The world’s most famous film festival is about to begin, and needless to say we are very, very excited about it. Every year Cannes embraces new filmmaking voices, besides attracting titles from the finest talents of world cinema. We are ready for the new surprises, but are also counting on films by established auteurs.
Here’s looking at the most electrifying ones.
The Square
In 2014, when Force Majeure was shown at Cannes, it not only won the Jury Prize, but also went on to gather massive critical acclaim around the world. Whoever has seen it knows that director Ruben Östlund carries the rare grain of brittle comedy that owes its origin to the great writer August Strindberg. His next, The Square, follows a museum manager who hires a ruthless PR firm to build some buzz around a new installation which provides people with a symbolic space where only good things can happen. A late addition to the fest, but a thrilling add-on nonetheless.
You Were Never Really Here
It’s a travesty that Lynne Ramsay doesn't make enough films. As was evident in her debut feature Ratcatcher (1999), the director’s ability to convey through images instead of expository dialogues is exemplary, and she remains one of the most uncompromising filmmakers of postmodern age. She is competing for Palme d’Or with You Were Never Really Here, which features Joaquin Phoenix as a war veteran who gets entrapped with a powerful New York politician following a failed rescue attempt in a city brothel. Blood will be spilled, and a masterpiece is most likely waiting to be born.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
When Yorgos Lanthimos showed Dogtooth at Cannes in 2009, the world became aware of a new auteur. By the time he returned with The Lobster a few years later, he had already established himself as one of the distinctive talents of European cinema. His next, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, is about a surgeon who has to deal with the inexplicably ominous intents of a teen he takes under his wing. He has re-teamed with Colin Farell, with Nicole Kidman as the new addition, and the film has been touted as a psychological thriller. Going by the usual warm reception of Lanthimos’ strange brain, there’s a strong chance that this film will clinch the top prize.
The Florida Project
With his last film Tangerine, Sean Baker not only demolished covenants in casting and shooting, he also presented a fluid framework of friendship and heartbreak. Very deservedly, the film shot on an iPhone pocketed accolades and made a huge splash. His next titled The Florida Project, is about kids enjoying their summer break in Florida, without being aware of the adults around them dealing with difficulties and crises. Featuring Willem Dafoe and Caleb Landry Jones, the audience will be waiting for that pulsating vibe and raw recitals that Baker unleashed in his last film.
Wonderstruck
After the enchanting sparkle of Carol, Todd Haynes is coming back to Cannes with Wonderstruck, toplining Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams. Based on the Brian Selznick (also the writer of The Invention of Hugo Cabret) novel, this drama will operate in two timelines i.e. 1927 and 1977. In 1927, a young deaf girl plots an escape to meet her idol, while 50 years later, a young boy runs away to find his father. Rumours suggest that the first section is presented as a silent film, and knowing Haynes’ love for film history, we are, stating the cliché, waiting to be struck by this wonder.
Loveless
Andrey Zvyagintsev, the Golden Lion and Golden Globe clinching Russian director’s new film, Loveless, will find a couple in the turbulence of divorce, but their mutual disdain for each other will have to sustain a search for their 12-year-old son who disappears witnessing his parents’ clash. Russians have a tempestuous relationship with Zvyagintsev, for he has established a veritable reputation for mirroring his nation’s uncomfortable truths through familial sights. The way his celebrated works, The Return (2003) and Leviathan (which was a sensation at Cannes in 2014) built an epic sweep gently, expectations would be nothing less than sky high from his next.
Happy End
Michael Haneke wasn’t taken seriously by the Austrian public as a serious artiste until he started scoring major awards at Cannes. Unlike the answer-serving films of popular cinema, Haneke’s body of work makes us confront the ugly questions about life, faith and love. His next, titled Happy End, will have Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Louis Trintignant in a family drama, set against the backdrop of the fermenting refugee predicament in Europe. He is in the rare category of directors who have won the Palme d’Or twice, and this year, if all goes well, he will become the first to score three.
Okja
With films like Memories Of Murder (2003), The Host (2006) and Mother (2009) to his credit, Bong Joon-Ho is not only one of South Korea’s revered filmmakers, but also of the world. Unfortunately, the director’s English language debut Snowpiercer (2013) despite sparkling reviews, didn’t snatch enough eyeballs thanks to distribution mishaps. His next Okja will follow a South Korean girl, who becomes friends with a shy and introverted animal. According to the world, this creature is a monster and it’s up to her to stop a malevolent company from taking her best friend away. Financed by Netflix, and costing around $50 million, this film will be Joon-ho’s biggest film to date with an impressive cast that includes Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, and Lily Collins among others. Possibly a mishmash of The Host and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Okja has all the possibilities of an adrenaline-charged ride, and an excavation of astonishments that the director is capable of throwing at his eager viewers.
Twin Peaks
The 70th edition of the fest will see a new beginning, as the festival has opened itself up for TV shows. Out of the lot, the return of Twin Peaks has sent fans into a tizzy. The show created by David Lynch and Mark Frost about a quiet small town and the darkness that lurks beneath its calm, has influenced countless crime shows on television since its debut. The show’s third season is, without a doubt, one of the most anticipated homecomings on small screen. A total of 18 episodes are waiting to be aired, and Cannes will screen two episodes, which will see Agent Cooper's pilgrimage back to Twin Peaks. This is as good as it gets.
(The writer is a journalist and a screenwriter who believes in the insanity of words, in print or otherwise; he tweets @RanjibMazumder)
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