Writer-director Alain Guiraudie (Stranger By the Lake) serves up a twisted tale of seduction set in the picturesque French countryside. Returning to beautiful Saint-Martial for the funeral of his former boss, Jérémie (Félix Kysyl) becomes the object of attraction for widow Martine (Catherine Frot). The situation greatly displeases Martine’s son Vincent (Jean-Baptiste Durand), and soon enough there is bloodshed in the woods. Jérémie then finds himself contending with the attention of the police and the amorous intentions of the local abbot (Jacques Develay)…
Edgy, eccentric, and unapologetically queer, Misericordia is also notable for the daring way it blurs boundaries: between maternal love and sexual desire, between violent animosity and same-sex attraction, between natural charisma and crafty calculation. Along with suspense and surprise, Guiraudie generates a subtle, slowly escalating humour; the shift from menace to comedy is executed with wonderful grace. In its movement from the bedroom to the confession booth and back, this film provides a discomfiting, darkly amusing take on human psychology.
Community Partner
Félix Kysyl, Catherine Frot
France/Spain/Portugal
2024
In French with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Producer
Charles Gillibert
Screenwriter
Alain Guiraudie
Cinematography
Claire Mathon
Editor
Jean-Christophe Hym
Production Design
Emmanuelle Duplay
Original Music
Marc Verdaguer
Alain Guiraudie
Alain Guiraudie is a French filmmaker acclaimed known for films like The King of Escape (2009) and Staying Vertical (2016). Guiraudie has garnered critical praise for his exploration of sexuality and human desire. His most notable film, Stranger by the Lake (2013), won the Queer Palm and Best Director Award at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
Filmography: No Rest for the Braves (2003); Time Has Come (2005); The King of Escape (2009); Stranger by The Lake (2013); Staying Vertical (2016); Nobody’ Hero (2021)
Photo by Helene Bamberger
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Coppola's woozy, cinematically audacious take on the vampire myth is like a symphonic silent movie in full colour, a delirium of romantic angst with Gary Oldman as the shape-shifting immortal.
Hockney
An engaging, insightful and inspiring film portrait of the late great British and California artist. He’s one of the most accessible figurative painters of the last half century, but look closer, there’s much more to David Hockney than meets the eye.
Peter Asher: Everywhere Man
A chart topping pop star as one half of Peter and Gordon, Peter Asher was brother to Jane, brother in law to Paul McCartney, ran the Beatles' Apple, produced and managed James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, and 10,000 Maniacs, to name just a few. He did it all.
The Crying Game
Notwithstanding its famous twist, Neil Jordan's moody thriller works differently on a second viewing, and hits different in 2026, with its rich and "problematic" stew of identity politics, love, violence and desire.
Romería
An orphan from a young age, 18-year-old Marina intends to pursue a university scholarship. The application, however, requires the signatures of her paternal grandparents, compelling her to embark on a pilgrimage and seek out the family she has never met.