Rester Vertical

After his acclaimed queer thriller STRANGER BY THE LAKE, director Alain Giraudie finds his way back to the more open form of his earlier films like THE KING OF ESCAPE. The film's surreal humor and obvious delight in breaking taboos have made it one of the most talked-about films in competition this year in Cannes. RESTER VERTICAL follows filmmaker Leo on a wild trip. In the Lozère, the least populated French département, he meets shepherdess Marie, who is sporting a rifle as she is fending off a pack of wolves trying to attack her flock. The unlikely couple has a child together, but the young parents' relationship soon goes awry. In a bout of postpartum depression, Marie takes off, leaving Leo not only with the baby, but also with her lonely, boorish father. The filmmaker's life then increasingly drifts off, becoming part fairy tale, part nightmare, and part pan-sexual fantasy. Only one thing is certain: nothing is predictable. For free spirits.