'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' Review

The sequel's even better than the original. For Screen International, I reviewed Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Cannes 2023: 'Elemental' Review

One last Cannes review, and it's for the closing-night film. Here's my take on the so-so Elemental.

Cannes 2023: 'Cobweb' Review

In the 1970s, a once-promising filmmaker is working on his latest movie. After wrapping production, however, he has an idea for a better ending for the film, so he reassembles his cast and crew. Will this opus at last be the masterpiece that cements his comeback? I reviewed Kim Jee-woon’s very funny comedy for Screen International.

Cannes 2023: 'Acid' Review

What if the end of the world came in the form of acid rain? That premise powers Acid, an effective domestic drama/small-scale disaster film. My review is here.

Cannes 2023: 'Project Silence' Review

I don't think I enjoyed reviewing a film at this year's Cannes more than I did reviewing Project Silence, a South Korean disaster movie/horror/thriller about, among other things, government-engineered killer dogs. It's pretty ruff going, as I mentioned in my Screen International review.

Cannes 2023: The Wrap-Up and the Rankings

Much like this year's Sundance, there was one film that stood head and shoulders above the pack at Cannes. There will be more to say about The Zone of Interest, but for now, I'd like to point out that this is the first time I've been in Cannes where journalists and critics wanted to rewatch a movie a day after seeing it. Such was the power of Jonathan Glazer's fourth feature that people felt a desperate need to get a second helping immediately. (If I hadn't had a conflicting assignment in the same screening slot, I might have been tempted myself.)

The question of how good any one Cannes is depends on two factors: the movies you saw and the overall experience you had at the festival. On the latter front, I can't complain. I was lucky to stay with great roommates, the weather basically cooperated, and the unexpected hassles that can bedevil your trip thankfully steered clear of me in 2023. I had friends twist ankles, lose their apartment key, and battle shitty wifi. I dodged all those bullets.

As for the movies themselves, looking at my ranked list below, I'm forced to conclude that this was merely an okay Cannes. Some of the films on my list scream out for a second viewing so that I can wrap my head around what works and what doesn't about them. (In particular, I'm curious what Killers of the Flower Moon will feel like with fresh eyes.) But the consensus on the ground was that there were lots of strong films without as many gems as in past years. And, as always, I lament the movies I simply couldn't get to, including About Dry Grasses, Anselm, Eureka, Occupied City, Pictures of Ghosts and Youth. I look forward to catching them all down the road.

Without further ado, here is my list of everything I saw either during or before the festival. Links lead to individual reviews:

33. Riddle of Fire
32. Project Silence
31. Black Flies
30. Firebrand
29. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
28. Conann
27. Hypnotic
26. The Sweet East
25. Elemental
24. Perfect Days
23. Jeanne du Barry
22. Room 999
21. Acid
20. The King of Algiers
19. Club Zero
18. Last Summer
17. Rosalie
16. La Chimera
15. Monster
14. Cobweb
13. Omen
12. Fallen Leaves
11. Asteroid City
10. How to Have Sex
9. Robot Dreams
8. May December
7. Anatomy of a Fall
6. The Delinquents
5. The Animal Kingdom
4. Killers of the Flower Moon
3. The Pot-au-Feu
2. Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell
1. The Zone of Interest

Now I'd like to take a moment to talk about my No. 2 film. I couldn't have been more exhausted than when I went to see director Pham Thien An's three-hour-long debut, which is about a young man on a spiritual quest of sorts in Vietnam. It's rare when a movie wakes me up to the degree that Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell did. It's an extraordinary experience, although it did inspire plenty of walkouts at my screening. Well, it's their loss: The film is transporting, moving, a total stunner. It deserves to win the Camera d'Or for best first feature. I hope an adventurous distributor picks it up soon: In a completely different way than The Zone of Interest, it needs to be seen on the big screen.

Finally, let's engage in a futile annual tradition wherein I try to predict what will win the Palme d'Or. I have been going to Cannes since 2013, missing one year because of a book project and another (in 2020) because Covid shut the festival down. And in all that time, I have never been right with my guess. Do I have any more confidence this year? Not really.

