Between weak films, absent Americans and a French cinema on the brink of collapse, the Cannes Film Festival appears to be facing a rare crisis of authority.
Cannes Is In Crisis
Un Certain Regard
Titanic Ocean Is No Ordinary Film
With an impossibly beautiful aesthetic, Konstantina Kotzamani’s Titanic Ocean is a unique mermaid movie that transports you to another world.
Another Unhappy Family, Excellently Portrayed
Valentina Maurel’s sophomore feature, Forever Your Maternal Animal, is a touching tale of familial bonds, mental illness and feminine sexuality.
What Remains from Cannes 2025?
Jafar Panahi’s Un Simple Accident Palme characterises a Cannes line-up that will be better known for its political potential than its aesthetic content.
Love Me Tender Keenly Depicts The Perils of Queer Parenting.
The way institutions discriminate against queer parents is expertly depicted in Love Me Tender, with a standout performance from Vicky Krieps.
Of Mice and Meteors
A friendship without familiarity characterises the deeply annoying Meteors, inexplicably playing in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival.
Once Upon A Time in Gaza Lacks A Coherent Viewpoint
Un Certain Regard entry Once Upon a Time in Gaza is a topical film, yet unfortunately, it doesn’t feel like its helping anything.
I Only Rest in the Storm. A Complicated Neo-Colonial Picture.
I Only Rest in the Storm is an epic exploration of the relationship between Africa and the West that fiendishly complicates stereotypical portrayals.
Le Brutaliste
The construction of the Grande Arche de la Défense is recreated in loving detail in Stéphane Demoustier’s crowdpleasing, yet underwhelming The Great Arch.
The Story of Souleymane. Cycling Through Limbo.
The Story of Souleymane is a tightly-focussed, Dardenne-esque tale of an immigrant delivery driver trying to make ends meet that brims with heartfelt emotions.