This is my fourth Cannes. In terms of quality, it was the weakest. There were highlights, obviously, but the top of my rankings aren't as strong as they were, say, a year ago. Few unqualified raves and a general consensus that the competition titles were a bit lacking led to an overall sense of feeling underwhelmed. But then you remember you're at the Cannes Film Festival, and your mood brightens.
On to the rankings. Links lead to individual reviews...
32. Fortunata
31. Bushwick
30. An Inconvenient Sequel
29. Ismael's Ghosts
28. Redoubtable
27. The Summit
26. Based on a True Story
25. Filmworker
24. Okja
23. A Ciambra
22. In the Fade
21. La Familia
20. Brigsby Bear
19. Jupiter's Moon
18. Alive in France
17. The Workshop
16. The Day After
15. The Rider
14. The Square
13. A Gentle Creature
12. 120 Beats Per Minute
11. The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
10. You Were Never Really Here
9. Amant Double
8. The Killing of a Sacred Deer
7. The Beguiled
6. Wonderstruck
5. The Florida Project
4. Happy End
3. Bright Sunshine In
2. Good Time
1. Loveless
What will win the Palme d'Or? My gut, which should never be trusted, says 120 Beats Per Minute. I wouldn't rule out Wonderstruck or Loveless, though. Don't be surprised if Robert Pattinson takes home Best Actor for the terrific Good Time. And I'm going out on a limb by picking Vasilina Makovtseva for A Gentle Creature, a movie that tied me in knots and continues to replay itself in my mind. If this was an underwhelming year at the festival, then Sergei Loznitsa's no-prisoners Russian drama was the most Cannes film I've seen in my four years. A singular, provocative vision that challenges viewers, A Gentle Creature stretched my brain in ways both pleasing and infuriating, and I'm grateful to have been at the first screening anywhere in the world for a film that will inspire plenty of reaction in the months to come.
See? Even a disappointing Cannes can be a great one.
