We hear it early, in a scene in which childhood friends Léo and Rémi are lolling next to each other during one of their frequent sleepovers. Leo is telling Rémi a strange bedtime story about a duck and a lizard, and at one point creates a believable sound of wind with his breath.Sign up to receive daily headline news from Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Belgian director and co-writer Lukas Dhont lets the story play out slowly and easily, taking his cues from the rhythms of childhood in which a season, whether inflected by the almost-still air of summer or the gusts of autumn schooldays, seems to last forever. But of course the wind that is time never truly stops. A traumatic event midway through this story changes everyone’s perceptions, both within the film and in the audience.
I will say no more about it, except to note that it’s fascinating to watch the faces of the characters as they react to circumstances. We see the young boys trying to navigate life and friendship, and watch as their mothers – Émile Dequenne and Léa Drucker, each matching her on-screen son in looks, both radiating a gentle maternal warmth – offer love and guidance, while at the same time clearly existing as individuals and not just “moms.
Their casting is a minor triumph in the creation and use of secondary characters. But it is the younger stars who occupy most of our time and attention. That draft you feel in the cinema while watchingmay feature an ill wind, but it ultimately does its viewers good.5 stars out of 5