What went into your decision to include the suicide in the movie? Up until that point Close is a devastating story of this beautiful friendship that is ruined because of the ugliness of societal norms. And then the suicide happens and it adds a whole other layer to the film. How did you arrive at that point?
Primarily because I think it’s important to talk about the wars we wage inside us. We focus on the brutality done to others and I wonder how we can de-stigmatise talking about the wars inside. When we tell young men from early on to become performers and to break something, to disconnect from the language of the hearts, we also create this deep sense of loneliness and disconnection that felt important for me to talk about. I felt like we are stigmatising talking about suicide and mental health. We are all somehow, sometimes confronted with it through other people maybe and yet it is so difficult for us to speak of it. It comes out of this urgency and necessity to address what happens when this world itself is too brutal for some.
Tell me about the colour palette in the film. Léo ‘s mostly in white. Rémi’s in red and his bedroom also has that vivid red wall. What went into these choices?
I love working with colour. My mother is a teacher, but in her free time she painted. As a child, I’d watch her use colour and painting, be expressive with colour and that’s something I’ve implemented. I love when colour speaks, I love when there is this sensation to it. For example, I knew that the film would start in a field of flowers, in an explosion of colour. I wanted the film’s palette to be culled from these films, so when the film’s tonality becomes darker, it’s more Earth brown. When it came to Rémi’s room, I knew that we needed an image that would show the impact of violence. When it comes to the broken door, I thought it would be powerful to have a red that accompanied that atmosphere. I knew that red could be a colour that, at the beginning of the film, could stand for something completely different: for a safe space, a bubble, the passion and love that the two boys share so intimately. I could see a beautiful shift in meaning – that something which was beautiful now seems harrowing.
Can I ask about the movies that have moved you emotionally in the way that Close (2022) has moved so many people?
I’ve been moved in many ways. Great films move you in ways that could even be anger. I love 400 Blows (1959), I love L’Incompris (1966) by Luigi Comencini, I love Andrea Arnold’s work, I love Céline Sciamma’s work, I love Wong Kar-Wai and Pedro Almodóvar. I’m moved by people who dedicate their lives to this field, I’m moved by their passion.
Close will stream on MUBI India this Friday.