Cannes at Home: Day 5 – A Tale of Two Victors

by Cláudio Alves

The fourth day of Main Competition screenings saw the premiere of two films by former Palme d'Or winners. First up, Swedish auteur Ruben Östlund returned to the Croisette after taking the festival's top honor with The Square. Triangle of Sadness is the director's first film since then, perchance indicating a newfound obsession with geometrical titling. Reactions have skewed positive, though there are dissenting voices. Then, it was time for Cristian Mungiu to present R.M.N, this year's first major Palme contender as far as critical reception is concerned (Elisa's review). It should be noted that this is the fourth time Mungiu has presented a film in the Main Competition – all three previous projects won prizes, setting a good precedent for the Romanian master. 

Logically, when discussing these laurelled artists, the mind drifts to their victorious flicks. Today's Cannes at Home selections are The Square and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days…

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Cannes Gowns, Round 6: Alicia, Marion, Isabelle, and Tilda

Previous Cannes 2022 Fashion Polls: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 

Alicia Vikander arrived at Cannes to promote her new series Irma Vep (finally ending the drought of her once ubiquitous husband Michael Fassbender in the public eye - he wore a simple tux), Marion Cotillard was on hand for the premiere of her new film Brothers and Sisters (which was poorly reviewed, alas) and daringly wore what looked like shorts to her premiere. Isabelle Huppert was in town for that buzzy donkey flick EO (review) and though she wore a simple black gown for the premiere she then showed up in this eye catching sure-to-be-divisive full body look thereafter. Fashion icon Tilda Swinton never leaves Cannes after only one lewk so she was out again after her 3000 Years premiere wearing a much different more adrogynous look.

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Did you love 'Downton Abbey: A New Era'?

by Nathaniel R

If you are the target audience for Downton Abbey: A New Era, you probably hit the movie theater this weekend (or hope to soon). Chris reviewed it here for us from an early critics screening but he had a different perspective as a confessed Downton agnostic. It's a much different experience for Downton loyalists. It has so many shots panning across the entire teeming cast that it's not unlike Avengers Endgame in terms of the fan service optics. I went with the boyfriend and best friend and we all had a blast. Very happy to report that it's much better than the first Downton film. 

Over the weekend yours truly was a guest at Next Best Picture to discuss the film. Have a listen whether or not you've seen it -- though it was difficult we avoided spoilers for the full hour!

Cannes at Home: Day 4 – Christmas on the Nile

by Cláudio Alves

French filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin seems to be on a downward trajectory. His new film, Brother and Sister, has been slaughtered by critics at Cannes, the worst-reviewed Main Competition title so far. For those legions who hoped this would be the year when Marion Cotillard finally won the festival's Best Actress prize, better luck next time! Tarik Saleh's Boy from Heaven was more warmly received despite some cries of conventionality. Through procedural tropes and thriller stylings, the Swedish director explores themes of corruption in Islam, a recurring motif throughout his filmography. These Cannes contenders are both directors' second 2022 pictures – Desplechin's Deception is a new MUBI release, while Saleh's The Contractor has been available for a while. Unfortunately, neither title got much in the way of critical praise.

To keep the Cannes at Home series a celebratory exercise, today's selection looks back at lauded works from these auteurs – A Christmas Tale and The Nile Hilton Incident… 

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Anthony Hopkins to play Sigmund Freud (and a little Oscar history)

by Nathaniel R

Hopkins image via The Guardian

Sir Anthony Hopkins, who is now 84, is in the middle of a late career golden period winning a much-deserved second Oscar for The Father and now getting mostly glowing reviews for a grandfather role in Armageddon Time.  He'll also appear in The Father 's thematic sequel The Son late this year, though this time he doesn't have the leading titular role. Yesterday we learned that Hopkins is set to play Sigmund Freud in a new film called Freud's Last Session. Announcements about famous actors doing biographical roles is not particularly noteworthy as it seems to happen about 24 times each year. But this news is amusing and interesting given Hopkins film history...

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