The Cannes Film Festival is back this week with stunning selections destined for other film festivals – and movie awards. Steve Newall previews some of the highlights that deserve a place on your watchlist.
No nudes please, we’re French. Well, on the red carpet of Cannes anyway, according to the festival rules this year, which look to tighten up the already strict dress requirements at official events. That didn’t dent the glamour as the iconic festival kicked off its 78th edition with a literal Tarantino mic drop and an honorary Palme d’Or presented to Robert De Niro.
“In my country, we are fighting like hell for the democracy we once took for granted,” De Niro said as he accepted the award. “That affects all of us here, because art is the crucible that brings people together, like tonight. Art looks for truth. Art embraces diversity. That’s why art is a threat. That’s why we are a threat to autocrats and fascists.”
“This is not just an American problem, it’s a global one,” De Niro continued. “We can’t all just sit back and watch. We have to act and we have to act now, not with violence but with great passion and determination. It’s time for everyone who cares about liberty to organise, to protest—and when there are elections, of course, to vote. Tonight and for the next 11 days we show our strength and commitment by celebrating art in this glorious festival. Libérté, égalité, fraternité.”
Cannes film screenings got underway with Partir un Jour as its Opening Night film. Making its world premiere, the film follows a workaholic about to open a Paris restaurant who’s called back to her family’s village when her father has a a heart attack. The film seems to continue a recent tradition of opening night films receiving mixed reviews—although “mixed” is not the adjective I’d use to describe Peter Bradshaw’s one-star write-up in The Guardian, which states both “foodie musical is an undercooked turkey” and “dreadful songs add no flavour to dreary tale of a big-city gourmet returning to her home-cooked roots” before the body of the review even commences.
Fortunately, there’s plenty of other films and moments to look forward to at Cannes. This year’s jury president is Juliette Binoche, with other jury members including the likes of Jeremy Strong, Halle Berry and All We Imagine as Light director Payal Kapadia. They have a stack of potentially great films to judge, with a strong lineup following 2024’s festival—which featured future Oscar contenders Anora (last year’s Palme d’Or winner), Emilia Pérez, The Substance and Flow.
So, get ready to add a bunch of films to your watchlist over the coming fortnight. To get you started, here are some advance highlights that caught our attention—from some of the biggest names in cinema. Plus, stay tuned for dispatches from Cannes by Flicks’ Rory Doherty as he sees next fortnight’s big titles.
Alpha
Director Julia Ducournau took out cinema’s two most prestigious awards with 2021’s Titane (the Palme d’Or and also Flicks fave film of the year). The filmmaker returns to Cannes with this, her third feature, described by the film’s distributors as her “most personal, profound work”. The Alpha of the title is a troubled 13-year-old living with her single mother—their world collapsing when Alpha comes up from school one day with a tattoo on her arm (body horror to parents, indeed).
Die, My Love
Lynne Ramsay’s first film since 2017’s brutal and brilliant You Were Never Really Here stars Jennifer Lawrence opposite Robert Pattinson. The couple’s marriage is breaking up, while Grace (Lawrence) is struggling with post-partum depression and psychosis. “But it’s really fucking funny,” Ramsay says in a Variety interview. “At least I think it’s funny… But I’m Glaswegian, so I’ve a really black sense of humour.” The strong supporting cast includes LaKeith Stanfield, Sissy Spacek and Nick Nolte.
Eddington
Joaquin Phoenix stars again for Ari Aster after 2023’s confounding Beau is Afraid. Not too much is known about A24’s Eddington, which looks part Western thriller, part black comedy, and is set during the COVID pandemic. Phoenix plays the sheriff of small New Mexico town Eddington, who gets in a standoff with the town’s mayor (Pedro Pascal), turning neighbour against neighbour in the community. Emma Stone, Austin Butler, Luke Grimes, Clifton Collins Jr. and Amélie Hoeferle also star.
The History of Sound
Josh O’Connor and Paul Mescal star in this historical romantic drama, which follows the relationship between two men and how they connect through song. Lionel (Mescal) first encounters David (O’Connor) at a piano bar, singing a folk song familiar from his youth. Their romance spans the years, most notably as the couple embark on a trip around the American Northeast, walking dozens of miles together as they collect folk ballads—like the one that first connected them—from around the country.
It Was Just an Accident
Iran’s Jafar Panâhi returns, with another film that (like 2022’s acclaimed No Bears) was filmed without a filming permit from the Islamic Republic—in other words, illegally. Repeatedly critical of Iran’s theocratic regime, the 20-year ban on working levelled against Panâhi continues to seem unenforceable in practice. The filmmaker’s latest effort is mysterious in nature until its Cannes world premiere—its plot is under wraps, and is described only as follows: “What begins as a minor accident sets in motion a series of escalating consequences.”
The Mastermind
Josh O’Connor pops up again here as the star of Kelly Reichardt’s foray into heist films. Set in the 1970s, O’Connor plays an unemployed carpenter who, along with two accomplices, walks into a museum in broad daylight—and out with a stolen painting. Which turns out to be the easy part of being a thief as, post-heist, the heat comes on him and his life unravels. O’Connor’s castmates here include Alana Haim, Gaby Hoffmann, John Magaro, Hope Davis and Bill Camp.
Nouvelle Vague
By my count, Richard Linklater is up to his 23rd feature as director with this, his first project to be shot entirely in French, which recreates the shooting of French New Wave (aka nouvelle vague) classic Breathless. Reconstructing the story behind Jean-Luc Godard’s incredibly influential 1959 masterpiece, the film’s characters include the likes of cinema legends Godard, Robert Bresson, Roberto Rossellini, Jean-Pierre Melville, Agnes Varda and Jacques Rivette—with Zoey Deutch as Breathless lead Jean Seberg.
The Phoenician Scheme
Wes Anderson is back with his twelfth feature, a dark espionage comedy centring on a father-daughter relationship. Benicio del Toro stars as one of Europe’s richest men (appearing in every shot, according to Anderson), who names his practising nun daughter (Mia Threapleton) as sole heir. Soon they’re the target of all manner of assailants from assassins to terrorists, providing casting opportunities for a typically enormous star-studded Anderson cast.
The Secret Agent
Set during the final years of Brazil’s military dictatorship, Dope Thief‘s Wagner Moura plays Marcelo, a teacher and technology expert on the run in mysterious circumstances. Returning to his hometown Recife during carnival week, Marcelo hopes to reunite with his son but finds the city is far from the refuge he has been seeking. Director Kleber Mendonça Filho previously won the Jury Prize at Cannes with his last film Bacurau, with one of its stars returning here in the form of Udo Kier.
Sentimental Value
Director Joachim Trier reteams with Renate Reinsve, breakout star of his last film The Worst Person in the World, for this new effort, also starring Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas and Elle Fanning. This is another film with little info available, described as “an “intimate and moving exploration of family, memories, and the reconciliatory power of art”—perhaps more interesting, Mubi has already acquired this for distribution, making this announcement just seconds after Cannes head Thierry Fremauxit announced it as being in the 2025 lineup.
Young Mothers
Belgian filmmaking duo the Dardenne brothers (aka Jean-Pierre and Luc) are in rare company as two-time winners of the Palme d’Or. Only seven other filmmakers share the honour—but the Dardennes could move into rare air if they can pull of a third win here. Their latest drama follows five young mothers, all from difficult circumstances and housed in a center for struggling young mums—five teenagers hoping they can achieve a better life, both for themselves and their children.
