Not bad, kind of slow. A rather simple story to get such high ratings.

You know he’s in trouble by the way he looks at her after she cleans him up, post-vomit. This film really captures the bittersweet young love experience.

Falcon Lake, a coming of age film directed by Charlotte Le Bon debuted at the Cannes film festival in France in 2022, and appeared on streaming services in 2023, classified as a thriller/romance. This movie is nothing short of a masterpiece, and deserves more recognition within the film community, yet it remains ultimately unfound by many. My experience watching this movie was incredible, and has deserved many rewatches over the years. Considering technicalities of the film such as cinematography, narrative, sound design, and overall feel, a comfortable comparison would be to Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me by Your name. Both films share a distinct aptitude in encapsulating the feeling of exploring pure, magical romance. Falcon Lake follows the developing relationship between Bastien and Chloe, young teenagers who meet at a cottage in the countryside of Quebec, and form an innocent, loving bond during Bastiens visit, while the narrative is haunted by something in the woods... Similarly, Call Me by Your Name plays on the story of love, and although slightly more complex in that sense, both movies demonstrate exactly what love should feel like. Slowly but surely, Bastien and Chloe develop a strong bond between each other over the summer, which is portrayed exactly how I would expect the love story of young teenagers would go. The acting gave the sense that this movie was a raw documentation of someone's memory, almost as if this story had unfolded already in real life. I suppose it's just that–the acting is not forced in the slightest, and gives a raw experience of real love. Additionally, the cinematography just adds more to the feeling of the movie, showcasing a masterful understanding of it, making you realize what the power of scenery and colour can have on a person when telling a story. It is said that music is half of a movie, and that much can be said about Falcon lake. Although music is seldom present in the film, after watching the movie, It is safe to say that they definitely knew when music needed to be added, and every time it was, I was simply blown away. Each piece seemed to be perfectly curated for each scene to once again as I have said before–exude the feeling the director was trying to portray in her mind. It is another crutch to make sure the viewer experiences the film in its entirety, and to feel it as deeply as possible. The use of different strategies such as mise-en-scene, shot size, and photogenie are easily recognizable throughout the film. For one, the mise-en-scene is used extremely well, like scenes in the cottage for example, where a more rustic set is used with many wooden objects, knick-knacks for a homely feeling, and lack of modern technology (for the most part) which overall, made me feel as if the characters were more in touch with their life in the moment. The photogenie is used in wonderful ways. Most prominently, after Bastien and Chloe return to the cottage with Bastien throwing up in the toilet from drinking too much, Chloe draws a bath for Bastien. Bastien sits with his shirt off in the bath, and Chloe gets in the bath with him. With what normally would be taken as a sexualized scene, the photogenie displays a more motherly, caring role coming from Chloe, displaying a strictly platonic moment between the characters. Citizen Kane, an older, yet vastly popular film was known for its deep focus cinematography. By comparing this filming strategy to Falcon Lake, both are similar in their often used (and well used) deep focus cinematography. Bastien, while attending a local lake party with Chloe, walks through the house that the party is being held at. Wandering through the crowd, Focal points include Bastien, wandering through the clump of people, and yet certain characters in the background have focus on them regardless of their unimportance in the movie. Once again, just another filming strategy employed enhancing the experience of the film. I highly recommend watching this movie for anyone looking for a wholesome, heart warming, yet haunting narrative all at once, this movie gives it all. The unexpecting conclusion to this film will have you thinking for days later, wishing you could experience this for the first time again. Whether you are a film buff looking for another niche film to have under your “watch” belt to brag about having seen, or someone who simply appreciates art, and the precious innocence of young love, just give it a try.

We need more films like this.

On the surface, this is a fairly typically Canadian film: small and slow and located in Quebec cottage country during the summertime. However, this film is special, slowly capturing an building friendship and intimacy between a 16 year-old girl and a 13 year-old boy; sexual intimacy is secondary, as more powerful drives of self-discovery, wanting to find acceptance and love in the often intense social world of early teens. The perspective is particularly Quebecoise, but mostly universally Canadian (and North American, more generally) of short summers in cottage/lake country. The director might have erred too much on the brooding and ominous aspects of the lake and woods, but this film is otherwise very well written, filmed, and acted. In some ways this film is the Quebecois version of the similarly great Ontario-Canadian summer teen cottage movie, Sleeping Giant, but with a subtle but important supernatural element. Well worth seeing, and the subtitles are not cumbersome, as the dialogue is mostly light and slow. The ending is a surprise, and a bit of a downer, but works well.

