Gentle Monster (film)
2026 film by Marie Kreutzer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gentle Monster is a 2026 drama film written and directed by Marie Kreutzer, starring Léa Seydoux, Jella Haase, Laurence Rupp, and Catherine Deneuve. It is a co-production between Austria, Germany and France.[1]
| Gentle Monster | |
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| Directed by | Marie Kreutzer |
| Written by | Marie Kreutzer |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Judith Kaufmann |
| Edited by | Ulrike Kofler |
| Music by | Camille |
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Running time | 114 minutes |
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The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 79th Cannes Film Festival on 15 May 2026, where it competed for the Palme d'Or.[2][3] It received generally positive reviews.
Plot
Lucy, a successful pianist, moves with her family from Munich to the countryside to support her partner Philip after he suffers burnout, sacrificing her own career in the process. Elsa, a special investigator, struggles with the responsibility of caring for her father, who suffers from dementia. Philip is arrested by police and is investigated for possession and distribution of child sexual exploitation material, which upends Lucy's life. Elsa is the investigator leading the case against Philip. The nurse for her father tells Elsa he attempts to sexually assault her while she works. Both women reckon with these revealed truths.
Cast
- Léa Seydoux as Lucy Weiss
- Jella Haase as Elsa Kühn
- Laurence Rupp as Philip Weiss
- Nils Strunk as Lukas
- Malo Blanchet as Johnny
- Anton Rubtsov as Arian
- Catherine Deneuve as Eloise
- Patrycja Ziółkowska as Natalia
- Sylvester Groth as Hermann Kühn
- Regina Fritsch as Inge Weiss
- Rainer Doppler as Volker Weiss
- Katharina Lorenz as Maike
- Baran Sönmez as Kevin
- Filipe Repak as Johnny (young)
- Sara Sukarie as Dragana
- Sami Loris as Hannes
Production
Development
The title Gentle Monster comes from the South Korean brand of sunglasses of the same name that director Marie Kreutzer had lying on the table when she was working on the script for the film,[4] which was originally titled Johnny Maccaroni.[5] In 2022, Kreutzer released her historical drama film Corsage, which starred Austrian actor Florian Teichtmeister as Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.[6] On 13 January 2023, it was reported that Teichtmeister had been charged with possession of child pornography.[7][8][9] On 15 January 2023, Kreutzer released a statement saying that she was "sad and angry that a feminist film that more than 300 people from all over Europe worked on for years may be tarnished and damaged by the horrific actions of one person".[10][11] Kreutzer said she was informed of the rumors about Teichtmeister in Autumn 2021, after the filming for Corsage had wrapped,[11] and when she inquired the actor about these rumors via email,[5] he "convincingly assured us (and others) of their falsity".[11] On 5 September 2023, Teichtmeister pleaded guilty and received a two-year suspended prison sentence from the Vienna Regional Court for possessing and processing over 76,000 files depicting the sexual abuse of children.[12] Kreutzer's handling of the case drew criticism in Austria for contradicting her feminist views and her criticism of the misogynistic approach to the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial.[13]
In 2020, Kreutzer started working on a new film under the working title Johnny Maccaroni, which deals with a topic similar to Teichtmeister's case.[5] The project, for which Kreutzer received funding in 2021,[14] is about a woman who is visited by the police one day because her husband published a photo of their child in a dark web chat group in which men share content about how to abuse a child.[5] Kreutzer told German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung in January 2023 that she was unsure whether the film would even come about.[5] The project was retitled Gentle Monster.[15] In the closing credits for Gentle Monster, Kreutzer thanks "the haters" who criticized her when Teichtmeister's case became known in 2023.[16]
Gentle Monster was produced by Alexander Gehr and Johanna Scherz at the Vienna-based company Film AG, in co-production with Germany's Komplizen Film and France's Kazak Productions,[17] alongside Sweden's Kjellson & Wik and Film i Väst, and the broadcasters ORF (Film/Fernsehabkommen), ZDF and ZDF/Arte. The production was supported by the Austrian Film Institute, German Federal Film Fund, Filmfonds Wien, Eurimages - Council of Europe, FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Lower Austria, Cinestyria Filmcommission and Fonds.[18] It was selected as one of the projects presented at the 2025 Marché du Film Investors Circle initiative, where it was awarded the main ArteKino International Prize.[19]
Filming
Principal photography began in September 2025.[20] Filming took place in Niederschleinz in Sitzendorf an der Schmida in November 2025.[21] Filming was also planned to take place in Altaussee.[22] German cinematographer Judith Kaufmann shot the production on 16mm and 35mm film.[23][24] The original score was composed by Camille, while Ulrike Kofler was responsible for the editing.[18]
Release
Gentle Monster was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival,[25][26] where it had its world premiere on 15 May.[27]
International sales are handled by Mk2 Films.[28] The film is scheduled to be released theatrically in Germany by Alamode Film in autumn or winter of 2026,[29] and in France by Ad Vitam in 2027.[18] A week after its Cannes premiere, Netflix was reported to be nearing a deal for distribution rights to the film in North America, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.[30]
Reception
Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 59% of 22 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.3/10.[31]
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[32]
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated Gentle Monster 4 out of 5 stars, considering it a "bleak, pessimistic film with two excellent lead performances".[33]
Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter wrote about Seydoux's performance being "all raw nerves — steely, vulnerable, angry and broken at once".[34]
Stephanie Bunbury of Deadline wondered what the film might be "if only the narrative had been as uncluttered as Kreutzer's cleanly defined framing", decrying the result as bafflingly "over-egged", also citing the muddle of languages depending on who speaks to whom.[35]
Accolades
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cannes Film Festival | 23 May 2026 | Palme d'Or | Marie Kreutzer | Nominated | [25] |
