French filmmaker Catherine Breillat is set to write and direct a new feature film titled The German Cousin. The project is an adaptation of the 1939 novel The Krull House by Georges Simenon.
As reported by Deadline on May 14, 2026, the film is envisioned as a study of small-town groupthink, race hatred, and mass hysteria. The narrative is set in Europe during the 1930s, specifically on the eve of the Second World War.
Production and Creative Team
Breillat will be re-teaming with producer Saïd Ben Saïd of SBS Productions for this project. Ben Saïd previously served as a producer on Breillat’s 2023 film Last Summer, which was featured in the Cannes Film Festival Competition.
Catherine Breillat Cannes
Pyramide International is handling the sales for the production. In discussing the project, Breillat noted the enduring relevance of the source material, stating that I find in Simenon’s novel a singular modernity, a resonance with…
Narrative and Setting
The story centers on a modest grocery café known as Chez Krull. The establishment is located at the edge of a city, positioned on the border between the countryside and the industrial outskirts, directly facing a lock.
For thirty years, the café has been owned by a family of German immigrants who have since become French citizens. The plot explores the tensions within this family and their community as the political climate of Europe shifts toward war.
At the very edge of the city, on the border between the industrial outskirts and the countryside, directly facing a lock — the central character of the story — stands a modest grocery café: Chez Krull. It has belonged for thirty years to a family of German immigrants who became French citizens. Yet Cornelius Krull, the patriarch, speaks only a German dialect and never utters more than two words. This venerable man of few words, the family’s tutelary figure, seems to conceal heavy secrets. On the eve of the Second World War, the few nearby residents prefer to shop in town rather than “feed the Krauts.” The grocery survives thanks to passing bargemen and the drifters from the outskirts who frequent the café. Maria, austere and deeply pious, runs the business with an iron hand, obsessed with making the family’s origins forgotten. Joseph, her eldest son, is completing a thesis on pneumothorax and preparing to become a doctor. Liesbeth, the youngest daughter, practices the piano relentlessly and dreams of concerts abroad. Anna, the self-sacrificing one, keeps the house while listening to Fréhel, Maurice Chevalier, or Berthe Sylva on the radio. The family’s fragile balance is disrupted by the unexpected arrival of Hans, a flamboyant German cousin who has come to ‘perfect his French….
Catherine Breillat interviewed on Murmur podcast
Deadline
Character Dynamics
The family’s internal stability is challenged by the arrival of Hans, a flamboyant cousin from Germany. The household is led by Maria, a woman described as deeply pious and austere, who manages the business with an iron hand in an attempt to distance the family from their German heritage.
The family members represent different paths of aspiration and sacrifice: Joseph is a medical student focused on his thesis regarding pneumothorax. Liesbeth is an aspiring concert pianist; and Anna maintains the domestic sphere, finding solace in the music of artists like Maurice Chevalier and Berthe Sylva.
Breillat’s Career and Cannes History
Catherine Breillat has established a significant presence at the Cannes Film Festival, with five of her films having played at the event. Her most recent work, Last Summer, was a part of the 2023 Cannes Competition and earned multiple nominations at both the César and Lumière awards.
Production Timeline
Filming for The German Cousin is currently being lined up for late 2027. Given the anticipated production schedule, the film is not expected to see a premiere until the 2028 Cannes Film Festival at the earliest.
