Cannes Film festival unveiled its official selection last week with the usual suspects including the latest Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (out of competition) and another French opener, Partir Un Jour, a musical comedy, from Amélie Bonin. It’s the first time the festival has opened with a debut feature.
Juliette Binoche will preside over the jury to choose a Palme d’Or and amongst the hopefuls is Rebecca Zlotowski’s Vie Privée starring fluent French speaker Jodie Foster alongside Daniel Auteuil, Mathieu Amalric and Virginie Efira.
Amongst the more intriguing titles are Ari Aster’s Eddington with Joaquin Phoenix, Thierry Klifa’s The Richest Woman In The World starring Isabelle Huppert as an imagined version of billionaire Liliane Bettencourt, Dominik Moll’s police thriller Case 137 with Lea Drucker, Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind and Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut Eleanor The Great (in Un Certain Regard) that sees a 90-year-old embark on a new life in a foreign city.
Let’s hope Wes Andersen and the Dardenne brothers have something refreshingly different to say this year breaking from their usual style of whimsy and social realism, respectively. The 78th edition once again tributes female auteurs: one time Palme D’Or winner Julia Ducournau will be there, Hafsia Herzi and Chie Hayakawa, with Renoir, along with others.
Other films that pique my interest are The Great Arch, about a Danish architect, starring Claes Bang; Kei Ishikawa’s film version of A Pale View of Hills (from Ishiguro’s novel); Colours of Time, a time-spanning period piece set in Normandy and starring Cecile de France. Also welcome is Raoul Peck’s documentary about George Orwell and Kirill Serebrnnikov’s latest, The Disappearance of Josef Mengele tracing the infamous Nazi doctor’s post Holocaust journey through South America.
Semaine de la Critique has two interesting-sounding features up its sleeve: ReedLand a murder mystery from Belgian director Sven Bresser and Imago an inspired life story from Chechnyan auteur Deni Oumar Pitsaev.
Directors’ Fortnight, the independent sidebar focused on cutting-edge, auteur cinema promises – on the surface of it -some exciting stuff: Laurent Cantet and Robin Campillo’s French drama Enzo will open the section on May 14. Christian Petzold’s long-awaited follow-up to Afire) Miroirs No. 3 (main pic), stars his muse Paul Beer who, according to the Hollywood Reporter, plays an aspiring pianist whose life is upended when she miraculously survives a car crash and is taken in by a family of strangers who offer to take care of her.
Sean Byrne’s serial killer thriller Dangerous Animals involving a shark-obsessed psycho certainly could look good and offer a few thrills, and from Japan, Sang-il Lee’s three-hour epic Kokuho set in the world of Kabuki could be another gorgeous feast for the eyes – but may be tough on the derriere. @MeredithTaylor
FULL SELECTION 2025
Opening Film PARTIR UN JOUR by Amélie BONNIN |
THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME by Wes ANDERSON
EDDINGTON by Ari ASTER
JEUNES MÈRES by Jean-Pierre et Luc DARDENNE
ALPHA by Julia DUCOURNAU
RENOIR by HAYAKAWA Chie
THE HISTORY OF SOUND by Oliver HERMANUS
LA PETITE DERNIÈRE by Hafsia HERZI
SIRAT by Oliver LAXE
NEW WAVE by Richard LINKLATER
TWO PROSECUTORS by Sergei LOZNITSA
FUORI by Mario MARTONE
O AGENTE SECRETO by Kleber MENDONÇA FILHO
(THE SECRET AGENT)
DOSSIER 137 by Dominik MOLL
UN SIMPLE ACCIDENT by Jafar PANAHI
THE MASTERMIND by Kelly REICHARDT
EAGLES OF THE REPUBLIC by Tarik SALEH
SOUND OF FALLING by Mascha SCHILINSKI
ROMERÍA by Carla SIMÓN
SENTIMENTAL VALUE by Joachim TRIER
UN CERTAIN REGARD
LA MISTERIOSA MIRADA DEL FLAMENCO by Diego CÉSPEDES | 1st film
(THE MYSTERIOUS GAZE OF THE FLAMINGO)
MÉTÉORS by Hubert CHARUEL
MY FATHER’S SHADOW by Akinola DAVIES JR | 1st film
L’INCONNU DE LA GRANDE ARCHE by Stéphane DEMOUSTIER
URCHIN by Harris DICKINSON | 1st film
HOMEBOUND by Neeraj GHAYWAN
TÔI YAMANAMINO HIKARI by ISHIKAWA Kei
(A PALE VIEW OF HILLS)
ELEANOR THE GREAT by Scarlett JOHANSSON | 1st film
KARAVAN by Zuzana KIRCHNEROVA | 1st film
PILLION by Harry LIGHTON | 1st film
AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY by Morad MOSTAFA | 1st film
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA by Arab et Tarzan NASSER
THE PLAGUE by Charlie POLINGER | 1st film
PROMISED SKY by Erige SEHIRI
LE CITTÀ DI PIANURA by Francesco SOSSAI
(THE LAST ONE FOR THE ROAD)
TESTA O CROCE? by Matteo ZOPPIS, Alessio RIGO DE RIGHI
(HEADS OR TAILS?)
OUT OF COMPETITION
COLOURS OF TIME by Cédric KLAPISCH
LA FEMME LA PLUS RICHE DU MONDE by Thierry KLIFA
HIGHEST 2 LOWEST by Spike LEE
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING by Christopher MCQUARRIE
VIE PRIVÉE by Rebecca ZLOTOWSKI
MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS
DALLOWAY by Yann GOZLAN
EXIT 8 by KAWAMURA Genki
FENG LIN HUO SHAN by MAK Juno
(SONS OF THE NEON NIGHT)
CANNES PREMIERE
AMRUM by Fatih AKIN
SPLITSVILLE by Michael Angelo COVINO
LA OLA de Sebastián LELIO
(THE WAVE)
CONNEMARA by Alex LUTZ
ORWELL: 2+2=5 by Raoul PECK
DAS VERSCHWINDEN DES JOSEF MENGELE by Kirill SEREBRENNIKOV
(THE DISAPPEARANCE OF JOSEF MENGELE)
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
BONO: STORIES OF SURRENDER by Andrew Dominik
TELL HER I LOVE HER by Romane BOHRINGER
A MAGNIFICENT LIFE by Sylvain CHOMET
CANNES FILM FESTIVAL | 13-24 MAY 2025