The Lost Boys of Mercury

In a summer house in the Savoie region of France, three men in their sixties meet to share experiences. As children, they were pupils at the Catholic boys’ boarding school La Belle Étoile in nearby Mercury. Their time there, we discover, has destroyed their lives. André became a hardened criminal who spent 35 years in prison. Michel has always been afraid. Daniel has never dared to express emotion.

With great caution, director Clémence Davigo allows the three to tell their stories. About the structural abuse, the lack of food, the cruel punishments. About the priests who went even further and sexually abused the boys. And about a society that looked the other way. Even when the three men are silent, the camera records their grief, anger and despair.

Davigo is also present when André, Michel and Daniel talk to therapists from the Catholic Church. Because many questions remain unanswered. Why were children treated like criminals? And what will the church do to recompense all the victims?