The festival reaches its halfway point

(from Cannes Luigi Noera and Marina Pavido – Photos are courtesy of the Cannes Film Festival)

On this sixth day of the Cannes Film Festival 2023, there was no shortage of disappointments and real revelations. Arrived, therefore, halfway through its journey, the festival is proving to be richer and more varied than ever. Below, an overview of some films present.

COMPETITION

ANATOMY OF A FALL by Justine TRIET

Sandra, Samuel and their visually impaired son 11 years, Daniel, they have been living away from everything in the mountains for a year. One day Samuel is found dead at the foot of their house. An investigation into a suspicious death is opened. Sandra is soon accused: suicide or murder? A year later, Daniel attends his mother's trial, a real dissection of the couple. Luigi Noera saw it for us (REVIEW).

Firebrand of Karim AÏNOUZ

Running for the coveted Palme d'Or al Festival of Cannes 2023, here comes an all-female story. A story, in reality, we all know. The Story of Catherine Parr, sixth and last wife of Henry VIII, of his turbulent period as regent and his battles for Protestantism. We are talking about the feature film Firebrand, directed by Karim Aïnouz and that, following its world premiere presentation, It turned out, in reality, quite disappointing. But let's degrees.

For the occasion, therefore, the protagonist was played by Alicia Vikander, while her consort is an unrecognizable Jude Law. Catherine has always secretly supported the theories professed by Anne Askew, later executed at the stake as a heretic. When the woman learns of his death, relations with her husband (in turn increasingly distrustful of her, as adamant that the woman helped Askew financially) they will deteriorate more and more. Until an inevitable epilogue.

Firebrand, therefore, it is undoubtedly an ambitious work. Pompous costumes and opulent settings well characterize the historical context in which we find ourselves, ma, alongside such a large use of funds, the feature film irretrievably turns out to be a dangerously rhetorical film, with not a few internal forcings and characters that almost take on the characteristics of specks (and this concerns – alas – also poor Jude Law). Lots of smoke, no roast. And even the particular re-reading of the story made here ends up deflating like a balloon.

IN SOME PERSPECTIVE

THE BREAKING ICE di Anthony CHEN

It's winter in Yanji, a city in northern China, on the border with Korea. Haofeng, arrived from Shanghai for a wedding, feels a bit’ perso. By chance he meets Nana, a young tour guide, from which he immediately feels attracted. She introduces Xiao to him, a cook friend. The three quickly bond over a dish Xiao makes. This intense encounter confronts them with their history and their secrets. Their dormant desires slowly reveal themselves, such as the landscapes and snowy forests of Mount Changbai. Luigi Noera saw it for us (REVIEW).

IF ONLY I COULD HIBERNATE di Zoljargal PUREVDASH

A pleasant surprise within the section A certain Regard in this 76° Festival of Cannes, instead, it came to us from the young Mongolian director Zoljargal Purevdash, who, with If only I could hibernate, his first work, he gave us a heartfelt and painful feature film, but also full of an always pleasant hope.

The story staged, therefore, is that of the young and promising Ulzii, who lives in a remote village in Mongolia with his mother and his two little brothers. The boy dreams of winning a scholarship in mathematics and physics and works hard to achieve this. The things, however, they will become more difficult when his mother finds work away from home and Ulzii will have to find a job to support his younger brothers. The harsh cold of the village where they live, its part, it won't help at all.

If only I could hibernate, therefore, sees its greatest strength in rough realism, more necessary than ever in order to let us know every single aspect of life in the suburbs and of those who live on the margins of society. Director, its part, treating the landscapes as real characters capable of strongly influencing the destiny of the young protagonist, he told us such a raw and ruthless story, but also particularly tender, poetic and moving. Whose story, with his strength and fighting hard every day, does everything to achieve, Finally, a better future.

OUT OF COMPETITION

MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS

PROJECT SILENCE by Kim Tae-gon

Explosions, car accidents, dangerous rabid dogs that lash out at anyone in their vicinity, a mysterious project that could prove lethal for all humanity, a delicate and problematic father/daughter relationship. All this is Project Silence, directed by Korean director Kim Tae-gon and premiered out of competition at 76° Festival of Cannes, within the section Midnight Screenings.

