Cannes 2025: The Wrap-Up and the Rankings

About halfway through this year's Cannes, I received some bad news that I had been expecting: A good friend succumbed to cancer. Within 30 minutes of hearing of her passing that morning, I was off to a movie, which featured a father dying of cancer. The movie after that featured a mother dying of cancer. Death was on my mind anyway, but over the next several days it kept popping up in the films I was watching, almost as if they were channeling my inner monologue, projecting my new reality up there on the screen.

I should not have been surprised. After all, movies tackle dramatic subjects, and few are more dramatic than mortality. I pride myself on being able to block out the world's distractions when I go to review a film. (I consider that a crucial part of my job.) But I felt the occasional jolt of recognition when death came creeping into a film's plot: "Oh, right, that. There it is again." Repeatedly, I was reminded that I existed in a new world, one without that person I just lost.

At the same time, it was extraordinarily surreal to be here at Cannes while processing my friend's passing. The place is just so damn beautiful, and the movies are so rich and rewarding. All festivals are a bubble from the real world -- that's one reason why people love attending them -- but a big part of me was able to shut out my sorrow simply because of my stimulating environment. Death may have followed me from screen to screen, but Cannes is so alive that you can trick yourself into forgetting. Still, I'm smart enough to recognize that my sorrow will be waiting for me when I return to Los Angeles. Bubbles have a nasty habit of bursting.

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With that acknowledged, let me now add that I found this to be a deeply great edition of the festival. Some of the movies I was most anticipating let me down -- the Spike Lee, the Wes Anderson, most certainly the Ari Aster -- but there was ample compensation from the expected heavy-hitters who did deliver the goods. And, of course, there were the revelatory discoveries, like Oliver Laxe's Sirat and Mascha Schilinski's Sound of Falling, easily the best movie I saw in Cannes. God bless Mubi, who took a chance on her ambitious, kaleidoscopic drama that spans roughly 100 years and four generations of different families living in the same home. The esteemed distributor is actually behind my Top Two from the festival, which also includes Kelly Reichardt's The Mastermind, one of the finest films this very fine filmmaker has ever produced. From the dazzling execution of Bi Gan's Resurrection to the formal rigor of Sergei Loznitsa's merciless Two Prosecutors, the major auteurs came out swinging. And that's not even mentioning two movies beloved by many here and merely really, really liked by me: Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident and Kleber Mendonca Filho's The Secret Agent. 

Before I reveal my rankings, let's now take a moment to mention the films I wasn't able to get to, like Adam's Interest, The Love That Remains, Mirrors No. 3, My Father's Shadow, Urchin, A Useful Ghost and Yes!, to name just a few. (Some may notice that I didn't review Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. I was set to do so, but my L.A. screening got canceled midway through because of a fire. It's a long story, but everyone's fine, so don't worry.)

From worst to best, here's a list of everything I saw, with links leading to individual reviews: 

37. Eddington
36. Eleanor the Great
35. The Wave
34. Fuori
33. The Richest Woman in the World
32. Leave One Day
31. Splitsville
30. The Chronology of Water
29. Alpha
28. The Phoenician Scheme
27. Romeria
26. Highest 2 Lowest
25. Honey Don't!
24. The Little Sister
23. The History of Sound
22. The Six Billion Dollar Man
21. The Plague
20. Woman and Child
19. Case 137
18. Pillion
17. Eagles of the Republic
16. Arco
15. Young Mothers
14. Enzo
13. Nouvelle Vague
12. The Secret Agent
11. It Was Just an Accident
10. Renoir
9. Die, My Love
8. Orwell: 2+2=5
7. Sentimental Value
6. Resurrection
5. Sirat
4. Sorry, Baby
3. Two Prosecutors
2. The Mastermind
1. Sound of Falling

For the first time since I started going to Cannes in 2013, I saw every film in Competition, all 22 of them. What that means is that when the jury, headed by Juliette Binoche, announces its awards, I won't have the usual FOMO feeling of "Oh shoot, I didn't see the Best Screenplay winner" or whatever. 

However, that doesn't mean I'm any more confident about what will take home the Palme d'Or than I was in previous years. Remember: I have never correctly guessed the winner, and I'm just as uncertain this year. Part of the problem is that the jury is made up of new people every year, and unless you're hanging out with them, you're just speculating on where their head is at. That said, here's my thinking. I could see It Was Just an Accident, Resurrection, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value or Sound of Falling winning. Forced to narrow down the field further, I'll go with the movies that are perceived as the front-runners: It Was Just an Accident, The Secret Agent and Sentimental Value. (Why are they "perceived" to be the front-runners? Oh, because the people who like to make predictions about this stuff have said they are.)

