By Folks, it’s that time of the year again! The 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival!
All across the world, true-blue cinephiles and filmmakers flock to the French Riviera for days of screenings, meetings, and some networking with the film folks across the world. For every cinelover, Cannes is the holy grail of cinema!
And if you’re wondering what the lineup for this year looks like, we’re here to save you the trouble. From the Directors’ Fortnight to the Main Competition, we get you the best of movie titles that are making the right noise ahead of the festival. Take a look.
DIE, MY LOVE: Lynne Ramsay
Scottish director Lynne Ramsay (of the ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’, ‘You Were Never Really Here’ fame) returns to Cannes eight years after she bagged the best screenplay trophy for the latter. Die, My Love stars Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, LaKeith Stanfield, Nick Nolte, and Sissy Spacek. This drama-thriller explores postpartum depression and psychosis of a mother played by Jennifer Lawrence slowly sinking away from reality.
SENTIMENTAL VALUE: Joachim Trier
After enjoying widespread acclaim with his Oslo Trilogy (Reprise (2006), Oslo, August 31st (2011) and The Worst Person in the World (2021)), the Norwegian director is teaming up again with his prodigy Renate Reinsve, alongside Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning. Promoted as “an intimate, poignant and often funny exploration of family, memories, and the reconciliatory power of art,” this one follows the story of a fading filmmaker who is plotting his comeback with a Hollywood actress, and right about when he starts shooting, he realizes it’s his daughter who is more suited for the part, and now turmoil ensues.
THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME: Wes Anderson
After last year’s ‘Asteroid City’, Anderson returns to the Croisette with his fourth feature. Needless to say, the star cast is enviable and consists of Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Michael Cera, Bryan Cranston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Willem Dafoe, Riz Ahmed, Rupert Friend, and Charlotte Gainsbourg, and of course, Bill Murray. The dazzling adventure comedy follows Zsa-zsa Korda, a European business mogul who decides to confer his luxurious estate to his only daughter, a nun (played by Kate Winslet’s daughter Mia Threapleton). But before that, they set out to explore the world where they meet whimsical characters.
THE CHRONOLOGY OF WATER: Kristen Stewart
What’s another interesting facet to this year’s festival? We have two directorial debuts by two leading ladies from Hollywood. The first one being by Kristen Stewart, something she has been discussing since 2018! This is the big screen adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s 2011 memoir ‘The Chronology of Water’, which traces a woman’s journey through sexuality, drug addiction, toxic relationships and survival as a lifelong swimmer and artist.
ELEANOR THE GREAT: Scarlett Johansson
The other full-feature directorial debut is from Scarlett Johansson, who has already directed two shorts! Scarlett directs a cross-generational friendship saga between an elderly Floridian woman played by the 95-year-old June Squibb, grieving the recent death of a close friend, and a young journalism student.
EDDINGTON: Ari Aster
The ‘Midsommar’ filmmaker is here with his first movie in competition. This time, he weaves tussles between a law & order sheriff and the city’s mayor at the turbulent times of COVID-19 in a New Mexico town, Eddington. Wait till we tell you the star cast—Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, and Austin Butler. Need any more reason to anticipate this one?
ALPHA: Julia Ducournau
The French filmmaker is back with a follow-up to her Palme d’Or-winning ‘Titane’. If you’re familiar with her previous works, you know you’re in for something that’s as tormenting as it is refreshing, you know what we mean! Touted to be her ‘most personal project’, this is a coming-of-age drama of a 13-year-old Alpha, who returns home from school with a tattoo. And what follows is an upheaval of sorts.
HIGHEST 2 LOWEST: Spike Lee
In his fifth collaboration with Denzel Washington alongside A$AP Rocky, Spike Lee reenvisions Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 ‘High and Low’, wherein a rich businessman’s family becomes the victim of a kidnapping experiment that goes wrong. What we know is that the setting is New York’s music industry.
HONEY DON’T: Ethan Coen
A lesbian B-movie starring Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza and Chris Evans? Count us in! The latest from Coen has Qualley playing a detective who is investigating a curious case of a burnt corpse in a car, while Chris plays a local preacher and Aubrey a fellow cop.
NOUVELLE VAGUE: Richard Linklater
Do you, too, love movies about movies? Well, you’re gonna love this one. In his second chance at the fest, the ‘Before trilogy’ director pays homage to Jean-Luc Godard’s seminal classic ‘Breathless’ at the dawn of the French New Cinema Wave. This one, too, is shot in black & white, on the very streets of Paris; this is a must-watch.
Which ones are you most excited for?!
Honorable Mentions: The Sound of Falling, The History of Sound, Urchin, Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning, Homebound, A Simple Accident