THE SAFE HOUSE
Cineplex Varsity
De / from :
Lionel Baier
Avec / with :
Michel Blanc, Dominique Reymond, William Lebghil, Aurélien Gabrielli, Liliane Rovère
Durée en minutes / Runtime :
90
Genre :
Langue / Language :
French - English subtitles
Pays / Country :
Switzerland – Luxemburg - France
Au Cinéma le / in theaters :
Friday, June 5, 2026, at 1:00 p.m.
Date de sortie / Release date :
March 19, 2025
The ten-year-old boy lived through the events of May 1968 hidden away at his grandparents’ house, surrounded by his uncles and great-grandmother, all bivouacked around a mysterious hideout. Adapted from the novel by Christophe Boltanski.
(IMDB)
I loved the careful and deliberate layering of motifs and emotions building to two pivotal scenes – one in which we flashback to a husband and wife in 1942 – and one in which grandpa explains to a surprise guest what his words meant to him in that dark time. It takes real chutzpah to try and shift tone from comedy to profundity but I feel that Lionel Baier absolutely pulls it off. Indeed the more I think about this film, the more genuine pathos I find in it, and the more hilarious lines I remember. If you have watched it, just remember, “Cuba does not yet have this technology”!
Bina007 Movies [Sabina Reeves]
- Vienna Francophone film festival (Austria, 2026) – Official selection
- Locarno Film Festival (Switzerland, 2025) – Panorama suisse
- Berlinale (Germany, 2025) – competition
Berlin International Film Festival
- Golden Berlin Bear (2025) – Best Film
Swiss film nominations-
- Zürich, Swiss Film Award, Best Feature Film 2026 (Nomination)
- Zürich, Swiss Film Award, Best Film Score 2026 (Nomination)
Nora Baldenweg - Zürich, Swiss Film Award, Best Film Score 2026 (Nomination)
Diego Baldenweg - Zürich, Swiss Film Award, Best Film Score 2026 (Nomination)
Lionel Baldenweg