By Amanda Gilmore
This summertime coming-of-age tale follows 14-year-old Bastien (Joseph Engel) on his and his family’s getaway to a cottage in rural Quebec. They spend their days there with his mother’s best friend and her 16-year-old daughter, Chloé (Sara Montpetit). Soon, Bastien is beguiled by Sara’s moodiness and her tales of the ghost of a boy who drowned in the very lake they swim in.
Actress-turned-Director Charlotte Le Bon makes a splash with this Gothic Romance, her directorial debut. It’s a tale of summer love told through two nuanced characters. Bastien and Chloé are different from the other teenagers around. They spend their days speaking of the ghost and even posing for photos dressed in a white sheet. Oh, and they think it’s a fun game to bite down on the spot between their thumb and forefinger to see if they can penetrate the skin. Both Engel and Montpetit give textured performances and remind us of a time in our youth when everything seemed immediate.
Falcon Lake seeps into the atmosphere. One that balances the lightness of summertime vibes with the creepy tension of a Horror. These chilling moments are highlighted even more with a haunting score by Shida Shahabi and Wilhelm Brandl. Le Bon captures a moment in time with scenes of parties by a fire on a summer’s night. She contrasts these lively scenes with quiet, calm ones of Bastien or Sara in or by the lake, sometimes with an image of a ghost watching them.
Although this coming-of-age tale feels familiar, Falcon Lake masters its tone and atmosphere while delivering developed characters.
Falcon Lake screens at TIFF ’22 as follows:
Tue, Sep 13 IN-PERSON at Scotiabank Theatre at 6:30 pm
Wed, Sep 14 IN-PERSON at TIFF Bell Lightbox at 12:30 pm
Sphere Films is thrilled to announce that FALCON LAKE by Charlotte Le Bon will have its North-American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in the Contemporary World Cinema section. Presented as a World Premiere at the 54th Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes and in competition for the Caméra d’Or at Cannes as a first feature, FALCON LAKE stars Sara Montpetit (Maria Chapdelaine), Karine Gonthier-Hyndman (Like-Moi), Monia Chokri (Heartbeats) and young French actor Joseph Engel (The Crusade).
Bastien and Chloé spend their summer vacation with their families at a lake cabin in Quebec, haunted by a ghost legend. Despite the age gap between them, the two teenagers form a singular bond. Ready to overcome his worst fears to earn a place in Chloé’s heart, the holiday becomes a turbulent pivotal moment for the young boy.
FALCON LAKE is the feature directorial debut by actress Charlotte Le Bon (The Hundred-Foot Journey, Mood Indigo, The Walk, Yves Saint Laurent), who previously directed the short film Judith Hotel, which screened at Cannes. As a visual artist, Le Bon explored the themes of the strange and surreal through her paintings, drawings and lithographs before turning to film. Her expertise shines in this first feature, where the impressive cast comes together in a superbly crafted coming-of-age story, loosely adapted from the novel Une Soeur by Bastien Vivès.
Produced by Sylvain Corbeil and Nancy Grant (Metafilms) in cooperation with CBC/Radio-Canada and Super Écran, with financial support from the SODEC, Telefilm Canada, Eurimages and the Harold Greenberg Fund, as well as Quebec and Canadian tax credits, FALCON LAKE was co-produced by David Gauquie, Julien Deris and Jean-Luc Ormières (Cinéfrance Studios) and Jalil Lespert (Onze Cinq). Memento International oversees international sales.
Distributed in Canada by Sphere Films, FALCON LAKE will be released on October 14, 2022.
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