Film

Film reviews: Bleak shadows of reality darken a shared boyhood innocence in Oscar contender

It’s impossible to discuss Belgian director Lukas Dhont’s Close in depth without revealing too much of the plot, but the film is notable for extraordinary performances from its two central characters

Gustav De Waele and Eden Dambrine in Close, a heartbreakingly empathetic story of childhood friendship

Winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes last year, and competing against An Cailín Ciúin for the International Feature Film Oscar in a little over a week, Belgian writer and director Lukas Dhont’s Close is a heartbreakingly empathetic story of childhood friendship, told with exquisite grace and jarring emotional honesty.

The film is so delicately poised, in fact, that it poses a problem for the critic or indeed anyone who wants to talk about it. ...