Belgian director Lukas Dhont in an interview: "I think there is a crisis of masculinity"

Belgian director Lukas Dhont, who won the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix, a “second place” in the accolades, with “Close”, told Lusa that the film can encourage conversations around the current “masculinity crisis”. It’s very important to show the challenges of masculinity, play with them and also oppose them”, said the director, who spoke on the sidelines of the film’s presentation in Los Angeles. “I think there is a crisis of masculinity. If we can have this conversation, that’s the most valuable thing that will come out of this movie”, he considered. “Close” is in the running for Oscar nominations and is Lukas Dhont’s second feature film, after “Girl”. ” data-title=”Belgian director Lukas Dhont in an interview: “I think there is a crisis of masculinity” – SAPO Mag”>
The story revolves around the very strong friendship of two 13-year-old teenagers, Léo and Rémi, and how it falls apart when their closeness is questioned by their new schoolmates. Léo, bothered by the suggestion, begins to question nature. of his relationship with his best friend. “There is a change. He suddenly has this need to understand what kind of relationship that is,” explained Lukas Dhont. “This is a point of no return.” The film “is about tenderness and the loss of it” at a confusing time in development. There is a tragedy that occurs later and an apparent emotional suppression in the teenager, which Dhont explored as a form of questioning. it”, said the director. “His emotions cannot be expressed because he still feels very guilty about his actions,” he continued. “The film is also about how we expect young guys to react and the space we give them to express themselves.” This point contrasts with the dinner scene in which the man cries and the woman maintains a stoic countenance, contrary to stereotypes. “Normally the roles would be completely reversed,” Dhont said. “We wanted to take another approach. It was a continuation of the film’s theme of the universe of masculinity.” Dhont asks what intimacy means between teenagers, what is considered normal and abnormal, what expectations there are in reacting to a tragic loss, and how the weight of emotions it is endured in the context of social conditioning. Speaking in French, “Close” stars Eden Dambrine (Léo), Gustav de Waele (Rémi), Émilie Dequenne (Sophie), Léa Drucker (Nathalie) and Kevin Janssens (Peter). Supported by strong interpretations, the film has an aesthetic very connected to nature, with huge fields of flowers (Leo’s family business) and the solitude of the woods. Lukas Dhont explained that the production “worked with nature”, filming in several seasons to capture the different moments of planting, flowering and harvesting. to promote the feature film, which will begin to enter the European commercial circuit in November, with a first screening in French theaters announced for the 1st. about the importance of connection,” he explained. Before the Los Angeles screening, Dhont told the audience that the film was the beginning of a conversation with them. “It’s my way of connecting with you, my way of expressing things that I couldn’t express in real life,” he said. “I hope you find beauty in this film. It is an ode to friendship and the importance of connection.” The Belgian also said that he became a filmmaker under the influence of his mother and that the seventh art was fundamental in his growth. “Films and cinema saved me, in many ways” , he said. “Because when I was a teenager I was very uncomfortable. The cinema was my escape”.