The Rapture (2023 film)

The Rapture (Le Ravissement) is a 2023 drama film written and directed by Iris Kaltenbäck in her feature directorial debut. It stars Hafsia Herzi as a midwife who passes off her best friend's newborn child as her own. It premiered on 20 May 2023 in the Critics' Week section at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Prix SACD.

Plot
Lydia is a young midwife. While she has enjoyed professional success, she is less fortunate in her private life: another relationship of hers has broken down. At the same time, Lydia finds out that her best friend Salomé is pregnant. She supports her friend through her pregnancy and is in charge of delivering the baby. Shortly after the birth, Lydia is spending time alone with Salomé's baby when she runs into Milo, with whom she had a one-night stand after her break-up. She passes off Salomé's child as her own, and tells Milo that he is the biological father. At first Milo is suspicious, but he then embraces his new role as a father. Lydia works hard to keep up the lie.

Cast

 * Hafsia Herzi as Lydia
 * Alexis Manenti as Milos
 * Nina Meurisse as Salomé
 * Younès Boucif as Jonathan
 * Radmila Karabatic as Jelena
 * Dusko Badnjar as Ivan
 * Ana Blagojevič as Miléna
 * Grégoire Didelot as Philippe
 * Mathieu Perotto as Julien

Production
The Rapture is the feature film debut of French director Iris Kaltenbäck, who also wrote the screenplay. Hafsia Herzi was selected for the main role of Lydia. The cast was rounded out with the additions of Alexis Manenti, Nina Meurisse and Younès Boucif. Filming began on 17 October 2022 and took place in the Île-de-France and Normandy regions. The six-week shoot with Marine Atlan as director of photography was wrapped on 25 November. The editors were Suzana Pedro and Pierre Deschamps.

The producers for the film were Alice Bloch (Marianne Productions) and Thierry de Clermont-Tonnerre (MACT Productions), with JPG Films in co-production. It was pre-bought by Canal+ and Ciné+. The project was financially supported by the Île-de-France and Normandy regions, Cineventure Sofica and the BNP Paribas Pictures Fund.

Release
The film was selected to be screened in the Critics' Week section of the 76th Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 20 May 2023. The film was theatrically released in France on 11 October 2023 by Diaphana Distribution. International sales are handled by Be for Films.

Critical response
The Rapture received an average rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars on the French website AlloCiné, based on 30 reviews.