The French film by Lukas Dhont, “Close”, premiered at the Keene State Putnam Theater from April 14 to 17.
The film is a coming-of-age story following two best friends, Leo and Remi, and how their relationship affects their school life. A tragedy happens to Leo, which afterward affects him for the rest of the film.
Their friendship is nice to see because you experience how much love Leo and Remi have towards each other. Their relationship is intimate, and questioned by their classmates, which causes a drift. You also see inside each of their home lives, where Leo works on a farm with his family while Remi practices the oboe.
This was my first time viewing a French film, and I enjoyed it. It was an emotional and compelling story about friendship and dealing with grief.
I liked the chemistry all the actors gave for the performance, especially the actors portraying Leo and Remi. I also like how the story follows the beginning of a school year and ends with the end of the school year.
“Close” deals with accepting the consequences of others that we care about and the effects on them. Seeing the drift between Leo and Remi after seeing how much they care about each other was sad to see. I felt this film had a good direction and executed the relationship of the friendship depicted well.
My favorite part of the film was when Leo was learning and playing hockey. The shots and moments on the ice with the camera focused on Leo were cool to see. This scene makes it feel like you are with Leo on his journey with hockey.
The moments with Remi’s oboe are cool as well. It was also like the hockey moments where you feel you are along with Remi when he’s practicing and performing it at a concert. The cinematography and shots of the countryside of France were fascinating to see. The shots and moments on the farm were interesting to see, like where you see Leo after a long day of farm work.
I also liked the moments when Leo and Remi were traveling around by biking.. I like moments where you experience the world with the characters. I felt this film had great worldbuilding qualities. Additionally, the scenes with the school field trip hit me emotionally, as I saw how this moment affected the rest of the film. The second and third act of the film are vastly different from the first act.
In addition to the cinematography, I felt the score was excellent and was incorporated well with the film, especially at the low moments. The montage shots on the farm and sunsets with the strings were amazing to see as well. This was a more interesting take on a coming-of-age film than previous ones I have seen. I felt that is what made it a unique story to tell, and I really thought it was a great time.
I appreciate the Putnam Theater for bringing in a lot of foreign films this year. Overall, “Close” was an emotional film to experience.
Shawn Belden can be contacted
at sbelden@kscequinox.com
