Seven of the 21 films competing for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, which kicks off on Tuesday (May 16), are directed by women, breaking a previous record for Cannes in its nearly eight decades of existence.Given the size and scope of the Cannes Film Festival, which begins on Tuesday (May 16), it is famously hard to gauge its highs and lows. The finest films in the world are on display there. It’s a red carpet extravaganza. It’s a deal-making beehive on the French Riviera.
However, according to at least some measures, Cannes is now back after having its 2020 festival cancelled, its 2021 edition significantly reduced, and its victorious comeback in 2022.”Let’s just say it’s gotten very hard to get restaurant reservations again,” the restaurant’s manager said.
The dazzling Cote d’Azur festival may feel assured that it has survived the storms of the flu and the imagined danger of streaming when the 76th Cannes Film Festival begins on Tuesday with the premiere of Johnny Depp’s historical film Jeanne Du Barry.With three Oscar best picture nominees from the 2017 festival (Top Gun: Maverick, Elvis, and Palme d’Or winner Triangle Of Sadness), Cannes once again established itself as the preeminent international platform for both big and small budget films.
Two major premieres set the stage for the festival this year: James Mangold’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Martin Scorsese’s epic about the Osage Nation from the 1920s, Killers of the Flower Moon, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.Harrison Ford portraying the role on his final appearance.However, even those films, which have the potential to be blockbusters at Cannes, hint at the diversity of available material. Years ago, Scorsese and Mangold were the first to debut their groundbreaking works in the Directors Fortnight sidebar at Cannes. Scorsese with Mean Streets from 1973, and Mangold with Heavy from 1995.
However, they will be releasing considerably larger pictures this season, which will undoubtedly sell out the Croisette. For Apple TV+, Scorsese has his US$200 million (S$268 million) epic. Additionally, Mangold will launch “a more splendiferous project” than his understated debut, as he puts it.A celebration for Ford will be part of the Indy event. He will share an honorary Palme d’Or with Michael Douglas. Mangold sees it as an opportunityFord will embrace the franchise’s global fan base. According to the filmmaker, the core of the Indiana Jones flicks is inspired by classic films.
These are things where, according to Mangold, “you’re taking your guidance from the classics.” The French are particularly fond of that aspect of American movies. They respect vintage films in many respects even more than American audiences do. It becomes a really amazing forum as a result.
