Close
It's a lot harder to watch a second time, knowing now where it goes (and that it is definitely not a thriller about a killer kid, which I still argue is what the poster implies). All of the acting is amazing (the gets aren't at 100%, but they can hit a 95), the story is beautifully told (although the pacing gets a bit slow in the back half), and they develop the relationships a lot for such a short movie. I wish we did more with the ending, but the story feels so personal that I'd be afraid to change too much. I still love what the movie has to day and I wish people paid more attention to that. I don't think Leo and Remi are gay, but it doesn't even matter. The fact that their close friendship bothered people so much is the problem. Watching Fish Jelly's review after this and hearing the opinions of two gay men, I realized how universal this movie should be. These kids have been friends forever and they feel like they are bothers (we later see Leo and his actual brother have a similar kind of relationship) and they have developed such a deep security with each other and as soon as they start at a new school, the world tries to crush it. Two girls keep asking Leo if he and Remi are "together" and Leo keeps telling them "No, we've just been friends forever" and that they aren't making out or holding hands or whatever; they're relationship looks a lot like her and her friends. The girls are allowed to have this kind of relationship, but the boys aren't. I spent the first third jealous of how close the two were, wishing I had friends like that, but the culture just won't allow it. I didn't cry this time, there are so many scenes where just the look on Leo's face is enough to get the room a little misty. It's hard to not look at Close on tandem with Young Hearts, but these two movie diverge very quickly and are clearly destined for opposite destinations. Young Hearts is a cute little YA kind of movie that has something to say, but handles everything with kid gloves. Close is much more of a raw drama that throws you into the fire and cheers as you burn.