charlie
* Lon Bataille as Baptiste
Production
On December 19, 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."
There were no further developments on the project until July 23, 2020, when it was announced that Dhont had set up an open casting call for the two male lead roles in the film that were set to be played by amateur actors, with the casting scheduled to take place at the end of August. In addition, filming was scheduled to start the following summer. On October 20, 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 the film. On June 29, 2021, the film featured on Eurimages' annual list of co-production financing, with the fund supporting the film with 300,000.
Principal photography for the film began on July 9, 2021. Alongside the start of production, it was also announced that Emilie Dequenne and La Drucker were cast in main roles. Speaking about the film, Dhont said:
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.
Release
'Close' had its world premiere in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, on May 26, 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.
The film will be released by Lumire in Benelux, by Diaphana Distribution in France, and by A24 in the United States.
Reception
Critical reception
According to the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, 'Close' has a 93% approval rating based on 29 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 8.6/10. On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film holds a score of 83 out of 100 based on 12 reviews indicating universal acclaim.In a poll by IndieWire of 75 critics at Cannes, 'Close' was named the best film of the festival. Dhont shared the Grand Prix with Claire Denis' 'Stars At Noon'. The film also won the Sydney Film Prize in June 2022 at the Sydney Film Festival.
Accolades
References
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