My gut tells me it's either going to be It Was Just an Accident or Sentimental Value. In one corner, you have Jafar Panahi, one of cinema's giants, who has recently been freed from prison, enjoying a hero's welcome here at the festival when his film premiered. In the other, you have Joachim Trier, whose last Cannes film, The Worst Person in the World, took home Best Actress for Renate Reinsve. Sentimental Value seems to be the most beloved film, but while it's dangerous to make predictions based on the temperament of the jury president, I just feel like Binoche would be more inclined to go with a more challenging, politically incisive film for the Palme. So I'm picking It Was Just an Accident. If Sound of Falling or The Mastermind win, I would be ecstatic. 

Regardless how the awards shape up, readers should be excited about a bunch of great movies coming their way soon. Now, off to sleep for me, and an exit from the bubble into whatever awaits me on the other side.

Cannes 2025: 'Sentimental Value' Review

Renate Reinsve reunites with Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value. It's not quite to the level of The Worst Person in the World, but it's a very touching family drama. My review is here.

'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': Previewing the 2025 Movie Year

It's a new year, which means it's time to start thinking about the films worth getting excited about in 2025. I was on Press Play alongside Shawn Edwards to discuss everything from Wicked: For Good to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning to Sentimental Value. Listen below.

The Internet Loves Anders Danielsen Lie

For MEL, I wrote about one of the stars of the lovely The Worst Person in the World, and how his character personifies the ideal ex-boyfriend. Hope you enjoy.

Best of 2021: The Top 10 Movies of the Year

Back before Louis C.K.'s disturbing history of sexual misconduct came to light, there was a bit he used to do that I really loved. He would talk about the perils of turning 40 and the physical changes he was going through — including dealing with a bum ankle that had been bothering him lately. He went to see a doctor, who informed him he'd need to take Aleve or stretch to mitigate the pain. But there was no "fixing" the ailment: As the doctor explained to him about his suggested workarounds, "That's just a new thing you do until you and your shitty ankle both die." The whole point of the bit was the comedian's realization that he'd reached an age where he'd just have to learn to live with undesirable realities. He was now always going to have a shitty ankle, and there was nothing he could do about it. That's just the way life works.

I'm well into my 40s, and I've experienced a few versions of the "shitty ankle" as I get older — my eyesight isn't as sharp, I don't sleep as well as I used to — and each time one of these developments enters my life, I think of that old bit. There's no cure for these hindrances — I just learn the new thing I have to do to tackle the problem.

We've now endured two years of a pandemic, and so much of life these days seems like that metaphorical shitty ankle, requiring us to make the best of a not-ideal situation. In early 2021, it was tempting to get excited about the news that vaccines were on the way — a miracle, truly — and to hope that, finger snap, life would suddenly get back to normal. But that hasn't proved true: While much of our old lives has returned, Covid and its different variants have been persistent in dictating what reality will look like. Similar to the shitty ankle, it's not going away — at least not for a good long while — and we've all had to cope. 

Not unlike 9/11, your relationship with the pandemic has probably been profoundly informed by your age at this moment. The 2001 terror attacks and their aftermath occurred in my late 20s and, coupled with some personal stuff I was dealing with, helped shape my not-yet-30 view of my emotionally undeveloped self. (My inner turmoil was reflected in the unspeakable tragedy happening outside my little world.) In the same way, Covid has been merely the most overt manifestation of the strange transition into middle age that I've been experiencing lately. Whether it's Trump's rise to power or a general sense that the country is teetering on the edge of catastrophe — Biden's victory last year has mostly seemed like a brief respite, not a cure — everything around me feels less certain than it ever has. (I often think I don't have to worry about having a midlife crisis since there are enough real-world crises to distract me.) And even though I've been fortunate not to have faced much death personally because of Covid, the last two years have only thrown into sharper relief my anxiety about losing those closest to me. Everyone I care about is vaccinated, thank god, but the pandemic has been a reminder of how fragile life can be.

More and more, I have to make peace with having a shitty ankle — all those things I can't control or make better, all the worries that take up permanent residence in my head. (Come to think of it, Louis C.K.'s bit is itself a shitty ankle: Every time his standup segment enters my mind now, I'm reacquainted with my disappointment and anger over what he did in real life.) Best as I can figure, you don't ever conquer these things — you just make room for them, accepting them as part of being alive. 

And then you remember to be grateful. You think about the fact that your parents are still here and in good health. You think about your sister and her husband and their kids. You think about your friends, the people who really know you. You think about your wife's family — they're all good, too. And then you think about your wife a little longer than all the others. You think about being married for 15 years and how it feels like it's flown by and also been so substantial. You remember that you're lucky and that everybody has a shitty ankle. A limp isn't the worst thing in the world. 

* * * * *

Without further ado, let's get to my Top 10 list...

