Slack Bay

Set in the summer of 1910, Slack Bay follows two inspectors, Machin and Malfoy, as they investigate the disappearance of tourists along the northern French coast. Their inquiry points toward a quiet bay where a river meets the sea, home to a family of fishermen and oyster farmers, the Bruforts, and to the holiday villa of the wealthy Van Peteghem family from Lille. As the inspectors pursue the case, an unexpected romance develops between Ma Loute Brufort and Billie van Peteghem, drawing the two very different families into each other's orbit. The film is a comedy directed by Bruno Dumont, who also wrote the screenplay. It is his fourth feature, arriving after Twentynine Palms (2003) and Flanders (2006).

The cast includes Fabrice Luchini as André van Peteghem, Juliette Binoche as Aude van Peteghem, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi as Isabelle van Peteghem, Jean-Luc Vincent as Christian van Peteghem, Brandon Lavieville as Ma Loute Brufort and Raph as Billie van Peteghem, with 29 credited performers in all. Produced by Rachid Bouchareb, Muriel Merlin and Jean Bréhat for a budget of about 8 million USD, it was a German-French co-production. On TMDB it holds a rating of 5.5 out of 10 from 282 votes, a modest response from the audience. Dumont went on to direct France (2021), The Empire (2024) and Red Rocks (2026).