Nonetheless, I'm going to go with my heart and say that Ruben Östlund's jury will go for The Zone of Interest. It's easily the boldest film in the Competition, but it's also divisive among critics, which may prove true for his jury as well. Anatomy of a Fall may be a safer consensus pick, although part of me wonders if Sandra Hüller will take home Best Actress, which means that film couldn't win the Palme as well. (It's possible she gets Best Actress for Anatomy of a Fall, and then her other movie, The Zone of Interest, collects the big prize.) 

My sleeper pick is The Pot-au-Feu, which surprised a lot of folks here at the festival. On paper, it looked like a middlebrow food-porn period piece. But Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel are simply terrific in this deeply felt love story. Plus, the film can be read as a metaphor for the importance of art, and a Cannes jury could certainly get behind that message. Also worth noting: Documentaries are almost never part of the Competition, so perhaps Wang Bing's three-and-a-half-hour Youth will emerge victorious. I could just as easily see Glazer win Best Director, but fool that I am, I'm picking The Zone of Interest. I look forward to finding out just how wrong I was again.

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band - "PIMP"

Every Cannes, there's an unofficial honor given out called the Palm Dog, which is bestowed on the best dog performance at the festival. In that same spirit, I do my own prize for the best use of a song in a film. This year, that award goes to a cover that plays an important part in one of the Competition movies.

Cannes 2023: 'The Pot-au-Feu' Review

I quite enjoyed The Pot-au-Feu, which studies the love affair between a brilliant cook (Juliette Binoche) and a gourmet (Benoit Magimel). There's lots of great food in the film, but also a lot of thoughtful observations about art, devotion and holding onto what lasts. My review is here.

Cannes 2023: 'Asteroid City' Review

Wes Anderson returns to the Croisette with Asteroid City, a look at an American desert community in 1955. My review is up at Screen International.

Cannes 2023: 'Omen' Review

I was quite taken by Omen, which is the feature directorial debut of Baloji, a hip-hop artist who tells the story of a man (Marc Zinga) who returns to Congo after being exiled by his small-minded family years ago. You can read my rave here.

Cannes 2023: 'The King of Algiers' Review

In The King of Algiers, Reda Kateb plays a gangster who's hiding out when he falls in love with a woman (Meriem Amiar) who's a manager of a cookie factory. Can these two make it work? My review is up at Screen International.

Cannes 2023: 'Riddle of Fire' Review

Writer-director Weston Razooli's feature debut wants to recreate the unfiltered glee, energy and innocence of being a kid. Unfortunately, Riddle of Fire was too precious for my taste. You can read my review here.

Cannes 2023: 'Conann' Review

What if Conan the Barbarian was a woman? Say hello to Conann, a trippy, crazy, totally uneven film that has "midnight movie" written all over it. My review is live over at Screen International.

Cannes 2023: 'Rosalie' Review

Perhaps like a lot of people, I'd heard about the phenomenon of "bearded ladies," but didn't know much about them beyond that. The drama Rosalie (inspired by actual events) stars Nadia Tereszkiewicz as a woman in the 1870s who has excessive hair growth all over her body, including her face, who is married off to a cafe owner (Benoit Magimel). Can this partnership survive his discovery of her condition? My review is here.

Cannes 2023: 'Firebrand' Review

Alicia Vikander plays Katherine Parr, the last of Henry VIII's six wives, in Firebrand. I reviewed this feminist period costume drama for Screen International.

Cannes 2023: 'Robot Dreams' Review

It's always fun to discover movies that weren't initially on your radar when you went into a film festival. Such is the case with the very charming, poignant Robot Dreams, which I reviewed for Screen International.

Player - "Baby Come Back"

Sometimes, songs just get stuck in your head.

Cannes 2023: 'Black Flies' Review

Black Flies tells the story of two New York paramedics (Sean Penn, Tye Sheridan) dealing with the strain of their demanding jobs. It's a disappointment, as I explain in my Screen International review.

Cannes 2023: 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' Review

The fifth Indiana Jones just premiered at Cannes. Here's my review.

Cannes 2023: 'The Sweet East' Review

Sean Price Williams is a wonderful cinematographer, and he's just directed his first film. For Screen International, I reviewed The Sweet East.