Close (2022)

This movie depends on you not knowing too much about it when you watch it, making a review harder to write. This is a beautifully crafte dand overall remarkable film with exquisitely modulated performances by non-actors in the lead roles, and imagery that will make you want to spend a month in the Belgian countryside. The story is about two families and more specifically about two boys. Léo and Rémi both grew up on small farms worked by their families. They ride their bikes to and from school every day, and at the end of a workday, one will often go over to the other's house for dinner and to sleep over. They have an easy closeness that works well with their families, who are also close, but when one of them is bullied at school and the other becomes a bit more popular, the way of their closeness changes. It is inevitable and also sad--the way that toxic masculinity shapes the behavior of the next generation on playgrounds around the world. This one is a quiet handling of all of that, with very realistic lack of communication and exploration of feelings. I think all of the nominees in the best International Film catagory in 2023 were very good, this one included.