Cannes: Four opening films, ranked.
Friday, May 15, 2026 at 11:20AM by Elisa Giudici
IN WAVES
With Cannes now in full swing, let's rank the four opening titles from Un Certain Regard, Director's Fortnight, Critics Week, and Out of Competition.
4. In Waves by Phuong Mai Nguyen (France/Belgium) [Opening Film of Critics’ Week]
In Waves is probably the most polished and emotionally accessible of the festival's four openers, which, for my taste, also makes it the least exciting. The film follows AJ, a shy teenager obsessed with sketching and skating, whose world gradually expands after he becomes close to Kristen, the older sister of his best friend. Through her, AJ discovers surfing, which the film treats less as a sport than as a way of existing inside the world: a physical and emotional state where identity briefly feels stable, harmonious, almost suspended outside ordinary life...