In early 2023, as the awards campaign for Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage was in full swing, a bombshell occurred: one of the lead actors, Florian Teichtmeister, was charged with possessing child pornography.
On Friday, Kreutzer will present his latest film, “Gentle Monster,” in competition at Cannes for the first time. The subject was a man charged with possessing child pornography.
So did the revelations about Teichtmeister, who pleaded guilty, influence “Gentle Monster”? “That really wasn’t the case,” Kreutzer told Variety. “Actually, I was already working on the script before that happened. Of course I was surprised, because I knew him.”
“Gentle Monster” follows Lucy Weiss, a singer and pianist played by Léa Seydoux, who is plunged into a nightmare when child pornography is discovered on the computer of her filmmaker husband Philip (played by Lawrence Rapp) and police investigate.
“I read a newspaper article on this subject in 2020, and it was very good journalism, a long article, very explicit,” she told Variety. “It stuck with me and I felt I had to do something. The only thing I can do is tell a story about it.”
Léa Seydoux plays singer and pianist Lucy Weiss in Marie Kreutzer’s “Corsage.”
Film AG, provided by Frédéric Battier
“Two days before I learned of[Teichtmeister’s charges]I was participating in an hour-and-a-half investigative conversation with a police investigator[about child pornography]when this happened.”
Kreutzer thought he would have to shelve “Gentle Monster” because of its similarities to the Teichtmeister case. “It was crazy. When it got really difficult, with the scandal and the whole storm, I was like, ‘Okay, I can’t do this movie anymore because people are always going to associate it with[the Teichtmeister incident].’ And it didn’t take long for me to realize, ‘No, that might not be a reason not to make the movie, it might actually be a reason[for me to make it].'”
The film’s subject matter is likely to be talked about at Cannes, but what does Kreutzer hope to focus on in those conversations?
“For me, this is a movie about honesty…and being honest with yourself. If you see something in someone or know something about someone, believe it. Believe the victim, of course. But also believe if you have a gut feeling or if you learn something about someone that you don’t want to know.”
“A word that came up a lot during our research was ‘shame.’ It’s shame that makes us look away. It’s shame that we don’t stand up to this. Not just in our personal relationships, but as a society.
“Sometimes, because we’re all so well-behaved, I think, ‘Oh, no way. He’s such a nice guy.'” Not some creepy guy behind the bushes. It could be your partner, your friend, your father, someone you know, someone you trust, someone you like…it could be a cool guy. ”
The film’s title reflects this issue. “Monsters and evil things can come from very kind people,” she says.
The majority of those who commit these crimes are men, Kreutzer said, and their roots are largely rooted in a desire for power. “Why is it always around power? What do we teach[boys]when they grow up? Why is power so important to them?” she asks.
The film follows a female police officer assigned to the case, played by Jera Haas, who finds it difficult to confront her father after it is revealed that he is sexually harassing a female caregiver. This subplot “reflects” the central story and shows that “we can turn a blind eye if it makes our lives easier,” Kreutzer said, and this also applies to experts in the field. “All the women in this movie are basically trying to rebuild the lives of the men they live with,” she says.
Catherine Deneuve plays Lucy’s mother Héloïse. Although Héloïse did not have an important man in her life, she found that her daughter was keen to maintain her independence. “She was someone who always made her own decisions and knew what she wanted, where she wanted to go, and what she wanted to do,” Kreutzer says. “She’s a strong mother, she has very clear views on things, and she doesn’t hesitate to convey that to her daughter. But she’s sometimes tough on her daughter, but she’s always warm. That was important to me.”
Kreutzer knows firsthand that a woman’s struggle for independence during a relationship and when “both partners are passionate about their work” becomes even tougher when they have children. “When you have children, who has more freedom to work? Women are still judged…I always get asked, ‘Where is my daughter?'” When traveling. My husband has four children. He never understands the question. So that’s where it came from. ”