1. Petite Maman
2. Memoria
3. Passing 
4. The Worst Person in the World 
5. Summer of Soul 
6. Red Rocket 
7. Dune 
8. The Green Knight
9. Test Pattern 
10. Days

And because it was such a strong year, here's a salute to the films that just missed the cut: From 11-15, they're C’mon C’mon, Licorice Pizza, The Lost Daughter, About Endlessness and Drive My Car. International cinema dominated 2021, with four of my Top 15 premiering at Cannes, although you may notice those rankings have shifted over the last five months. And it was an exceptional year for Neon, which distributed three of my four favorite films of 2021. (If you're looking for an easy way to see the films on my list, may I suggest JustWatch, a very helpful guide to what's streaming where.)

By the way, if you've read my end-of-the-year list over at Screen International, you'll notice it's slightly different. For Screen, we only count 2021 premieres — so pictures like Test Pattern and Days (which both started screening prior to this year) don't count — and documentaries are separate from features. Even so, some movies have moved up or down on my list since I submitted my Screen ballot. What can I say: There was too much good stuff this year, and it made putting together a Top 10 delightfully torturous.  

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It's hard to know what the future holds for either my industry or the film business in general. But it sure was great being back at Cannes, and back in regular movie theaters here in America. I took Susan to see Dune opening night after having seen it once already in advance of its Venice premiere, and I enjoyed the film even more the second time, jazzed by sharing such a big-screen film with a huge crowd. Nothing beats that.

As for my own work, I kept busy, which makes me happy. I remain your loyal Senior U.S. Critic over at Screen, where I felt honored to write the Memoria review out of Cannes. As for MEL, we had a brief (and unexpected) hiatus during the summer, but we're back and better than ever. I got to start moderating Q&As in person again — boy, how I'd missed that — and, unbelievably, I did my fourth interview with Spike Lee, this time while he and I walked around his exhibit at the Academy Museum. That was for Rolling Stone, where I also got to talk to Riz Ahmed about his music career and how it feeds into his film career. For GQ, I wrote about John Lennon and Harrison Ford. Over at InsideHook, I discussed Bob Dylan's singing voice and interviewed Victor Kossakovsky about Gunda. And my seventh book, This Is How You Make a Movie, came out in March. (Thanks to the podcasters who had me on to talk about it.) I was once again part of the Gotham Awards nominating committee, I showed up on KCRW a bunch, and the Grierson & Leitch podcast continues to roll along. Like I said, it was a busy year.

But perhaps my favorite piece of writing in 2021 was never published. My parents celebrated their 50th anniversary this year, and as a joke I thought, "Wouldn't it be funny if I put together an oral history of their wedding?" Soon, the joke became serious as I clandestinely interviewed their friends and relatives to hear their stories, many of which were new to me, and I learned a lot about these two people who raised me. (As a friend of mine put it, "It's like you're writing your own origin story.") I surprised my mom and dad with what turned out to be an 8,300-word piece. I printed only two copies, one for each of them. I think they got a kick out of it. Man, 50 years — that's really something.

Happy 2022. When Petite Maman opens, I hope you check it out. It's a special little movie, and at least one thing to look forward to in the new year.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Jane Campion, 'The Worst Person in the World' and 'Benedetta'

On this week's episode, we talked about movies shot in New Zealand, Denmark and Italy (and also a little bit in France, I believe). Hear the whole thing down below.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Three Billboards,' 'Thelma,' 'Cabaret' ... and Louis C.K.

On this week's episode of the podcast, we dutifully review Murder on the Orient Express. But we're much more interested in discussing I Love You, Daddy and Louis C.K. Elsewhere, I go solo to break down Three Billboards and Thelma. And, in our Reboot segment, we tackle Cabaret. You can hear the whole thing below.

Seek Out 'Louder Than Bombs'

Louder Than Bombs, the new drama from filmmaker Joachim Trier, opened to mixed reviews and tepid box office this past weekend. I hope that doesn't deter folks from giving this delicate family tragedy a try. For The New Republic, I stick up for the film.

Cannes 2015: 'Louder Than Bombs' Review

As a fan of director Joachim Trier's first two films (Reprise and Oslo, August 31st), I was curious how his English-language debut would be. Well, breathe a sigh of relief: Louder Than Bombs brings brains, heart and real feeling to the usually predictable and sappy family melodrama. It's about two sons (Jesse Eisenberg and Devin Druid) and their father (Gabriel Byrne) reuniting on the occasion of a retrospective devoted to the family matriarch, a war photographer (Isabelle Huppert). I reviewed the film for Paste.

Back Stage: 'Oslo, August 31st' Is Terrific

For this week's Screen Grab column over at Back Stage, I dive into six movies opening over Memorial Day weekend. There are no real stinkers -- Cowgirls 'n Angels is merely a mild bore -- but the best of the bunch is Oslo, August 31st, from director Joachim Trier. Yes, he and Lars von Trier are apparently distant relatives, but their films are nothing alike, except for the fact that they're quite striking. Here's this week's column.