Mark Kermode reviews Close - Kermode and Mayo's Take 

Remembering the scene with Leo in the arm cast. I was a mess. It said so much about how no one would judge a male for crying from physical pain, or anyone for screaming on a roller coaster. That moment was just beautifully telegraphed. For a film w/ little dialogue, there is much to be said!

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but maybe you could see the character of Remi as an manifestation of childhood itself. As a kid you try to rid yourself of your childhood as fast as possible and reach adulthood, but damn do you long for it when you finally do get there.

This is my favourite among the Oscar nominees for Best international film. The main kid never acted before, yet he gave one of the most powerful and challenging performances I've seen recently. THAT scene halfway through the movie broke my heart, and the ending was beautiful and cathartic. Lukas Dhont's directing style reminds me a lot of Celine Sciamma, both directors capture kids' behaviour in a realistic and compassionate way.

It took me a week to recover from this film. It was emotionally draining. Amazing piece of art.

I was so captured by this film, I didn’t even realise how little talking there was until I saw the comments, so simple yet powerful

Completely agree with Mark's review, this is definitely a film where less is far more. So little is said, but so much is communicated. Still feeling a bit teary about it.

Perfect example of a movie critic that loves cinema and another proof that Mark is the best at his craft.

I have never felt so gutted by a film, i cant even begin to explain what it means to me

This film is heartbreaking and gorgeous.

Thank you. I found the film both compelling and utterly heartbreaking to watch. A sophisticated and multi layered piece, expertly using a range of filmic techniques to enhance powerful feelings. And yes: less is definitely more here.

Agree almost entirely with the review. The score was superb, the cinematography had so much life to it. My only criticism was that the midway revelation seemed to happen too early into the film for me, and made the latter half feel a tad like there was nowhere else for the film to go. I still loved it though.

I ugly cried hard like 4 times. It's so good and sad.

Just saw this today at Vue. I loved it. I was repeatedly in tears with it. My feeling were very much like yours Mark. And great that my local Vue has it on. But then my Vue always have something decent on aside from the mainstream fodder. Tomorrow going to see Buck and the Preacher and Wed EO.

Absolutely breathtaking film - devastating

Beautifully understated poignancy is by far my favourite genre. Genius when it is done well, as it is here. Such a beautiful film.

Fantastic film. Hugely powerful, incredibly acted.

Utterly heartbreaking film, beautifully made.

A mi me paso algo parecido, con la diferencia que mi mejor amigo sigue vivo y hasta el día de hoy no nos hablamos. Aunque se haya ido, viví su ausencia como si en verdad hubiera fallecido y sigo pensando que será de su existencia ahora. Sigo guardando luto en su cumpleaños, ya van siete años que no se nada de su persona y se que no le importa tanto lo que a mi me pase en estos momentos. Así que he tenido que aprender a vivir de nuevo y ha sido difícil, no lo niego, pero bien. Ahora estoy en otra etapa de mi vida intentando superar ciertas cosas y espero algún día se decida, aunque este en mi lecho de muerte.

Makes me think of “so long, see you tomorrow” by William maxwell.

Ein emotionaler Film, bei dem ich ein paar mal weinen musste und mich auch ein paar Tage beschäftigt hat! Niemand hat das Recht, weil man vielleicht nicht in ihre Welt passt, eine so enge Freundschaft zu zerstören!! So eine besondere Verbindung kann es auch zwischen Jungen und nicht nur bei Mädchen geben!! Leider wird das, obwohl man meint das die Kinder oder auch Erwachsenen heute aufgeklärter sind, immer noch falsch gedeutet. Musste diese Erfahrung auch selbst machen. Unsere Freundschaft ist seitdem nicht mehr so wie früher Der Film wurde auf jeden Fall sehr weltnah und von zwei tollen talentierten Jungen verkörpert!

Loved this film. Though I think it should be banned. I was crying, devastated, throughout it. Not done that, in this way, for years. It blew my mind.

I don't use this terminology lightly, but this movie destroyed me!!! It was obne of the most beautiful and most devastating films I ever got to experience.

I'm sure I won't be able to see this film here in the United States. They'll make a big deal about it while being very selective about where it can be screened. Then it will dissappear into obscurity just like the film Danseur did. That's just messed up. 😕

I think that midpoint catastrophe was garish, and gave Dhont an easy way to squeeze tear ducts for ugly-cry melodrama. How much more challenging for the filmmakers--and ultimately, how much more fulfilling for the audience--if they had instead decided to employ observation, and nuance, and insight in telling the story of a friendship fading into a distant memory. After all, much, much more of us lose friendships without going through that soap-operatic plot turn.

Managed to see this last night - started promisingly as we explore young male relationship dynamics - something very rarely so openly portrayed on screen - and then for some reason the director decided to end that part of the story and make it a film about mourning - beautifully done but to start with something so unexplored and to end with something so familiar was disappointing. I had the painful realisation midway through that I knew what was coming next and was watching a film reach quite a TV movie-esque predictable conclusion - the total opposite of how I felt at the beginning. I think cinema is at its best when it explores new territory - but saying that, revisiting known territory but in a new historical context is also interesting. The way these kids explore emotions is profoundly moving. Definitely one of the most beautifully shot films of the last 5 years - the luminosity of the colours, the greens, pinks, red flowers, the golden skin, were incredible.

The film team did an excellent job. Each scene is carefully crafted. It frustrates me, however, that the close bond of friendship between Léo and Rémi can only be experienced in the first third of the movie. Both actors were talented, likeable and still childlike. What a waste! The filmmaker loses the thread of his movie so completely.

Director Dhont has found two incredible leads in Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele. But for two-thirds of the screen time, we only see one of the two. What a waste of talent! If one of them had done something terrible, which would not have been successful and would have been understood by both families (Léo's family and Rémi's family) as a cry for help, the friendship could have been rekindled. How can a tender friendship hold its own in a critical environment (secondary school)? Eden Dambrine is a ballet dancer in real life. That would have given beautiful moments in the film. There is a recent interview with actor Gustav De Waele. Search term: bruzz Gustav De Waele I used a machine translation to read this interview (with Gustav de Waele) in Flemish.