An informal poll I conducted of colleagues who, like me, attended last year's pandemic-affected Cannes confirmed my suspicion: The 2021 installment was better than this one. Partly, it was the fact that there were fewer people around, making navigating the festival easier, and partly it was because the films were stronger. To be fair, the 2021 edition had, essentially, two years worth of movies to work from, which allowed for an extra helping of greatness. (Also, there were simply more films programmed in 2021 than this year.) But even so, 2022 yielded fewer terrific movies, although I am cognizant of having missed out on several pictures that were well-reviewed, including Aftersun, Corsage, Godland and The Blue Caftan. You spend 11 days watching movies, but there are still some you can't get to.
But if the highs of this year's slate weren't as high -- or as frequent -- then at least the lows weren't so low. Looking at my rankings, even the films at the very bottom of my list offered a few pleasures or some interesting ideas. There were no outright stinkers, and the truth is, I generally liked most of what I saw, even if my enthusiasm was often measured. That said, I know plenty of folks who strongly support Three Thousand Years of Longing, Elvis, Stars at Noon and Top Gun: Maverick, so my festival experience is no guarantee to have been anyone else's. That's part of the fun of being at Cannes.
So, without further ado, here are my rankings, including movies I'd seen prior to the festival. Links lead to individual reviews.
39. Three Thousand Years of Longing
38. Elvis
37. Stars at Noon
36. Father and Soldier
35. Remains of the Wind
34. Brother and Sister
33. The Innocent
32. Top Gun: Maverick
31. War Pony
30. Final Cut
29. Rebel
28. Mediterranean Fever
27. Our Brothers
26. Imagine
25. Funny Pages
24. Crimes of the Future
23. God's Creatures
22. Holy Spider
21. Smoking Causes Coughing
20. Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind
19. Tchaikovsky's Wife
18. The Silent Twins
17. Hunt
16. Plan 75
15. The Eight Mountains
14. Moonage Daydream
13. Armageddon Time
12. Decision to Leave
11. Leila's Brothers
10. Triangle of Sadness
9. Men
8. All That Breathes
7. Close
6. Broker
5. Tori and Lokita
4. EO
3. R.M.N.
2. Showing Up
1. One Fine Morning
(If you'd like to be additionally annoyed that I didn't care for Top Gun: Maverick, let me point you to this essay I wrote for MEL about my misgivings about Maverick as a character.)
For me, there were two true standouts, one I saw at the beginning of the festival and one I saw at the very end. One of the unfortunate themes of this year's Cannes was world-class directors bringing less-than-world-class films to the Croisette, with everyone from Claire Denis to David Cronenberg being accused of not living up to their previous high-water marks. (Of course, this take was subjective as well: I was quite taken with Broker, generally considered a letdown from former Palme d'Or-winner Hirokazu Kore-eda, and I deeply dug Tori and Lokita and R.M.N., which proved that, respectively, the Dardenne brothers and Cristian Mungiu still have plenty to say.) But One Fine Morning, Mia Hansen-Love's just plain lovely look at a widowed mother (Lea Seydoux, wonderful), and Kelly Reichardt's deceptively simple Showing Up were clear outliers, finding their makers doing some of the best work of their illustrious careers. The only reason I think Showing Up should win the Palme is because One Fine Morning was in Director's Fortnight, which keeps it out of the running. (Why it wasn't in the official competition, which slotted Hansen-Love's slightly-less-great Bergman Island last year, is a mystery to me.)
The other prevailing theme of the 2022 edition was the glut of good-enough films. Not bad, not amazing, just ... good. I suspect a second viewing will add dimension to Park Chan-wook's densely plotted Decision to Leave or may make me appreciate James Gray's Armageddon Time more. That's the hope, anyway: If this Cannes wasn't filled with stunners, the movies certainly didn't lack for ambition, and sometimes a fresh perspective away from the rush-around of a festival can help. Maybe just maybe I'll even come around on Stars at Noon.
And now, here's where I indulge my annual tradition of incorrectly guessing what's going to win the Palme d'Or. It's impossible to know, of course, because the nine people who make up the competition jury will be giving out the prizes, and it's not like they're talking to anyone. But in terms of possible victors, Lukas Dhont's late-arriving Close, which just got picked up by A24, could be a consensus choice, emotional and heartfelt. If the jury wants to go in a more career-achievement direction, Cronenberg could walk away with the prize for his audacious (I'm not sure entirely successful) "return to form" Crimes of the Future. Nostalgia has been the best-reviewed of the competition films I haven't seen, and Armageddon Time got such a warm reception at its premiere, which featured Grey getting choked up about what the movie means to him, that I think it has a shot as well.
But ultimately I see the Palme going to either Close or Decision to Leave, with my pick being the former. Park is a revered filmmaker, and Decision to Leave is a Hitchcockian thriller that's inspired plenty of comparisons to Vertigo. It's a work of consummate craftsmanship that deals in obsession, both familiar and challenging at the same time. But Close makes people cry. I'm gonna go with tears.
And if Showing Up should somehow win? Well, that loud noise you'll hear on Saturday is me turning on my phone when my plane lands and letting out a cheer when I see the news.
