Even without Hollywood’s flashy studio releases, the Cannes Film Festival looks poised to deliver a solid competition packed with new films from legendary directors.
The official selection will be announced on April 9th, and although many films have yet to be submitted or seen by Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux and his committee, the 79th edition is expected to feature a mix of the festival’s mainstays and up-and-comers, supported by a strong showing of French talent, a handful of buzzy English-language indies, and a healthy Asian presence.
ヨーロッパ全土から、コンペティションへの参加が有力視されている映画には、サンドラ・ヒュラー（『プロジェクト・ヘイル・メアリー』）主演、パウェウ・パヴリコフスキ（『イーダ』）監督の冷戦時代のドラマ『1949』が含まれる。 Pedro Almodovar’s “Bitter Christmas,” his return to Spanish-language cinema.デンマークの破壊的監督ニコラス・ウィンディング・レフンのミステリアスな長編復帰作『ハー・プライベート・ヘル』チャールズ・メルトンとソフィー・サッチャー主演。ロドリゴ・ソロゴエン監督の『ザ・ビラヴド』ハビエル・バルデムとヴィクトリア・ルエンゴが疎遠になった父娘デュオを演じる。そしてアルバート・セラ監督の『アウト・オブ・ディス・ワールド』では、ライリー・キーオがウクライナ戦争の最中にロシアへ向かうアメリカ代表団の一員を演じた。 Palme d’Or winner Christian Mungiu’s English debut, Fjord, starring Renate Rijnsve and Sebastian Stan. and “Everytime,” directed by up-and-coming German director Sandra Wollner.
As always, there is a wide range of French candidates on the shortlist, with Stéphane Brisét’s social drama Un Bon Petit Soldat starring Vincent Lindon and Alba Rohrwacher in particular. Directed by Quentin Dupieux, Full Fill (marketed as the hellish Emily in Paris) is a wild comedy starring Woody Harrelson and Kristen Stewart.ベルトラン・マンディコ監督によるイタリア映画の栄光の時代へのオマージュ、マリオン・コティヤールとノエミ・メルラン主演の『ローマ・エラスティカ』。 “Venus Electrificata” directed by Pierre Salvadori, starring Gilles Lelouch and Pio Marmai. and the drama “15/18” starring Cedric Khan.
From Asia, the dystopian film “Sheep in the Box” by Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, is scheduled to be released. There is also a Paris-set drama, “All of a Sudden,” directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, the same Japanese director who won an Oscar for “Drive My Car,” starring Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto.
Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, another international director who has chosen Paris as the backdrop for his next film, is expected to present Parallel Tales, featuring a captivating French ensemble led by Isabelle Huppert and Catherine Deneuve.
For American indies, there should be at least a few highlights. Especially James Gray’s Paper Tiger, a gritty crime story starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller. The film has been submitted to the Cannes Film Festival and will be shown at the Cannes Film Festival. Gray is beloved in France and is a regular on the Croisette, where he has already screened five films, including Armageddon Time, The Immigrant, Two Lovers, We Own the Night and The Yard.
An American film that has received little attention and is likely to be officially screened is “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” directed by up-and-coming Jane Schoenbrunn (“I Saw It on TV”) and starring Hanna Einbinder (“The Hux”) and Gillian Anderson (“Sex Education”). The film is produced by Plan B and Mubi.
Beyond these titles, there may be other exciting surprises announced after the press conference (maybe a blockbuster animated movie like Minions and Monsters?), but in any case, Fremaux told Variety in an interview last week that he doesn’t expect any major studio films like Mission: Impossible or Top Gun this year. He also said the decline in U.S. footprint at Cannes reflects broader changes in the industry, noting that studios are making “fewer blockbusters and fewer author films than they used to,” and hinted that cost is also an issue, since Cannes, even if it comes, won’t “travel light.”
After all, as Fremaux said last week, the festival doesn’t depend on Hollywood and “nothing else but the movies themselves.” In fact, last year’s Cannes crop shone thanks to non-English films. The list of premieres included Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, which won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film and tied it with Wagner Moura’s The Secret Agent for Best Picture.
Alex Ritman, Nick Vivarelli and Naman Ramachandran contributed to this report.
