In this world, there are a few things that every filmmaker hopes for: a multi-million dollar budget, an Oscar, and for their movie to premiere at theCannes Film Festival. The prestigious festival has given many movies their first push into the spotlight and has launched the careers of people likeBernardo Bertolucci,Jane Campion, andGuillermo Del Toro. This festival on the French Riviera holds a very special place in film history, and it should be no less revolutionary this time around. Many new directors as well as veterans have come back to the festival and turned the film world on its head yet again with what are certain to be classics. With a jury that included the likes ofVincent London,Asghar Farhadi, andJoachim Trier, here are just a few of the films that made a big splash at Cannes.
Related:Cannes Film Festival Announces 2022 Lineup, Including New Films From George Miller, David Cronenberg, and Park Chan-wook
For the manyBaz Luhrmannfans out there, it has been a very long wait. His last film,The Great Gatsby, came out in 2013 and wowed audiences everywhere with its vibrant visuals, interesting soundtrack, and compelling performances. Luhrmann is finally back with a film that should be just as successful, if not more. As the title suggests,Elvistells the story ofElvis Presleyfrom his early days as a child to becoming a rock and roll and movie star, as well as his complex relationship with his manager Colonel Tom Parker. With Luhrmann at the helm, you can be sure this isn’t another Hollywood biopic and instead is a tribute to the glamour of a time and a figure gone by starringAustin Butler, in what is surely a star-making performance. Though many critics were divided, Presley’s family has remained steadfast in their overwhelming approval of the film!
Crimes of the Future
In the 1980s and 90s,David Cronenbergwas the only director of horror and sci-fi who didn’t sell out to a franchise and managed to stay fresh and relevant. Recently, he has ventured more into crime or psychological dramas, but his new film,Crimes of the Future(not to be confused withhis other film of the same name) marks his return to the horror/sci-fi genre since 1999’seXistenZ. The movie serves as a deep dive into the not-so-distant future in which humankind is learning to adapt to its synthetic surroundings. With a cast includingViggo Mortensen,Lea Seydoux, andKristin Stewart, Cronenberg seems to have struck gold!
Decision to Leave
The last timePark Chan-Wookpremiered a film at Cannes was in 2016 withThe Handmaiden. He blew audiences away with his erotic imagery and wild plot. After six years of absence, this South Korean auteur came back and won Best Director forDecision to Leave. The movie tells the story of a detective who falls for a mysterious widow after she becomes the prime suspect in his latest murder investigation and dives into an underground world of ghosts and shape-shifting humans. Park Chan-Wook never disappoints when it comes to thrillers that question what it is to be human and this was definitely no different.
Triangle of Sadness
In 2017, the film world was blown away whenThe Squarewon the Palme D’or at the Cannes Film Festival. The directorRuben Ostlundgleefully showed us all how ridiculous the art world could be and cemented his place as one of the most darkly hilarious directors working in arthouse cinema. His new Palme D’Or winning film,Triangle of Sadness, centers on a fashion model celebrity couple who are invited on a luxury cruise for the super-rich and seems to pack the same punch as the rest of his movies. This is Ostlund’s first venture into English-language filmmaking and it seems on course to become a hit not just in Europe but also in the US after getting an eight-minute standing ovation.
Top Gun: Maverick
Many of the films on this list won’t be blockbuster hits and won’t become household names to the average American. This movie is different. In 1986,Top Gundefined an era and launchedTom Cruise’s careeras a viable and consistent action star. Today, almost 36 years later, we are finally getting a sequel.Top Gun: Maverickpicks up 30 odd years later as Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Cruise), who has been dodging promotion, is put in charge of training a group of Top Gun graduates for a specialized mission. Among the recruits is Lieutenant Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, theson of Maverick’s late best friend Nick “Goose” Bradshaw. Along with this premiere, the festival saw a tribute to Cruise and marked a return to his top-billed action star status after a few years of absence.
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Another former Palme D’Or winner,Hirokazu Kore-edamade everyone cry with his sentimental yet utterly realistic classicShoplifters. After working in France, Kore-eda has returned to Asia to make a film with some of South Korea’s brightest stars.Brokerrevolves around characters associated with baby boxes, which allow infants to be dropped off anonymously to be cared for by others. With this kind of plot, a director like Kore-eda can make magic. His skills at creating painfully true stories that also carry a healthy dose of romanticism and longing are incredible. Along with a cast of legends likeSong Kang-hoandBae Doona, will break your heart in the most beautiful way!
The Stars at Noon
Clare Denishas come back to Cannes with another soon-to-be classic. Denis has shown over the years that she is a master of weaving personal stories together with the politics of privilege, particularly surrounding France’s colonial violence in Africa with movies likeWhite MaterialandBeau Travail. Her new film,The Stars at Noon, follows that same tradition but focuses on a new part of the world. The story revolves around a mysterious English businessman and an American journalist who strike up a romance and must now team up to escape Nicaragua during the Nicaraguan Revolution. Denis' familiarity with colonial injustice definitely translates well to Latin America and proved to be one of the most talked-about films of the festival.
Three Thousand Years of Longing
The last timeGeorge Millerwent to Cannes, he premiered what some would call the greatest, most feminist, and exciting action film of all time withMad Max: Fury Road. Now he’s back with another epic fantasy film.Three Thousand Years of Longingtells the story of a scholar (Tilda Swinton) who encounters a Djinn (Idris Elba) who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom. What follows is a romantic and unexpected journey no one could have expected. The movie plays like a meeting betweenDuneandThe English Patientand could bring epic, time-sweeping romances back into vogue.
Showing Up
In recent years, one of the greatest collaborations in cinema has been between directorKelly Reichardtand actressMichelle Williams, but unfortunately, their last collaboration was six years ago withCertain Women. The two finally returned this year at Cannes withShowing Up, a movie about an artist on the verge of a career-changing exhibition who finds inspiration in the chaos of life. Time and again, Reichardt has proven herself to be more than capable of finding the poetry in everyday life and Williams has shown she is one of the most criminally underrated actresses of her generation. Together, they make an intimate and beautiful cinematic experience.
Armageddon Time
In 2013, directorJames Graycame to the Cannes Film Festival withThe Immigrant. This period drama told the story of his grandmother, a young Polish immigrant (Marion Cotillard) who is forced into prostitution after losing her sister at the border. He returned this year with an even more personal tale about his own upbringing in Queens, New York withArmageddon Time. The 1980s coming of age story starsAnne Hathaway,Anthony Hopkins, andJeremy Strong. Though many have loved his recentadventure and space films, it is a pleasure to see Gray return to his roots in style with such an amazing cast!
