The Cannes Film Festival often gives the impression of stagnating, with perennially faithful members competing year after year. However, it is clear that this 79th edition is changing things up. While there are two former Palmes d’Or winners, Romanian Cristian Mungiu and Japanese Hirokazu Kore-eda, as well as Iranian Asghar Farhadi, American James Gray, and Spaniard Pedro Almodovar returning for their fifth, sixth, and seventh attempts respectively, the competition this year includes 22 films, half of which are from filmmakers who have never competed before. Particularly noteworthy are the French filmmakers, such as Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet, Jeanne Herry, Léa Mysius, and Arthur Harari, representing a real generational renewal that is cause for celebration.
Obsessions
On the one hand, this year’s festival showcases two major trends. The first trend is films that question the medium itself, its relevance, and even its longevity. Films like Pedro Almodóvar’s “Autofiction” and Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “L’étire aimée” both feature filmmakers in films within a film, while Asghar Farhadi’s “Histoires parallèles” also explores the complex relationship between reality and fiction. However, the dominant trend (across all competitions and selections) is a true obsession with the darkest period of the last century. Two films in competition are set during the Occupation: the highly anticipated “Notre salut” by Emmanuel Marre, about the collaboration of the French administration, and the portrayal of Jean Moulin, played by Gilles Lellouche in László Nemes’ film, which will dialogue with Charles de Gaulle, played by Simon Abkarian in Antonin Baudry’s film out of competition.
Additionally, in the competition, there will be films about the Spanish Civil War by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, and a journey through the ruins of the Third Reich by Thomas Mann in Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Fatherland.” It is worth noting that the premiere edition of the Cannes Film Festival, conceived in response to the fascist Mostra de Venise of 1939, was canceled due to the declaration of war. This current obsession clearly reflects the cinema’s deep concern about the rise of the far right worldwide, as evidenced by a recent op-ed in “Libération” denouncing the influence of billionaire Vincent Bolloré on French cinema through Canal + and his announced takeover of the UGC theater network.
