The title of the new film from Austrian auteur Marie Kreutzer (Corsage) tips us off that we will have to get ready to face potential horrors and uncomfortable questions – Gentle Monster.

World premiering in the competition program of the Cannes Film Festival on Friday night, the movie focuses on two women, portrayed by French star Léa Seydoux, with French icon Catherine Deneuve playing her mother, and German actress Jella Haase (Berlin Alexanderplatz, Kleo), in a cinematic exploration of love, trust, loyalty, power and our potential blind spots for our loved ones.

Pianist Lucy (Seydoux) is supporting her husband Philip, portrayed by Austrian actor Laurence Rupp, after his burnout. They have moved to Germany’s countryside near Munich with their son Johnny. The new life has an impact on her career, but soon, this will not be Lucy’s biggest worry. Meanwhile, special police investigator Elsa (Haase) lives for her job and must also deal with the challenges that her father’s dementia causes her. But both beloved men may have a dark side lurking beneath the surface.

Kreutzer wrote and directed Gentle Monster and worked on it with such regular creative collaborators as cinematographer Judith Kaufmann (Yellow Letters, Late Shift), editor Ulrike Kofler (Gina) and producers Alexander Glehr and Johanna Scherz of Film AG. Komplizen Film and Kazak Productions are also backing the film, while mk2 Films is handling international sales on Gentle Monster.

THR can now premiere an exclusive clip from Gentle Monster. Get ready to witness the first meeting of Lucy and Elsa under anything but relaxed circumstances – in an early morning police visit to Lucy’s family home. As she wakes up, the police are already asking Philip about his phone and say they must seize certain materials. Lucy has questions for her husband, and, as you will see, she even voices one. To find out what is going on, you will have to watch the film. But to get a first sense of the not-so-gentle vibes that await the two female protagonists, check out the exclusive clip from Gentle Monster below.

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