I have just landed in the south of France, where the 74th edition of the Cannes Film Festival has just opened with Leos Carax’s ambitious, exciting but shallow “Annette” (more on that one later). The usual standing ovation, this one five minutes, greeted the film and its cast which includes Adam Driver, and Marion Cotillard. Meanwhile, on the other side, at the DeBussy theatre, the film’s press screening was met with both boos and loud cheers.
That’s Cannes for you. Where cinema is treated as a devoted passion and not even a pandemic can prevent the event from happening. Oh oui, zee French. For the next ten days we will all be dining on four-course meals of quality cinema, not to mention pit stops at La Pizza, the famous Italian eatery that has been successfully operating as a business since the ‘50s.
Of Course, Cannes is so much more than all of the above. It’s also a way to reconnect with old friends you haven’t seen since social distancing, mask-wearing and hand-washing became a thing more than a year ago. Last year’s edition of the fest was canceled, replaced by a subdued selection of “Cannes-labeled” films, many of which ended up playing at Toronto, New York, Sundance and Locarno.
This year is a whole other story, the competition was enhanced from the usual 18-20 titles to a whopping 24 that will compete for the prestigious Palme d’Or. The riches of the selection show, on-paper at least, with notable auteurs like Wes Anderson, Asghar Farhadi, and Paul Verhoeven ready to premiere their new films.