An employee of an important multinational company, in which he has been working on a secret project for some time, he leaves by car with his daughter to accompany the latter to her new school away from home. The Greek film about the Shoah in Greece, a thick fog does not allow you to see anything and the two will be involved, along with numerous other machines, in a very violent accident. Remained unharmed, they – along with numerous other travelers like them – they will have to face many other problems, including the constant attacks by genetically engineered pit bulls.

Adrenaline, but also, at times, decidedly forced and – alas! – even unintentionally ridiculous, Project Silence it has all the feel of a B-horror, yes overall enjoyable, but which suffers excessively from a weak and at times predictable script, as well as tacky and botched special effects. We laugh (Often, Unfortunately, even unintentionally) while watching Project Silence, that yes. and yet, at the same time, you are aware that, shortly after its theatrical release, this work by Kim Tae-gon will inevitably end up in oblivion. Sin.

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

LITTLE GIRL BLUE by Mona Achache

On the death of the mother, Mona Achache discovers thousands of photos, letters and records, but these buried secrets resist the riddle of her disappearance. So, through the power of cinema and the grace of embodiment, he decides to resurrect her in order to relive her life and understand it. Luigi Noera saw it for us (REVIEW).

BREAD AND ROSES by Sahra Mani

Bread and Roses is a powerful look at the seismic impact of living conditions and women's rights after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in 2021. The film follows three women in real time as they struggle to regain their independence. Luigi Noera saw it for us (REVIEW).

FORTNIGHT

BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD BLACKBERRY di Elene Naveriani

A real breath of fresh air, within the rich program of this 76° Festival of Cannes, it is undoubtedly the feature film Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry, directed by the young director Elene Naveriani, the result of a co-production between Georgia and Switzerland and premiered within the fortnight of the Filmmakers.

The story staged, therefore, is that of Ethéro (played by an extraordinary Eka Chavleishvili), a forty-eight-year-old Georgian woman who runs a small shop and who throughout her life (also due to a complex family background) she never fully enjoyed all that life itself could offer her. One day, almost by accident, following an accident in the mountains in which he could have lost his life, the woman will finally realize that the time has come to "take flight". Starting with a new one, sudden and unexpected love. His first love.

Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry it is a cry for freedom. The discovery of a new awareness. The rediscovered love for oneself and a vibrant and pulsating desire to fully experience everything one has always been deprived of. The entire feature film revolves around Ethéro, whose inner change soon manifests itself on the outside as well, magnetic as it is in its enviable self-confidence. The woman, Finally, he understood the value of life and no longer wants to waste his time resigning himself to his "half life", nor worry about her peers who are now accomplished and with a family who do nothing but make fun of her.

Realism and oneirism (particularly worthy of note – and almost of Fellinian memory – the opening scene in which the protagonist, after saving herself from the aforementioned accident, he sees the image of his corpse surrounded by people) well marry in Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry and together with a never excessive sensuality make this small and important feature film by Elene Naveriani a pleasant surprise within this Festival of Cannes 2023.

THE BOOK OF SOLUTIONS by Michel Gondry

Eight years after his last film, Michel Gondry returns with an alter-ego with burlesque torments. Marc, bipolar and paranoid director, he can't stand the rejection of the producers of his film in progress, whose glimpses of footage suggest the worst. Accompanied by his fitter, he takes all the footage to his aunt's house in the Cévennes, to complete the film according to his wishes. At the same time, he struggles to put off completing the film, continually launching new projects, which are just as many diversions and dead ends, both comical and disturbing. (REVIEW soon).

CRITICS WEEK

Competition

SLEEP the Jason You

another tasty horror, instead, was presented during this sixth day of Cannes 76 inside the Week from the Critique. We are talking about Sleep, debut feature by young Korean director Jason Yu.

The story staged, therefore, is that of a young couple about to have a baby. He is an emerging actor, while she is an employee. One night, suddenly, the man begins to suffer from sleepwalking, turning almost into another person, decidedly dangerous for herself and for those around her. His wife, its part, she is terrified that he will harm their newborn daughter and herself, slowly, will begin to suffer from sleep disturbances.

Stronger than in the past, Sleep is, in fact, a small and genuine genre film that in its simplicity also manages to show its own, strong personality. Director, its part, he made use of off-screen sounds, of shadows that move stealthily, at night, for home and, not least, of the dream and all the powerful imaginary linked to it. His Sleep you do, so, profound metaphor of the fear of being parents, with all the insecurities of the case. The whole, obviously, staged in an original and extremely personal way. A pleasant surprise within this already varied one Week from the Critique.

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marina fears