CLOSE (2022) is one of the films that A24 distributed in North America. It is something more vague and quiet that cannot be expressed in simple words such as sad or wistful.
In this article, we will not go into too much of the synopsis, but will focus on the emotions left in the “pauses” of the work. We will focus on the changes in the relationship between Leo and Remi and the emotions left in the “pauses” between them, and carefully unravel what this work has left behind.
Watch this film
🎬 CLOSE/Close (2022)
- Running time: 104 min.
- Genre: Drama
- "CLOSE" official website
▶ Watch "CLOSE" now!
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First discomfort
In the first half of the story, there is a clear sense of discomfort in Leo's (Eden Dambrine) behavior.
He begins to treat Remi (Gustav De Waele), who was once so close to him, with a kind of distance. the change feels so sudden that it can even come across as one-sided.
So at first, Leo looks bad. I wonder if the reason Remi chose to die was because of that distance.
However, as the story progresses, what you see gradually changes. We begin to follow Leo's facial expressions and gestures rather than his words.
What are you thinking?
What do you feel?
What came into view was a form of loss.
What I couldn't put into words
Has Leo changed or is he broken?
Perhaps it is neither of those things.
I stepped onto the side of adulthood just a little bit earlier. Perhaps that was all it was.
A sticky, touching relationship suddenly becomes embarrassing. You begin to worry about the way people look at you. It is a very natural change that comes to everyone.
But Remi had not gotten there yet.
Leo may not have been able to put the change into words. Or perhaps he was embarrassed to put it into words.
So I could only protect myself by keeping my distance. But that silence did not reach Remi.
Two people too close together.
I think Leo and Remi were too close together.
They were closer than siblings and different from love. They were like a part of me.
That is why the slightest misalignment has created an irreparable distance.
There is one irony here.
Remi did not understand the significance of Leo's change. But he had become “mature” enough to carry out the act of choosing death on his own.
We understand the concept of death and choose to do so. That is something that can never be done as a child. And yet, Remi could not see only the change in Leo, who should have been closest to him.
Live with it, live with it.
What remained with Leo was not a clear sin. It was an “understanding” that would never disappear.
What did my words and attitude cause?
I know that, and I know it clearly.
All of this is quietly received in that scene when Remi faces his mother.
Rejected, shunned, and still embraced in the end.
We are not forgiven or saved.
No one denied the fact that it was just there.
After that, Remi's house will be empty. Because the reality is too heavy to continue to remain in that place.
Nevertheless, Leo still goes there to visit.
Leo's straight gaze at the end was not something he had overcome. They were the eyes of someone who chose to live with what he had.
Nothing has been resolved.
Nothing is saved.
Still, we have no choice but to proceed.
To live with and to live with.
This work will remain quietly in the sky of your mind without telling you all about it.
▶ Watch "CLOSE" on demand.
Amazon Prime Video／U-NEXT／Hulu
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"CLOSE" © Menuet / Diaphana Films / Topkapi Films / Versus Production 2022
*The information on this page is current as of March 2026. Please check each official page for the latest distribution status.
