Nick-Davis.com: Cannes Index
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Jurors: Pedro Almodóvar (president), Maren Ade, Jessica Chastain, Fan Bingbing, Agnès Jaoui, Park Chan-wook, Paolo Sorrentino, Will Smith, Gabriel Yared
| Palme d'Or: | The Square, Sweden, dir. Ruben Östlund |
| Grand Jury Prize: | BPM (Beats Per Minute), France, dir. Robin Campillo |
| Jury Prize: |
Loveless, Russia, dir. Andrei Zvyagintsev |
| Best Director: | The Beguiled, Sofia Coppola |
| Best Actress: | In the Fade, Diane Kruger |
| Best Actor: | You Were Never Really Here, Joaquin Phoenix |
| Best Screenplay: | The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou
You Were Never Really Here, Lynne Ramsay |
FIPRESCI/International
Critics Prize: | BPM (Beats Per Minute), France, dir. Robin Campillo |
| Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: | Radiance, Japan, dir. Naomi Kawase |
| Caméra d'Or (first feature): | Montparnasse Bienvenue, France, Léonor Sérraille |
 Competition Films I Have Seen:
Ranked in order of preference
My Palme d'Or
Good Time (USA, dirs. Josh and Benny Safdie) -
As immersions in sordid dead ends go, this one's formally electrifying. Sound, edits, lighting, Pattinson all virtuosic.
Wonderstruck (USA, dir. Todd Haynes) -
One kid, then another, then another crosses a threshold—learning we're connected and not, being understood, and not.
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (USA, dir. Noah Baumbach) -
Not my genre or auteur but this sings. Deepens, too. A script so odd and specific it's almost experimental.
You Were Never Really Here (UK, dir. Lynne Ramsay) -
Manchester by the Charnel House. Too bullish a showcase for its own serrated craftsmanship? Still: wow.
Loveless (Russia, dir. Andrei Zvyagintsev) -
Andrei is done with these selfish bourgeois a-holes! Not much new here but as polished as ever. Krichman's still a genius.
BPM (Beats Per Minute) (France, dir. Robin Campillo) -
Loving, detailed tribute to ACT-UP Paris in early 90s. Narrows focus over time; short on style. Still, moving.
The Square (Sweden, dir. Ruben Östlund) -
I prefer Östlund's scene-building to his image-making or storytelling. Fits and starts, but flashes of wit and lucidity.
The Beguiled (USA, dir. Sofia Coppola) -
Why should every Rorschach test come in stark black and white? Period pastels, speckled with blood, work just as well.
In the Fade (Germany, dir. Fatih Akin) -
If it feels sterner, tighter, and less hopeful than The Edge of Heaven, so does the world. Kruger rewards Akin's trust.
Okja (USA/South Korea, dir. Bong Joon-ho) -
Chi-Raq for the vegan set. The usual Bong-doggle of brave and bozo ideas, ambitious sprawl and unplayable scenes. Is Jake ok?
Double Lover (France, dir. François Ozon) -
Ozon never found a corner he couldn't paint himself into. This one starts out snazzily, ends more tackily than usual.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Ireland/UK/USA, dir. Yorgos Lanthimos) -
Combo of dread and weird humor takes chops to sustain, but to what end? First Lanthimos I find hollow.
The Day After (South Korea, dir. Hong Sang-soo) -
Right then, wrong now. Most Hongs are similar and many are good but, Kim Min-hee aside, I got very little from this.
Happy End (France/Germany/Austria, dir. Michael Haneke) -
Haneke's Broken Embraces or Boarding Gate, a palpably half-inspired work, recycling old tropes, stalling a major career.
 Sidebar Selections I Have Seen:
Ranked in order of preference
Western (Director's Fortnight; Germany/Bulgaria/Austria, dir. Valeska Grisebach) -
Genius intervention into its titular genre—narratively, spatially, and politically—but sublimely achieves its own identity.
A Ciambra (Directors Fortnight; Italy, dir. Jonas Carpignano) -
The tactile throb of Arnold, the steel-cable tension of Audiard. Coming of age and into crime, messily but so memorably.
A Man of Integrity (Un Certain Regard; Iran, dir. Mohammad Rasoulof) -
Haunting crime story about a guy trying to say no to crime. Sharp on corruption that can't or won't see itself.
Patti Cake$ (Directors' Fortnight; USA, dir. Geremy Jasper) -
Hairspray and Tangerine, scratched by a new and creative DJ. Hadn't imagined this America, but loved and believed it.
They (Out of Competition; USA, dir. Anahita Ghazvinizadeh) -
Equally bold and delicate—itself a feat. Young trans protagonist retains watchful reserve but is very much part of the world.
Closeness (Un Certain Regard; Russia, dir. Kantemir Bagalov) -
Tough drama that touches raw nerves around patriarchy, sexuality, and cultural identity. Powerfully shot and structured.
The Florida Project (Directors' Fortnight; USA, dir. Sean Baker) -
Not until the end did it have me 100% but it's colorful and provocative throughout. Signs of strain in cast.
