Dir: Pierre Salvadori | Drama 2026
Electric Venus is probably one of the most enjoyable films to open the world’s best known film festival. La Vénus électrique arrives like a champagne pop—effervescent, a bit messy but undeniably charming.
In 1928 Paris, grieving painter Antoine Balestro (Pio Marmaï) seeks to contact his late wife through séances, only to fall under the spell of Suzanne (Anaïs Demoustier), a carnival worker posing as a medium. Encouraged by his art dealer Armand (Gilles Lellouche), the deception continues—until real feelings complicate the illusion.
Pierre Salvadori creates a buzzy blend of romantic farce and melancholy, spinning a ghost story that’s less about the dead than the living who refuse to move on. The premise—a fake medium conning a grief-stricken painter—could tip into whimsy overload, but Salvadori keeps it grounded in bruised emotion and wry humor.
Anaïs Demoustier is well cast as Suzanne; full of flighty, febrile instinct she morphs from scrappy opportunist to conflicted lover with disarming ease. Opposite her, Pio Marmaï delivers a beautifully unkempt performance—rumpled, ridiculous, and quietly devastating as a man painting his way out of grief. And then there’s Gilles Lellouche, clearly having the most fun, injecting the film with a shot of opportunistic chaos.
Visually, it’s an exotic confection: smoky ateliers, flickering candlelight, and just enough fairground grit to keep things from floating away. The séance scenes crackle with theatricality, even when the emotional stakes start to wobble.
Does it all work? Not entirely. The third act threatens to dissolve into its own contrivances, and the film occasionally mistakes charm for depth. But when it works, it’s entertaining—finding a tender note about illusion, art, and the strange lies we tell to survive loss.
Early verdict from the Croisette: not a masterpiece, but exactly the kind of warm, actor-driven crowd-pleaser that gets Cannes buzzing on day one.
CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 12-23 May 2026