Cannes Diary #4: Narcissism at its finest and worst

by Elisa Giudici

Today is the day in which we explore collateral selections, not that willingly. As mentioned in Cannes Diary #1, this year the Festival organization changed the ticketing system. This ended the long lines (a win) but the downside is that the more hyped movies are harder to get into. Nevertheless, I'm happy to report my experimentation went very well! Truth be told, the Un Certain Regard section can be barely considered a “collateral” section, since it famously offers high-quality selections from soon-to-be major auteurs. The major letdown of the day, was ironically, the only title from the Main Competition I was able to get a ticket to on day four...

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Cannes at Home: Day 3 – Innocence Lost

by Cláudio Alves

New films by James Gray and Jerzy Skolimowski have hit the Croisette, leading to many a Belfast mention and plenty of donkey talk. Armageddon Time, a memoirist exercise that purports to evoke Gray's childhood, has been met with mixed reactions, including here at The Film Experience. However, the consensus leans towards warmth, and, as a longtime James Gray devotee, I couldn't be more excited. After all, nearly every film the man directed faced some negative critiques, yet I love most of them regardless. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about Jerzy Skolimowski. His filmography has been a dependable source of disappointments. By reading some reviews (including Elisa's), his new project, EO, sounds like the cynical bastard child of War Horse and Au Hasard Balthasar. That being said, I doubt the Bressonian comparison will do EO any favors.

For Cannes at Home, today's topics are the film that should have won James Gray the Palme d'Or and Jerzy Skolimowski's Deep End…

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Cannes Diary #3: A stubborn wife, a great grandpa and... a donkey?

by Elisa Giudici

While I was on screening duty, Hollywood glamour was on shift-change with Tom Cruise out and Julia Roberts in. Roberts was here to hand the Chopard Awards to new promises of world cinema (Jack Lowden and Sheila Atim) and to enjoy a marvelous party, as I've heard from friends that witnessed it firsthand. But as for the movies, I am happy to report that on the second day of the competition (the third since opening nightl) we already have a soon-to-be infamous scene with the immense Isabelle Huppert as a momentary protagonist. Some weird festival stuff is coming, brace yourself...

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Cannes Gowns, Round 4 (and 'Armageddon Time')

Previously: round 1, 2 and 3 

Anne Hathaway is in Cannes to attend the premiere of James Gray's memoir drama Armageddon Time. Juror Rebecca Hall and Cannes mainstay Bollywood superstar Aishwarya Rai also walked the red carpet. Sheila Atim, who you'll recall just won the Olivier Award, is having a very good year. She was this year's actress honorary at Chopard's annual Cannes ceremony which spotlights one male and one female star each year (Jack Lowden was the male winner this year). The four most recent actress winners were Anya Taylor-Joy (2017), Elizabeth Debicki (2018), Florence Pugh (2019), Jessie Buckley (2021) so that's very good company to be in. Atim is onscreens now in a small role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and supports Viola Davis later this year in The Woman King.  

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Armageddon Time has received very warm reviews which might bode well for a James Gray movie finally being in Oscar competition (*might* because his films aren't as sentimental as this genre and Oscar voters like to embrace). The movie is based on Gray's memories of his 80s adolescence. THR says "Hathaway does her best work since Rachel Getting Married" as the mother and both Entertainment Weekly and IndieWire single out Anthony Hopkins as the grandfather mentioning his golden late career phase and that he continues "to mine raw honesty from the depths of human frailty". The Guardian though didn't much like it describing it as "slightly laborious and self-consciously acted" 

Cannes Diary #2: Sweet cruel nature and Hollywood's top gun

by Elisa Giudici

Did Tom Cruise save Cannes Film Festival on the very first day? Well, he surely helped the 75th edition with old school star power. Thierry Frémaux welcomed Tom Cruise as a king, a savior, or maybe just a big Hollywood player willing to lend all of his charismatic  in order to give a sense of a grandiose overture.

Considering how good reviews are for Top Gun: Maverick, Cannes needed Cruise more than Cruise needed Cannes. Nevertheless, the actor presented himself as an ally of festivals and theatres, a strong advocate of in-person cinematic experiences. In the dedicated Q&A, Cruise said that during the pandemic he reassured even the popcorn guy at his local cinema, who had phoned him to know if Top Gun Maverick could end up on a streaming platform as an exclusive. 'No way!' Wait, the popcorn guy at Cruise’s nearest cinema has his phone number? was my first reaction. Well, Cruise is for sure #TeamGoingToTheTheatre. He claims he goes regularly himself, wearing a cap so he's not recognized...

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