Cannes Diary #5: Road trips through cinema

Do you know "Raul"? I don't and I never cease to be fascinated by this bizzarre Cannes Festival tradition. Sometimes, just before a press screening, someone screams "Raouuul!". No one seems to know why or when this phenomenon started, but the most seasoned journalists I know told me that the Raoul tradition started many, many years ago. Maybe I can just google it and find an answer but every person I ask about it has a different theory, so I'm enjoying the mystery. Anyway, on to today's three films...

Mariner of the Mountains  (Karim Aïnouz)
SPECIAL SCREENINGS

I took the ticket for the latest by the Brazilian director on a whim, because I woke up early that day and I really liked his previous feature, Invisible Life. I had read nothing about this one since sometimes I like to go in blindfolded. At first I was so confused by the form, a kind of infinite collage of short videos recorded with a smartphone and photos taken by Aïnouz himself during his first journey to Algeria...

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Cannes Diary #4: Cannes gets undressed with two lesbian nuns and a naked maid.

by Elisa Guidici

by Elisa Guidici

Blame the pandemic, blame the sensuous summer in Riviera, this Festival is rated R for sure. A lot of nakedness, numerous explicit sex scenes (with a preference for cunnilingus) and in general the inability to spend a day at screenings without a full frontal or two. Sometimes journalists try to sell Cannes coverage insisting on the hotness of various movies. Well, no one needs to exaggerate this year: Benedetta gave us all the scandalous content we wanted...

Benedetta (Paul Verhoeven)
COMPETITION FILM

This historical queer drama about the forbidden love between two nuns was my most anticipated film and what an experience it was...

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Cannes Diary #3: From Haynes to Trier, a binge-watch kind of day

TFE is thrilled to have a correspondent on the ground in Cannes this year. Thank you to Elisa Giudici.

The Velvet Underground

by Elisa Guidici

It was a really intense day. I was greedy, I could not say no to the majority of the movies screened today so I basically spent the third day inside Palais, running from one screening to another. Six in all (!) With some positive surprises.

The Velvet Underground  (Todd Haynes)
OUT OF COMPETITION

It is perhaps predictable that Todd Haynes would do a fine job in telling the story of Velvet Underground in his newest documentary. He is the man behind Velvet Goldmine and I'm Not There so he has already shown an understanding of the sensibility and the struggle of rock music genre and inner restlessness...

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Cannes Diary #1: Adam Driver singing, journalists spitting, and other minor inconveniences

TFE is thrilled to have a correspondent on the ground in Cannes this year. Please welcome back Elisa Giudici.

by Elisa Guidici

It's my first day of my first year as a press pass holder at Cannes Film Festival. Let me tell you that as an Italian, I am so proud of how Venice Mostra handled their Covid-19 edition last season. Cannes had an extra year to plan how to be efficient, safe and as Covid-free as possible. How did the organisation spent these months?.The ticketing system to avoid long queues before screenings? A hot mess. The website? Almost always down. Covid tests? Bizzarre, but at least free for pass holders...

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