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The 100 Most Anticipated Movies of 2022

2022

Lukas Dhont

Eden Dambrine, Gustav De Waele, Émilie Dequenne, Léa Drucker ...

7.4

7,764

Drama Two 13-year-old boys have always been incredibly close but they are drift apart after their relationship is questioned by schoolmates. When tragedy strikes, one is forced to confront why he distanced himself from his closest friend.

	Author	Review
United Kingdom	Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"There are two excellent performances from newcomers Gustav De Waele and Eden Dambrine (...) There's no doubting the force of this drenchingly sad story (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Leslie Felperin The Hollywood Reporter	"[This] layered, exquisitely shot work will likely have a massive impact on the careers of Dhont, several of his crew, and the film's young stars (...) A tender heartbreaker with a stunning lead turn"	POS
United Kingdom	Max Copeman Radio Times	"Even the most stone-hearted viewer might catch their lip wobbling during this weapons-grade tearjerker (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Damon Wise Deadline	"A minimalist melodrama that shows a definite growth in visual style but may be confronting to some with its deliberately unhurried (...) A film about loss of innocence and the putting away of childish things"	NEU
United Kingdom	Neil Smith Total Film	"Guileless performances, understated direction and bucolic Belgian scenery combine to create a quiet gem of a film you Dhont want to miss (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	Wendy Ide Screendaily	"The combination of knock out performances, in particular from newcomer Dambrine, and direction of uncommon sensitivity from Dhont makes for a picture which is intimate in scope but which packs a considerable emotional wallop"	POS
United States	David Katz The Film Stage	"A well-crafted tearjerker of a manipulative kind that believes the best way to move an audience is by prodding them"	NEU
Ireland	Tara Brady Irish Times	"Terrific performances, claustrophobic cinematography, weepie-worthy orchestrations and meaningful musings on how we hide behind small-talk (...) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Ryan Leston SlashFilm	"It's a tender glimpse of loss on an unimaginable scale, told through the lens of a young boy trying to make sense of it all"	POS
United States	Ben Kenigsberg rogerebert.com	"There's no depth to the film's treatment of the fallout (...) Dhont's emotional strong-arming has paid off. But this is a shallow, calculating film masquerading as a sensitive one"	NEG
United Kingdom	Nicholas Barber BBC	"It's hard to imagine anyone seeing 'Close' without being rocked by his tremendous empathy and vision. At the age of 31, Dhont is already an exceptional filmmaker, and this is an exceptional film (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Gregory Ellwood The Playlist	"When and how it hits you is a testament to Dhont's skills as a filmmaker. There is no one moment. It could be one of many. And that, frankly, is a truly remarkable cinematic feat"	POS
United Kingdom	Robbie Collin Telegraph	"In place of the sentimentality that often comes with boyhood portraits, Dhont's film renders a boyhood experience in thrillingly crisp, grown-up terms (...) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Peter Debruge Variety	"I am convinced that Dhont has a masterpiece in him. But there's an immaturity to his movies that he must first overcome. He's already so close"	NEU
United States	Ben Croll The Wrap	"Dhont is a generous and patient director of his unknown and more established performers, giving all moments to shine (...) The young Dambrine gives a fine, extremely interior performance"	POS
United States	J.R. Jones Chicago Reader	"Moving 2022 French drama"	POS
Canada	Graeme Guttmann Screen Rant	"An unforgettable meditation on friendship & boyhood (...) A portrait of before & after, of the intimacy of friendship & the devastation of losing it, with an astonishing performance at the cente (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Phil de Semlyen Time Out	"This beautiful elegy of lost innocence belongs in the pantheon of films about childhood (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	David Ehrlich IndieWire	"Beautiful as Dhont's eye for detail can be, 'Close' still finds its sensitive filmmaker defaulting to universal pain whenever he fears that more personal feelings may be too poignantly ethereal to see on camera"	NEU
United States	Diego Semerene Slant	"The film reminds us that any coming of age is a risky business where finitude and mourning are the only guarantees (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"	POS
Canada	Peter Howell Toronto Star	"[A] sensitive drama (...) Our empathy holds fast"	POS
United Kingdom	Mark Kermode The Guardian	"Achingly poignant tale of the end of a childhood friendship (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Leah Greenblatt Entertainment Weekly	"A gorgeously devastating portrait of adolescence"	POS
United States	Jenny Nulf Austin Chronicle	"While leaving it open-ended does feel a bit incomplete, it doesn’t necessarily take away from the film’s beautiful exploration of Léo’s feelings for Rémi (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 5)"	POS
	Fabien Lemercier Cineuropa	"'Close' proves a wonderful cinematographic balancing act, both incisive and thought-provoking, which combines realism, lyricism and melodrama with touching smoothness and without a hint of excess"	POS

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