I was very disappointed and bored by this movie, the teenagers were irritating and the scenario opaque. Couldn't really get the horror story, and the ending is a bit cliché.

Rarely do you find a movie that makes you feel the complete freedom you felt just before adulthood. What a Masterpiece! Exquisite.

Good movie to watch on a Friday night. Somewhat spooky but it is actually a coming-of-age flick that entertains. Great acting by the two young leads.

This movie had absolutely nothing to do with Stephan Michalak's 1967 encounter.

A haunting masterpiece!

This is some fine work by Charlotte Le Bon. It shows that even in her first feature length film, she already has a maturity and control of images, pace, camera position, and dialogue we expect from veteran directors. Again, as is so often the case, the director is a writer for the screenplay, along with François Choquet, with the original work by Bastien Vives. Along with editor Lena and Brandl's cinematography, they've made a film that keeps an appropriate tone throughout, and excellent pacing for the movie's 100 minutes. Such delicate and authentic scenes were written then brought to life by the director, production design, and some very fine acting. The leads of teenagers Chloe and Bastien were cast exceptionally well, as the two have strong, seemingly effortless chemistry together. But even more they breathe full life into their characters. Montpetit as Chloe, an emerging young woman who's sixteen but still has some of the adolescent in her. And Engel gives us a Bastien of the uncertainty and inner terrors of an 14 yr. old getting his first sense of being intimate with a girl while trying to hang with the older teens and hold his own. Loved this 3.8 stars

EL MIEDO A LA VERDAD Tengo demasiados miedos, ya los comenté una vez, y no pienso volver a manifestarlos en este escrito, no pienso darle vueltas a los callejones sin salida, prefiero conocer a Chloé y nadar junto a ella en ese lago lleno de ficción fantasmal, creada por ella, esperando el fin de todo, me encanta su imaginación. No estaría mal experimentar ese ciclo de muerte pulmonar bajo el agua (lo que comentan en la orilla del lago en una secuencia hermosa y desgarradora, cómo la historia y su desarrollo) si consiguiera pasar al menos un verano en esa casa y sus hogueras y no perder lo que él. Comienzo observándola y escuchándola, entusiasmado porque sabía que ésta iba a ser la primera vez que notara ese líquido algo salado y costoso de sacar a la luz sobre mi piel hasta dejarse caer por debajo de mi barbilla y desplomarse en mi mano (casi me pasa lo mismo con varias cómo; Oppenheimer, Love Life, La vida no tan simple, Kepler Sexto B y La Paradoja de Antares, pero en esas me resistí algo más aunque el daño ya estaba causado). EL LAGO ROMPECORAZONES Mientras pasan los minutos en ésta, me da más interés y menos clichés, más reflexión y seriedad, es una historia muy madura para ser adolescente. Su música y sus secuencias fijas a paisajes y caminos oscuros me causa más terror del que me causa el propio género, también melancolía y soledad, y me avisa de que algo malo va a pasar, así era. Sus protagonistas son increíbles y les he cogido aprecio, creo que me van ayudar mucho. Tanto Bastian, ese niño frágil, inexperimentado, solo, miedoso, enamoradizo hasta las trancas, le comprendo. Igual que a Chloé, más espabilada, independiente, con peores miedos que Bastian aunque no lo parezca, traicionada y débil. Completan una conexión que yo no he encontrado hasta ahora con nadie y que costará de conseguir. No puedo seguir con ésta, cada vez que la pienso me derrumbo y caigo en el mismo pozo del que ya suelo caer normalmente. Una historia abrumadora y desgarradora que muestra las primeras puertas de un amor amenazante y la dificultad de entender a la adolescencia, nunca lo conseguiré. So you never really die, then with scythe and cloak, death comes waltzing to your side, as the visions pass you ask if there was meaning to your life The Answer - Richie Sambora RICHIE VALERO, SEPTIEMBRE 2023, ESPAÑA.

Beautifully shot film, thoroughly engaging.

With Falcon Lake, director Charlotte Le Bon creates something wholly unique that also feels familiar, an uncanny experience that makes the hazy days of summer feel dangerous.