The must-see films from Cannes
Image by Felix Mooneeram via unsplash
The closing ceremony of Cannes Film Festival was hit with a power outage that affected the whole region, but that didn’t stop the stars from shining.
With a packed festival of returning favorites and new delights, there are definitely some films to watch out for.
The Chronology of Water is Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut, adapted from Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir, that follows the American authors journey from being a sexually abused child to a competitive swimmer with drugs and sex all playing an important role in shaping her to becoming the woman that she is.
Imogen Poots is described as stunning while Stewart was praised for her ability to showcase the moments in life that define a person.
Eddington is Ari Aster’s next upcoming film that’s considered a Western sociological thriller. It’s set in 2020, the summer of COVID, in Eddington where the local Sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) refuses to wear a mask. While set with the backdrop of COVID, it shows an America that’s conspiracy fueled and cultlike.
Spike Lee’s new film Highest 2 Lowest is an entertaining critique of what the future of culture is while also being a soul-searching piece of work. Denzel Washington plays David King, a hip-hop mogul that experiences a kidnapping that causes him to recheck his priorities in life. This is a reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low where Spike Lee’s own passion seeps through.
Urchin is Harris Dickinson’s feature-length directorial debut. It follows a drifter, played by Frank Dillane, who bounces from prison, the streets, and hostels while trying to navigate his life. Dickinson shines a light on the homelessness epidemic while showing the very human element to this disenfranchised and vulnerable group of people with Dickinson stating that he wanted to show the “people who fall between the cracks.”
Dillane won the Best Actor award at the festival and Dickinson’s impressive directorial debut has people wanting more.
It Was Just an Accident, directed by Jafar Panahi, was the winner of the prestigious Palme d’Or. The Iranian filmmaker set out to make something that echoed his own life, and real-life experiences. The film follows Vahid, who kidnaps a man who resembles a prison officer that tortured him and destroyed his life. However, he soon contemplates if the man is who he says he is.
The stories and characters in this film are said to be inspired by the things that Panahi heard during his arrest. In Panahi’s acceptance speech, he called for Iranians to fight against the Iranian regime.
With work from new and exciting talent, to veterans returning to showcase their next work, Cannes is always a place to celebrate movies and the craft, dedication, and love that people have for the industry.