Before the Cannes Film Festival announcements this morning we knew thatJim Jarmusch’s horror comedyThe Dead Don’t Diewould open the festival and that theElton JohnbiopicRocketmanwould be part of the programme. There were doubts whetherQuentin Tarantino’sOnce Upon a Time in Hollywoodwould be ready, and likewiseJames Gray’s sci-fi picAd Astra. Both are not ready says Cannes directorThierry Fremaux, though he has seen “most of”Tarantino’s film and wishes it the best.
“It’s a pity. The film was prematurely announced and all the media were running after the story giving a lot appetite for his ninth movie. We hoped we would have good news that the film would be present but they didn’t make the selection deadline. He works in 35mm so the post-production is longer and he is still in the editing room. So I’m wishing him to do a good movie and what I’ve seen is fantastic. Taking time to make a good movie is what’s important.”
HowAd Astracould be unfinished given it’s May release date is anyone’s guess.
“Observers thought it would be ready but that is not the case,” Fremaux says. He did note that new additions could be made to the programme but these two movies have virtually been ruled out. Also not ready is last year’s Palme d’Or winnerHirokazu
Kore-eda’s highly anticipated French film,The Truth, which marks the first pairing ofCatherine DeneuveandJuliette Binoche(as mother and daughter) and Fremaux intimated that the film would screen in the autumn festivals.
Many were hoping that the Cannes programme would be more Hollywood-oriented this year, but that is not the case. American filmmakers, includingTerrence Malick,Abel FerraraandIra Sachswill however present their latest efforts. Malick makes a Cannes return following his 2011 Palme d’Or win (forThe Tree of Life)with his long-gestating World War Two dramaA Hidden Lifeabout the Austrian anti-Nazi conscientious objectorFranz Jägerstätter. “Don’t ask me if he will be there” chuckles Fremaux of the reclusive American. Ferrara’sTomassoagain stars his usual actorWillem Dafoe. “It’s not a documentary film, it’s a realistic film,” says Fremaux, while Sachs makes his first film outside of the US withFrankie, a Portugal-set family vacation drama starringIsabelle Huppert,Brendan Gleeson,Marisa TomeiandGreg Kinnear.Mobile HomesdirectorDanielle Lessovitzwill present theMartin Scorsese-producedPort Authority.
Currently there are 19 films in the Competition, 15 entries in Un Certain Regard with other films screening Out of Competition and in the Special Screenings category. The Competition jury will be led byAlejandro Gonzalez Inarritubut the other jurors are still to be announced. The programme of the indie-oriented Director’s Fortnight will be announced on Tuesday and the arthouse Critics Week will be revealed tomorrow.Agnes Vardafigures on the official poster as a tribute to the French filmmaker who died in March.
Most notable in the competition are Cannes regulars—and there are only four films by women.Pedro Almodovarreturns withPain and Glory, his loosely autobiographical story of an aging filmmaker played byAntonio Banderas; Italian filmmakerMarco Bellochiobrings his latestThe TraitorandBong Joon-ho, last seen in Cannes 2017 with Netflix’sOkja, will presentParasite. South Korea is a country that is prolific and produces “flamboyant cinema”, saysFremauxwho has also included a Korean filmLee Won-Tae’s The Gangster, The Cop and The Devilas the sole film in the Midnight section. Two-time Palme d’Or winners theDardennesbring their latestThe Young Ahmed.Ken Loach,who likewise won the festival’s top prize twice, will premiereSorry We Missed Youa collaboration between and his regular producerRebecca O’Brienand writerPaul Laverty.Fremauxdescribes the story of a delivery driver trying to get by in contemporary England as “very Loachian”. Another Croisette regularXavier Dolandirects his latest Quebecois filmMatthias & Maximea partly biographical drama where he stars alongside his mother, Austrian filmmakerJessica Hausner“we’ve followed her since her first film,” notesFremaux—will present the sci-fi dramaLittle Joeabout genetic manipulation.AmydirectorAsif Kapadiawill unfurl his documentary about footballerDiego MaradonaOut of Competition, whereNicolas Winding Refnwill premiere his television seriesToo Old to Die Young - North of Hollywood, West of Hell. “He will show episodes 4 and 5, don’t ask me why!” explainsFremaux.Werner HerzoghasFamily Romance LLCin the Special Screenings programme.
As usual the French are out in force. Five French films screen in the competition:ArnaudDesplechin’sOh MercystarringLea Seydoux;Celine Sciamma’s 18th Century lesbian romancePortrait of a Lady on Fire, starringAdele Haenel;Sibyldirected byJustine Trietand starringVirginie Efira;Ladj Ly’s banlieue (suburban) drama,Les Miserables;Elia Suleiman’s co-productionIt Must Be Heaven. Out of Competition isClaude Lelouch’sLes Plus Belles AnnéesstarringJean-Louis Trintignant,Anouk AimeeandMonica Bellucci,while Un Certain Regard includesBruno Dumont’sJeanneaboutJoan of ArcandChristophe Honore’sChambre 212set on the eve of the French Revolution.
As for the Netflix, Fremaux said the Festival was encouraged bySteven Spielberg,Jean-Luc Godardand theatre owners to continue with their policy of not welcoming Netflix films into the competition if they will not screen their films in French theatres. Though he notes how the streaming giant had no films ready this year in any case. Cannes PresidentPierre Lescuresays Netflix is facing stiff competition from Amazon and other emerging streaming services citing Apple and Disney. “There is an evolution of new players on the block… Everything will change in the four or five years to come.”
