Vincent Le Port's Debut Film 'Bruno Reidal' Examines a 1905 Murder

Vincent Le Port's first feature film, 'Bruno Reidal, confession d’un meurtrier,' released in theaters on March 23, 2022, recounts the true story of a 17-year-old seminarian who decapitated a 12-year-old boy in September 1905 in the Cantal region of France. The film draws on the murderer's own written confession, a document notable for its sophisticated language and theological reasoning. Professor Alexandre Lacassagne, a forensic expert, had the accused write his autobiography to understand his motives. The film avoids moral judgment and pathos, instead focusing on the concept of a 'curse' and the horror of the act. It stars Dimitri Doré as Bruno Reidal and Jean-Luc Vincent as Professor Lacassagne. The film was well-received at the Cannes Film Festival's Semaine de la Critique. A companion dossier of the case, prefaced by Julien Rejl, has been published by Capricci (136 pages, €10).