LOVE ME TENDER | Französischer Filmclub - Black Box im Filmmuseum Düsseldorf

LOVE ME TENDER

F 2025 · 134 min · Original Version with Subtitles · digitalDCP · FSK 12 · Dir.: Anna Cazenave Cambet · Screenplay: Constance Debré, Anna Cambet · Cinematography: Kristy Baboul · Starring: Vicky Krieps, Antoine Reinartz, Monia Chokri, Viggo Ferreira-Redier, Féodor Atkine, and others

After a separation, a mother fights for custody of her child. Institutional biases become apparent in court as her lifestyle and identity are called into question. Especially when the custodial parent’s sexual identity becomes the subject of the proceedings, custody becomes caught in a tension between individual self-realization and institutional norms of the child’s best interests.

Director Cambet deliberately focuses on central issues in family law and challenges existing definitions. Amid the conflict between the state’s duty of care and parental rights, the film powerfully illustrates that custody cannot be a purely objective category. Cultural values and power structures shape what is termed the “best interests of the child.” Custody is portrayed as a dynamic, socially contested arena. It becomes clear how closely legal decisions are interwoven with social norms.

Introduction: Thomas Ochs (Filmmuseum Düsseldorf)
In cooperation with the Institut français Düsseldorf.