Cannes Film Interview: Marie Kreutzer on 'Gentle Monster,' Lea Seydoux
'Gentle Monster' film still
Courtesy of Frederic Batier/Film AG
Sometimes, horrible things happen right under our noses. And sometimes, we just do not want to see things as they are, particularly when it comes to the people we love. Gentle Monster, the new film from Austrian writer-director Marie Kreutzer (Oscar submission and historical drama Corsage), which world premieres in the competition program of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, explores such themes as love, trust, loyalty and narratives, both factual and fictional, in ways that will get under your skin.
Lucy and Elsa have built their lives around men who may have dark sides lurking. Pianist Lucy, played by French star Léa Seydoux, with Catherine Deneuve as her mother, loves her husband Philip (Laurence Rupp) so much that she agreed to move to the countryside with him and their son Johnny after Philip’s burnout. This affects her professional life, but a bigger worry emerges from the shadows. In an early morning police visit, investigators from the sexualized violence against children, child and youth pornography unit accuse Philip of being active in online chat forums where men share footage of kids. Is he a pedophile? Did he look to make a quick but illegal buck? Or is there another explanation? Desperate to protect Johnny, Lucy feels trapped between the man she loves and the horror of what he may have done.
Related Stories
Movies
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Seth Rogen, Bryan Cranston Tackle Alzheimer's in Cannes-Bound Animation 'Tangles' (Exclusive Clip)
Movies
Barry Keoghan's Big Cannes Plans: The Irishman Candidly Talks 'Butterfly Jam,' Playing Sir Ringo Starr and Tackling Fatherhood: "It's OK to Be You as a Dad"
Meanwhile, Elsa, portrayed by German actress Jella Haase (Berlin Alexanderplatz), who international audiences will recognize as the star of Netflix spy series Kleo, lives for her job as a special police investigator, while also being responsible for her father (Sylvester Groth), who has dementia. But he also seems to have a dark side rearing its ugly head.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde send their regards as the film takes the women, and audiences, on an emotional cinematic journey through complex and painful territory to an abyss where they must confront horrible questions!
For Gentle Monster, Kreutzer re-teamed with cinematographer Judith Kaufmann (Yellow Letters, Late Shift), editor Ulrike Kofler (Gina) and producers Alexander Glehr and Johanna Scherz of Film AG, with Komplizen Film and Kazak Productions also backing the film. mk2 Films is handling international sales.
The auteur talked to THR about the inspiration for her latest creation, getting to cast big international stars, her work with music, in what ways a real-life scandal surrounding Austrian actor Florian Teichtmeister, who featured in her previous feature, Corsage, played into the process for the new movie, and how a pair of sunglasses inspired the title Gentle Monster.
What led you to explore the heavy and difficult themes related to relationships and sexuality that the women in Gentle Monster face?
For me, it’s all about power and wanting to dominate someone, to be above someone. I was inspired by a newspaper article that I read during COVID, while I was still preparing two other films, one of them being Corsage. It was great journalism, and it really haunted me. I couldn’t even finish it in a day, because it was extremely explicit. I just felt that the only thing I could do was to tell a story about this issue, this problem that we, as a society, don’t really know how to deal with.
Of course, I knew about sexual violence towards children, but reading that article in 2020, I realized even more that it’s not about the creepy guy behind the bushes. Statistically speaking, it has to be someone we know. Hence the title. We all do know victims, and we all do know perpetrators. We just don’t know who they are. What I wanted to show was that it could be someone you love, it could be someone you trust. That’s what I like about the title. There can be something really dark and dangerous in someone we trust and love.
Can you share how you actually found the title for the film?
It’s actually a Korean sunglasses brand. We obviously had to check if we were allowed to use the name. The first title was [different]. I had a pair of sunglasses while I was working on the script. The sunglasses were lying on the table, and I was looking around and thinking. Then I just saw the little writing [on the glasses], and thought, “This is the perfect title.”
I felt you made me, as a viewer, feel different emotions throughout, including worry, anger, fear. Since you mentioned the writing stage, how did you approach the writing process to make me care so much?
I basically wrote it as if it were happening to me and asking: “What would I do?” I don’t know who said it, but itR