written by sarah cronin

Is it a ghost story? Is it a love story? Can it be both?

Charlotte Le Bon’s debut feature, Falcon Lake, depicts a Parisian boy and his family on vacation in Quebec. The film, adapted from a bande desinée (comic) by Bastian Vivès, focuses on the relationship he develops with the daughter of a family friend who’s a few years older than him. The simple plot and low stakes setting may pall viewers from a potentially boring experience, but I can say that by the end of this film I was so emotionally moved and placed in such a deep state of thought that I walked 50 minutes home instead of taking the metro just so I could keep thinking about it.

This is a movie that begs you to remember your youth. It thrusts you into the cicada song and dripping dry swimsuits of a summer lake vacation. With its grain, its academy-standard aspect ratio and its saturated greens and reds, it almost feels like you’re watching a film through the disposable camera you once used on a childhood vacation. 

The acting from the two main leads, Sara Montpetit, who plays 16-year-old Chloé, and Joseph Engel, who plays 13-year-old Bastien, is delicate and intimate. They don’t lose their youthfulness on the screen and subtly communicate the awkwardness and light-heartedness that comes with the early teen years. The love these two young actors portray is innocent; it’s pure, it’s assuredly physical and confusedly emotional. But it’s something to remind us of the crushes and relationships of our youth, when everything was so much simpler yet felt so much more important. 

The shots and cinematography are not particularly groundbreaking, nor do I think they need to be. The movie does not pretend to be anything other than it is, anything other than it should be. Throughout the film, distant shots place us in a state of observation and add an eerie element to the overall feel. As Chloé giddily taunts Bastien about the supposed ghost of Falcon Lake, she in turn unnerves the audience just to the point of feeling spooked. Viewers are left with the feeling one gets when being told a ghost story around a campfire, like you want to make yourself a bit scared just for the fun of it. 

Filmed in Gore, Quebec, the film does not glamorize the forests and lakes, but takes them on plain sight, like the way a child would. This movie is not luxurious, it’s not rich: it is nostalgic and simple like a beautiful, mildewy vacation home. It’s close range shots capture the feeling of summer sun on skin, glancing eyes, trembling lips and feel like a memory of your own. The casual dialogue feels so natural and necessary to how teenagers speak with each other and the beautiful blend of French accents and Quebecois accents was like an exploration of the worldwide use of French. 

What really stood out to me about this film as exemplary was the score. As a passionate film score fan, I am always impressed to see when a score can add to the substance of the film without drawing too much attention to itself. Shida Shahabi creates a masterpiece and translates the perfect balance of youth, fear, desire and joy in her captivating composition. I’m eagerly waiting for the scores to be released on streaming platforms.

The masterful storytelling aspect of this film can only be appreciated after the conclusion. It successfully lulls you into a place of security and makes you think there’s nothing to be afraid of, only to end in a way that’s much more somber and much more real than the frightening elements you had imagined. The additional music by Willhelm Brandl finishes out the film on a breathless, pit-in-your-stomach note and begs for nothing but silence in the minutes after you’ve left the cinema. You’re left shivering like you’ve jumped out of the blissful ignorance of adolescence and into the icy reality of adulthood. 

If I could sum up this movie in one word it would be transcendental. Its unapologetic simplicity, chills-down-your-spine eeriness and highly impactful emotional plot will leave you thinking about it long after the credits roll. Perhaps a ghost story, perhaps a love story, Falcon Lake certainly deserves a watch for you to find out.