There’s something truly special about the Cannes Film Festival. Ok, I’m slightly bias – I have a love for film… and France! The perfect storm, you might say.
Queuing up for over an hour for a screening seems much less of a chore in the sunshine; catching up with fellow film fans, disguised as journalists, having just chowed down on a sensational pastry or a delicious ham and cheese baguette. I’m salivating already. Focus James, back to the films.
I’m really excited about this year’s line-up. And, as always, there’ll be plenty of gems to be found in between the bigger names on show.
The Out of Competition (Hors Competition) crowd has the most famous faces in it. Woody Allen’s Cafe Society, starting Kristen Stewart, Jessie Eisenberg, and Steve Carell will open proceedings. Steven Spielberg’s The BFG, Jodie Foster’s Money Monster (with George Clooney and Julia Roberts), Shane Black’s The Nice Guys (with Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe) and Mel Gibson’s acting return in Jean-Francois Richet’s Blood Father being some of the other notable screenings.
However, all eyes remain on the competition films and who will take out the Palme d’Or – still the greatest festival prize in film. Paterson (Jim Jarmusch), The Handmaiden (Park Chan-Wook), The Neon Demon (Nicolas Winding Refn), The Last Face (Sean Penn) and I, Daniel Blake (Ken Loach) stand out immediately. The brilliant Xavier Dolan returns with It’s Only the End of the World, as does Asghar Farhadi with The Client. Andrea Arnold’s American Honey and Paul Verhoeven’s Elle also have my attention.
In my limited experience (I am excited to be here for the third time) the true gems come from further afield. I already have my eye on Captain Fanastic, The Red Turtle and Hell or High Water in the Un Certain Regard section. I hope I get to see them all.
It’s almost time to paw over the schedule, work out just how many screenings I can see in a day, and stock up on coffee and snacks. Stay tuned for my coverage – I’ll get up as many reviews as I possibly can!