Ghosts are on the water but sex is on the mind in impressive "Falcon Lake"

Falcon Lake

Starring Sara Montpetit, Joseph Engel, Monia Chokri, Arthur Igual, Karine Gonthier-Hyndman, Thomas Laperrière, Anthony Therrien, Pierre-Luc Lafontaine, Lévi Doré and Jeff Roop. Written by Charlotte Le Bon, François Choquet, loosely based on the graphic novel "A Sister" by Bastien Vivès. Directed by Charlotte Le Bon. Now playing at TIFF Bell Lightbox. STC

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (out of 4)

Canadian actor turned filmmaker Charlotte Le Bon ("The Hundred-Foot Journey") equates teen sexuality with horror film tropes — and all hail that creative impulse. Joseph Engel is 14-year-old Bastien. Sara Montpetit is 16-year-old Chloé. Such an age gap would normally be a chasm. But he's eager, she's bored, the summer stretches ahead and the Quebec lake of the title has mysteries to spare — does the Hitchcock poster in the cottage bedroom mean anything? Together Bastien and Chloé find steam and suspense in a place where ghosts wander and hearts get bruised in 16-mm splendour. A gem of mood and technique, applauded at the Cannes Film Festival and at TIFF, it’s the most impressive work by a first-time Canadian feature director I’ve seen this year. 🌓

— Peter Howell

(Originally published in the Toronto Star.)