Always Good Movies

Direction: Lukas Dhont
Country: Belgium / France / Netherlands

Lukas Dhont’s sophomore feature, Close, is an unheralded gem of a motion picture, and one of the most authentic depictions of teenage tragedy in memory. If the 31-year-old Belgian director, a specialized artisan in filming adolescence and the quest for identity, had made a name for himself with Girl (2018), he now takes a huge leap forward with a deeply moving drama about two inseparable 13-year-old friends, whose special connection is suddenly disrupted in the face of the quick judgment shown by their schoolmates. Tragedy leads to guilt, whose corrosiveness is deterrent to a normal life.

It’s impossible not to be taken in by this devastating and powerful film marked by standout nuanced performances from the two young leads, Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele. One simply finds perfection in their acting debuts.

Finely framed and tightly constructed, the film deals with emotions that swell significantly in non-flashy ways. Every occasion is clearly expressed, including the beautiful scenes between mothers and sons. I found the payoff considerably higher here than in the majority of movies about the same topic. One thing is certain: after watching Close, you won't forget its protagonists such is the intimacy and pain associated with their interactions.

While working on the thoughtful screenplay, Dhont drew inspiration from the book Deep Secrets: Boys’ Friendships and the Crisis of Connection by psychology professor Niobe Way. His formidable film was the recipient of Cannes Grand Prix and lingers in my head since I’ve watched it.

Direction: Lukas Dhont
Country: Belgium / Netherlands

Lukas Dhont’s Girl has the young Victor Polster shinning with a solid first performance. He plays a 15-year-old trans girl entangled in a morose and emotionally devastating process of sex transition while pursuing her dream of becoming a professional ballerina. Sharing the writing credits with Angelo Tijssens, Dhont sought inspiration in the real story of Nora Monsecour, a Belgian trans woman who, on top of collaborating in the script, came to the director's defense when the controversy arose regarding a self-mutilation scene and the excessive exposition of the main character’s genitals.

Lara (Polster) was born Viktor, and is now in the process of changing the incorrect male body for what her mind and soul always told her to be. Although expressing some doubt about her sexual orientation, she is absolutely sure of her sexual identity. She pierces her own ears - an old dream - and tapes her private parts to attend ballet classes at a prestigious Dutch academy. Her best friend is her supportive single father, Mathias (Arieh Worthalter), an open-minded taxi driver who keeps encouraging her to talk unreservedly about feelings and concerns.

However, the world is not perfect, and Lara gets moody and frustrated while undergoing hormone therapy. Moreover, schoolmates and fellow dancers are not always polite in their impertinent curiosity, and their subtle yet excruciating hostility simply reflects an unprepared society to deal with differences and individual choices.

Having to wait two long years for the operation, disillusion becomes a thick, fast-growing layer placed between what she really wants to achieve and the limiting reality. The perturbation is of such order that she asks the doctors to increase the hormone intake. The desperate angst of feeling displaced in a body that is not hers, leads to radical measures to accelerate the procedure.

Despite ambitious and perfectly plausible in its complexity, the story could have taken the tension further, never entering into a thought-provoking territory. What I found most interesting here was the father/daughter relationship, while the rest remains standardized and somewhat guessable. Notwithstanding, the young Polster bravely steps into an exceptional role that makes the film watchable, while Dutch cinematographer Frank van den Eeden gives the gorgeously composed frames a coruscating, warm look.