The red carpet is being vacuumed, the Croisette prepped – new anti- terrorist bollards a grim reminder of the times – and a young Claudia Cardinale dances exuberantly above the Palais du Cinéma. Everything is almost ready for the celebration of the 70th Cannes Film Festival.
The lineup is rich and deep, indicative of a generational shift, with Michael Haneke sticking up for the old guard while Cannes regulars like Andrey Zvyagintsev, Sofia Coppola, Todd Haynes, Yorgos Lanthimos and Naomi Kawase and Fatih Akin dominate the competition. There are some oldies about. Vanessa Redgrave debuts in the directors chair at 80 with Sea Sorrow and Shoah documentarian Claude Lanzmann at 90 has a special screening and Jean-Luc Godard, who shared a prize a couple of years back with Xavier Dolan, is the subject of Redoubtable, directed by The Artist’s Michel Hazanavicius. For all the love of tradition, Cannes has always been acutely aware of the future with an Alejandro González Iñárritu virtual reality experience and a bunch of Netflix movies allowed in, though rules are set to change for next year.
The shifting roles of streaming and TV can be seen in the eagerly anticipated Twin Peaks screening, for some a definite highlight. Following Ken Loach’s historic victory with I, Daniel Blake, the UK has largely Brexited. Lynne Ramsay’s You Weren’t Really Here the only high profile Brit presence but, like Andrea Arnold’s American Honey last year, working with US based material. The best films are most likely the ones that we have heard nothing about and take the festival by storm. This will be the sixth Cannes CineVue has covered. Keep connected following us @CineVue and writer John Bleasdale @drjonty. Comment, share and let us know what you think.
Palme d’Or contenders
Wonderstruck, Todd Haynes
Le Redoutable, Michel Hazanavicius
The Day After, Hong Sangsoo
Radiance, Naomi Kawase
The Killing Of A Sacred Deer, Yorgos Lanthimos
A Gentle Creature, Sergei Loznitsa
Jupiter’s Moon, Kornél Mundruczó
L’Amant Double, François Ozon
You Were Never Really Here, Lynne Ramsay
Good Time, Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie
Loveless, Andrey Zvyagintsev
The Meyerowitz Stories, Noah Baumbach
In the Fade, Fatih Akin
Okja, Bong Joon-ho
120 Beats Per Minute, Robin Campillo
The Beguiled, Sofia Coppola
Rodin, Jacques Doillon
Happy End, Michael Haneke
The Square, Ruben Östlund
The 70th Cannes Film Festival takes place from 17-28 May. For more coverage, follow this link.
John Bleasdale | @drjonty