It is the pure symbolism that Dhont was trying to convey, with as little dialogue as possible without making it an ideological statement. And as far as I’m concerned this is a must watch for anyone, male or female regardless of who or what you are if you’ve had that one friendship as a child that was everything to you. This film broke decades of denial, grief and locked away emotions for me. I too had an extremely similar experience as depicted in this film at age 13. But it didn’t end because of labels or societal “norms”. It ended in the sudden death of my best friend which caused me to shut down for over a decade afterwards. With substance abuse, inability to form new friendships, etc. Then locking away and trying to forget that what I had wasn’t ever real. It was real. And this film gave me vindication for what I knew was real and finally allowed me to fully grieve. Cried for days after watching this recently, having no idea what it was about. I watched the Cannes screening recognition ovation for this film. Judging by the reception there has to be a lot of people, especially men who had this kind of experience but would never talk about it as adults. Can’t say enough about this film. It alleviated years of silent suffering within me and I wished that something like this had been available years ago. A must watch.

Hi Mitchell, I just discovered your channel and like the way you review films -- no long, fancy intro and no fluff. You just dive right in and keep it short. I like that. So, thank you for making your reviews so easy and clear to listen to. As far as Close, I loved it, and would like to see it again, but it's so heartwrenching that I think I need a bit more time before a second viewing. What I liked about the movie was the acting and the overall storyline. Both child actors were superb! I also liked the sheer beauty of the film with the flower fields, etc. On the negative side, I thought they spent too much time on the hockey scenes as well as on the playground with the kids, where they basically stood around for the most part. I don't think the hockey or playground scenes really added much to the film. Other than that I loved it. I gave it a 9. Thanks again, Mitchell, and I look forward to more excellent reviews. Keep up the great work!

I agree with your review. I thought some scenes would go in a different direction than what actually played out ,but without going into detail as to not spoil anything it is a very good movie nonetheless.

I bought this film from KZfaq for $20, it for sale in the KZfaq movie section; legit from 24 studios. The way this movie is directed, it is not clear if this is a typical pre-adolescent bromance, or if it is a budding relationship on purpose, it is your call. Most boys have very deep friendships from say 8 to 12, 13, is what these boy where. It didn't give much hope for youngsters in this situation, which at this late date, is concerning. I could say more, but it would be a spoiler.

I think this movie, proves that society is responsable for us, people being sad, unhappy and miserable. Leo has to live with the consequences of his actions for the rest of his life.