The distance between the wide social embrace of gay marriage and political and bureaucratic acceptance remains indefensibly large. It’s that very void that Cato Kusters targets in her well-intentioned debut feature Julian. The romantic drama steers clear of polemic, illustrating its point through the genuine affection of its title character and her partner as their love becomes a campaign of queer rights visibility. Occasionally tilting over into edutainment, the picture nonetheless displays Kusters’ knack for capturing the magically ordinary intimacies that form an unforgettable romance.
It’s 2017 and Julian (Laurence Roothooft) and Fleur (Nina Meurisse) get engaged. As they float ideas with their friends about where to celebrate their marriage, they make it clear that destinations like Greece and Italy — where gay unions were illegal at the time (Greece made it legal in 2024) — are out of the question. But limited options provide a stroke of inspiration. Julian and Fleur decide to get married twenty-two times, once in each place where gay marriage is legal, starting in their home of Brussels, Belgium.
Fleur, a journalist, pitches a piece about the project at the outlet where she works. Undeterred when she’s turned down for funding, Fleur pursues sponsorships on her own, as Julian, a hydrographer, takes leave from her work. Armed with camcorders, the pair document their unique adventure each step of the way. Their weddings, they hope, will spark awareness about the surprisingly few places in the world where gay marriage is recognized. But all the planning in the world can’t account for the heartbreaking tragedy that looms on the horizon when Julian is diagnosed with brain cancer.
Based on the memoir by Fleur Pierets, the screenplay by Kusters and Lukas Dhont collaborator Angelo Tijssens (Girl, Close) weaves the story down a non-linear path of longing, remembrance, and the heady immediacy of love. The story is partially framed around Fleur’s preparation of a lecture about the project following Julian’s passing. However, the result is a film that struggles to strike the balance between the melodramatic needs of the narrative and its desire to grasp the deeply ephemeral connection between two people. At times, Julian can feel diagrammatic in its explication of the inequalities queer people face. When a city clerk shares that his queer teenage nephew, who took his own life, would’ve admired Julian and Fleur’s project, it’s a bit of sentimental hand-holding that feels unnecessary. The picture is at its most affecting when it’s at its loosest. A sequence in which Julian rehearses her wedding vows over footage of Fleur racing across a lawn in her wedding dress is truly gorgeous. Small moments, such as the pair catching eyes across a dinner table, or even leaning close to review a spreadsheet, relay an attachment that jumps the bounds of their project.
Technically, the film is finely crafted. The cinematography by Michel Rosendaal seamlessly blends a sturdy hand on the picture’s narrative elements with Julian and Fleur’s pleasingly unpolished home video footage. Editor Lot Rossmark pulls it all together effortlessly, even as the story moves between Europe and New York City. But its the performances — particularly by Roothooft as the tall, buzzcut, spirited Julian — that allows the picture, in its best moments, to feel unguarded and spontaneous.
Hydrographers survey large bodies of water, identifying potential features or obstacles to enable smooth and safe nautical navigation. Julian, in her way, mapped a life with Fleur, one that they planned to follow around the globe under she couldn’t. Death, as Fleur learns, is just as immediate as love, and just as lasting. Julian is a topography of relationship and reminds us that just because something might end, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s over.
Director: Cato Kusters
Screenplay: Cato Kusters, Angelo Tijssens
Cast: Nina Meurisse, Laurence Roothooft
Producers: Michiel Dhont, Lukas Dhont
Cinematography: Michel Rosendaal
Production design: Catherine Cosme
Costume design: Josine Immoos
Editing: Lot Rossmark
Music: Evgueni Galperine, Sacha Galperine
Sound: Arne Winderickx
Production companies: The Reunion (Belgium), Les Films Du Fleuve (Belgium), Topkapi Films (Netherlands)
World sales: The Match Factory
Venue: Toronto International Film Festival (Discovery)
In Dutch, French, English
91 minutes
