“I found it devastatingly powerful without feeling manipulated.“
Con Nats
4 Budding Flowers
It’s pleasantly surprising to see yet another small, personal European film make the Oscar nominations with Close, which has already picked up the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes amongst a swathe of others.
Leo (Eden Dambrine) and Erin (Gustav De Waele) are two young 12 year old boys who have grown up together. They play, eat and even sleep together. Leo is the more gregarious one; Erin is the musical introvert who can’t sleep. Leo he tells him stories and encourages his clarinet playing. They act and talk like two friends verging on being young lovers which they don’t realise until they start high school together. That’s where the awkwardness and bullying begins. They push and pull away from each other then Leo decides to join the ice hockey team and befriends their foes. He then doesn’t wait for Erin to cycle to school together which results in a fight. This makes their division clear and then tragedy strikes.
When you look at the Oscar nominees, you’ll see a clear divide between the American and European films. While the American films need lashes of schmaltz and action to make their points, European films use silence and restraint. (Ok, you can argue All Quiet On The Western Front is an action film, but it’s also focuses on the emotions rather than just the spectacle.) Instead of characters blurting out ‘their feelings’ they use facial expressions and acting to convey them. It’s far more powerful and intimate.
Writer-director Lukas Dhont and cinematographer Frank van den Eeden use handheld cameras, rich colours and close-ups to tell this tender story. It’s beautifully shot and there’s a nice allegory with Leo’s family farming flowers. The script uses minimal dialogue and the actors’ talents to allow Dhont to use quiet lingering shots.
I’m constantly amazed at how well kids perform in these roles. Perhaps it’s because they don’t focus on ‘acting’ but ‘being’. The whole production feels natural and real and there isn’t a false performance amongst the cast and Dambrine as Leo amazes. The work of the both boys is brilliant and even brother Charlie (Igor van Dessel) and the parents shine. Some of the scenes between Leo and Erin’s mother, Sophie (Émilie Dequenne) are the most moving. Dequenne’s work is extraordinary. She provides the stoicism and emotions Leo searches for.
This film draws on your emotions rather than reaching out to play your heart strings. I barely noticed the soundtrack. I found it devastatingly powerful without feeling manipulated. It only leans into melodrama at the end, but it doesn’t spoil the film. Your heart will already be aching by then.
Con Nats, On The Screen
