Misericordia

Jérémie (Félix Kysyl) travels to Saint-Marcial, the village where he grew up, for the funeral of his friend and former boss Jean-Pierre, the village baker. He decides to stay on for a few days at Martine’s (Catherine Frot), Jean-Pierre’s widow, much to the concern of Vincent (Martine’s only son), Walter (Vincent’s friend), and the village priest, each of whom has a troubled past with Jérémie. Things take a highly unexpected turn and Jérémie finds himself unable to leave the village. A highlight of IFI French Film Festival 2024, Alain Guiraudie’s (Stranger by the Lake) Misericordia is a deliciously twisted thriller that explores small town sexual repression through a skewed lens. Delightfully unpredictable and marinated in a pungently dark humour, Misericordia confirms Alain Guiraudie as one of most original and transgressive voices in cinema.