Misericordia

Latin for “mercy”, the term “misericordia” denotes a devotional song during service, asking for God’s compassion. In his stirring crime dramedy, French director Alain Guiraudie tackles the issue of mercy and forgiveness in a rather unconventional manner.

Jérémie (Félix Kysyl) arrives in a small town in the mountain regions of France to attend a funeral. When the deceased’s wife (Catherine Frot) offers for him to stay the night, the young man decides that he doesn’t want to go back to his old life anytime soon. Much to the chagrin of the widow’s adult son Vincent, Jérémie makes himself right at home in their house, and ingratiates himself into the lives of their friends, until one day the situation escalates.

Guiraudie previously enjoyed international success with Stranger by the Lake, and there are signature elements that delineate both features. Most prominently, the respective locations are so intrinsic to their stories, nothing about either ever seems coincidental or independent of each other. Instead of the gay pick-up spot the lake offers in the previous film, Misericordia operates as a prime destination for mushroom picking. Lone walks through the multicoloured foliage of fall turn into moments of chance encounters and the possibility of proximity.

It is rather difficult to describe the genre Misericordia actually falls into. There is refreshing humour in the absurdity of some of the developments. After an act that changes the trajectory of the film, characteristics of a subdued thriller à la Patricia Highsmith emerge, not focused on the “who” or “why” but the “will they get away with it?” Then, at the very core, the common denominator tying it all together seems to be loneliness, palpable in every character, and each of their sorrow is treated with the compassion one hopes to find when turning to prayer. After all the bad press the Catholic church has been getting in the past decades, Misericordia offers an almost revolutionary rendition of a priest, who practices selfless love and doesn’t hold anyone’s sins against them.

Misericordia is one of those films that adamantly refuses to be pigeon-holed, and just when you think you have figured out, where it is going, it takes an unexpected turn, gently guiding the viewer onto their own path of atonement.

Selina Sondermann

Misericordia does not have a UK release date yet.

Read more reviews from our Cannes Film Festival 2024 coverage here.

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