The which will kick off Tuesday, is such a colossal extravaganza that taking measure of its ups and downs is notoriously difficult. It鈥檚 a showcase of the world鈥檚 best cinema. It鈥檚 a red-carpet spectacular. It鈥檚 a French Riviera hive of dealmaking.
But by at least some metrics, Cannes 鈥� following a canceled 2020 festival, a much-diminished and 鈥� is finally all the way back.
鈥淟et鈥檚 just say it鈥檚 gotten very hard to get restaurant reservations again,鈥� says Christine Vachon, the veteran producer and longtime collaborator of Todd Haynes.
When the 76th Cannes Film Festival opens Tuesday with the premiere of 鈥淛eanne du Barry,鈥� a historical drama by Ma茂wenn starring , the gleaming C么te d鈥橝zur pageant can feel confident that it has weathered the storms of the pandemic and the perceived threat of streaming. ( remain at an impasse.)
Last year鈥檚 festival, a banner one by most judgments, produced three Oscar best-picture nominees (鈥淭op Gun: Maverick,鈥� 鈥淓lvis鈥� and ), again proving Cannes as the premier for films big and small.
A BLOCKBUSTER CANNES
This year鈥檚 festival is headlined by a pair of marquee premieres: 鈥淜illers of the Flower Moon,鈥� with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, and James Mangold鈥檚 starring Harrison Ford in his final performance as the character.
But as blockbuster as Cannes can be, even those films suggest the wide spectrum of cinema on hand. Both Scorsese and Mangold were first in Cannes decades ago to premiere their early breakthrough films in the Directors' Fortnight sidebar: Mangold with 1995鈥檚 鈥淗eavy.鈥�
This time, though, they'll debut much bigger films, sure to be the hottest tickets on the Croisette. Scorsese has his $200 million epic for Apple TV+. And Mangold will premiere, as he says, 鈥渁 more splendiferous project" than his minimalist debut.
The 鈥淚ndy鈥� celebration will include a tribute to Ford. He, along with Michael Douglas, will be given honorary Palme d鈥橭rs. To Mangold, it鈥檚 a chance for Ford to embrace the franchise's international following. The 鈥淚ndiana Jones鈥� films' essence, the director says, is rooted in golden-age cinema.
鈥淭hese are things where you鈥檙e taking your guidance from the classics,鈥� Mangold says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 something that鈥檚 really appreciated by the French about American cinema. In many ways, they revere the old pictures more than even the audience in the United States do. That makes it a really wonderful platform.鈥�
A RECORD HIGH FOR FEMALE FILMMAKERS
This year, 21 films are competing for the Palme d鈥橭r, which will be decided by a jury led by last year鈥檚 winner, Swedish writer-director Ruben 脰stlund. Seven are directed by women, a new high for Cannes in its nearly eight decades of existence. Among the most anticipated is Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher鈥檚 鈥淟a Chimera,鈥� starring Josh O鈥機onnor and Isabella Rossellini.
The festival, running through May 27, will unspool against the backdrop of labor unrest on both sides of the Atlantic. France has been beset in recent months by including raising the retirement age. In the U.S., to seek better pay in the streaming era.
The prospect of a prolonged work stoppage could potentially drive up prices for finished films at Cannes, the world鈥檚 top movie market. Among the titles seeking distribution is Haynes鈥� 鈥淢ay December,鈥� which stars Natalie Portman as a journalist who embeds with a couple (Julianne Moore, Charles Melton) once renowned for their age discrepancy.
Though arthouses have struggled to match the box-office recovery at multiplexes, Vachon, a producer on 鈥淢ay December,鈥� says her company, Killer Films, and the indie stalwart Haynes are accustomed to 鈥減ivoting endlessly and finding opportunities no matter what the sea winds bring.鈥�
AUTEURS AND A-LISTERS
As usual, this year鈥檚 competition lineup returns plenty of Cannes heavyweights, including Hirokazu Kore-eda (鈥淢onster鈥�), Wim Wenders (鈥淧erfect Days鈥�), Nuri Bilge Ceylan (鈥淎bout Dry Grasses鈥�), Ken Loach (鈥淭he Old Oak鈥�) and Nanni Moretti (鈥淎 Brighter Tomorrow鈥�).
Jonathan Glazer鈥檚 鈥淭he Zone of Interest,鈥� shot in Auschwitz, is one of the festival's most eagerly awaited films. It鈥檚 his first since 2013鈥檚 鈥淯nder the Skin.鈥� Pedro Almod贸var will premiere the short 鈥淪trange Way of Life,鈥� with Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke. Wes Anderson, flanked by another starry ensemble, will debut 鈥淎steroid City.鈥�
There鈥檚 also the upcoming HBO series 鈥淭he Idol,鈥� from 鈥淓uphoria鈥� filmmaker Sam Levinson starring Abel Tesfaye 鈥� also known as the Weeknd 鈥� and Lily-Rose Depp; 鈥淔irebrand鈥� with Alicia Vikander as Catherine Parr and Judd Law as Tudor King Henry VIII; and the Pixar movie 鈥淓lemental," which closes the festival.
Steve McQueen, the 鈥�12 Years a Slave鈥� filmmaker, will debut the longest film playing at Cannes and one of its most thought-provoking. 鈥淥ccupied City,鈥� which McQueen made with his wife, Dutch author Bianca Stigter, is a four-hour-plus documentary that combines narration detailing violent incidents across Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation with present-day footage from those locations.
McQueen, too, began his feature filmmaking career at Cannes. His 2008 debut, 鈥淗unger,鈥� won the Camera d鈥橭r, a prize for best first film. 鈥淚t鈥檚 never as good as the first time,鈥� McQueen says.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 the most important film festival,鈥� continues McQueen. 鈥淥ur film is asking questions. This is where you want to premiere films that challenge and films that ask questions. You鈥檙e right on the front line.鈥�
POTENTIAL BREAKTHROUGHS
While many eyes will be on reactions to the new Scorsese or 鈥淎steroid City,鈥� Cannes will, as it does every year, bring new directors to wider film audiences. Senegalese filmmaker Ramata-Toulaye Sy鈥檚 鈥淏anel & Adama鈥� is the rare first feature in Palme competition.
Argentine filmmaker Rodrigo Moreno, 50, will be making his first trip to Cannes with 鈥淭he Delinquents,鈥� a heist drama sprinkled with existentialism and cinematic flourishes. It's one of the highlights of the Un Certain Regard section.
The film took Moreno five years to make, partially because of the pandemic. But its Cannes selection is a long time coming in another way. Moreno鈥檚 first feature as a solo director was invited to both Un Certain Regard and main competition at Berlin. The producers chose Berlin.
鈥淎t this point of my career. I鈥檓 focused on: If this allows me to keep on working and make the next film, to me, that鈥檚 OK. It鈥檚 the only thing I really want,鈥� says Moreno.
鈥淭he shooting of this film spanned almost five years, which is crazy," he adds. "But the nice side of that is that every year, I had to shoot. The one thing I knew was that a new year began, and I had to shoot. And the following, I had to shoot.鈥�
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Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