The Nothing Factory (Directors' Fortnight; Portugal, dir. Pedro Pinho) -
Rides a line between encapsulating hard truths for our era and expostulating on ideas most viewers already get.
12 Days (Out of Competition; France, dir. Raymond Depardon) -
Depardon retains his clinically observational style, capturing some haunting patient-judge exchanges. Might he offer more?
Let the Sun Shine In (Directors' Fortnight; France, dir. Claire Denis) -
Fun to see actress and director loosen up and Godard shoot with casual elegance. I still prefer tougher Denis.
Golden Years (Out of Competition; France, dir. André Téchiné) -
Téchiné's deceptively subdued style still yields Louvre-ready images. Story not always served by a fussy structure.
The Workshop (Un Certain Regard; France, dir. Laurent Cantet) -
First hour repeats The Class's feat of nimbly managing a vibrant non-professional ensemble but second half stalls out.
Beauty and the Dogs (Un Certain Regard; Tunisia/France/Sweden/Norway, dir. Kaouther Ben Hania) -
Beat by beat, could use more polish; cast a mixed bag. But core story is powerful and the staging is ambitious.
An Inconvenient Sequel (Special Screenings; USA, dirs. Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk) -
Still a sticky wicket making this about everyone or about Gore but even when it's slick it's clearly urgent.
Faces Places (Out of Competition; France, dirs. Agnès Varda and JR) -
Sweet old lady and her blurry accomplice seek "human exchange" while bending everyone to their vague yet steely will.
The Rider (Directors' Fortnight; USA, dir. Chloé Zhao) -
Tender to a point but its story tropes and magic-hour aesthetic strategies are belabored to the point of mawkish cliché.
Wind River (Un Certain Regard; USA, dir. Taylor Sheridan) -
Muscular filmmaking, sharp acting, but at heart sells a hoary thesis about a place and a people. Lense is mostly white.
Sea Sorrow (Out of Competition; UK, dir. Vanessa Redgrave) -
Impassioned and urgent, at times disheveled. Paradoxes of high-born radicalism are evident but so is true conviction.
The Summit (Un Certain Regard; Argentina, dir. Santiago Mitre) -
Feels episodic and surface-bound at first but this may be strategic for a film about deep, still waters. Still, TV-ish.
Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (Directors' Fortnight; Indonesia, dir. Mouly Surya) -
Neither as fun nor as nervy as the setup allows. Has ideas but hews mostly to imitative surface.
Sicilian Ghost Story (Critics' Week; Italy, dirs. Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza) -
Starts in a heightened, folkloric style, overdone but unique. Steadily more mismanaged in look, sound, story.
Films in the Main Competition:
Ranked in order of interest; more on this year's lineup here (opens in a new window)
A Gentle Creature, Ukraine, dir. Sergei Loznitsa
Redoubtable, France, dir. Michel Hazanavicius
Radiance, Japan/France, dir. Naomi Kawase
Rodin, France/Belgium, dir. Jacques Doillon
Jupiter's Moon, Hungary, dir. Kornél Mundruczó
Sidebar Films I'm Curious to See:
Listed alphabetically; click names of sidebars for more titles (in a new window)
| Un Certain Regard: |
After the War, France, dir. Annarita Zambrano
April's Daughter, Mexico, dir. Michel Franco
Barbara, France, dir. Mathieu Amalric
Before We Vanish, Japan, dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Directions, Bulgaria, dir. Stephan Komandarev
Fortunata, Italy, dir. Sergio Castellitto
Montparnasse Bienvenue, France, dir. Léonor Sérraille
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| Directors' Fortnight: |
Frost, Lithuania, dir. Sharunas Bartas
I Am Not a Witch, , dir. Rungano Nyoni
Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc, France, dir. Bruno Dumont
Lover for a Day, France, dir. Philippe Garrel
West of the Jordan River, Israel, dir. Amos Gitai
| | Critics' Week: |
Ava, France, dir. Léa Mysius
Brigsby Bear, USA, dir. Dave McCary
La Familia, Venezuela, dir. Gustavo Rondón Cordóva
Gabriel and the Mountain, Brazil/France, dir. Fellipe Gamarano Barbosa
Makala, France, dir. Emmanuel Gras
Oh, Lucy!, Japan/USA, dir. Atsuko Hirayanagi
Los Perros, Chile/France, dir. Marcela Said
Tehran Taboo, Iran, dir. Ali Soozandeh
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| Out of Competition: |
Blade of the Immortal, Japan, dir. Takashi Miike
Claire's Camera, South Korea/France, dir. Hong Sang-soo
Flesh and Sand, Mexico, dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu
How to Talk to Girls at Parties, USA, dir. John Cameron Mitchell
Ismael's Ghosts, France, dir. Arnaud Desplechin
Top of the Lake: China Girl, Austrlia, dirs. Jane Campion and Ariel Kleiman
The Venerable W., France/Belgium, dir. Barbet Schroeder
The Villainess, South Korea, dir. Jung Byung-gil
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