Cannes 2025: Ducournau returns and Spike Lee plays Out of Competition

by Cláudio Alves

HIGHEST 2 LOWEST will bring Denzel Washington to Cannes for the first time since 1993.

Thierry Frémaux and company have announced the 78th Cannes Film Festival lineup, with many familiar faces returning to the Main Competition. Former Palme d'Or victors Julia Ducournau and the Dardenne brothers are back in the race, while Golden Bear champion Carla Simón will present her first feature since Alcarràs took Berlin by storm. Speaking of the German fest, Richard Linklater just directed Andrew Scott to an award there and will now bow his Nouvelle Vague at the Croisette. Juliette Binoche will preside over the jury to decide these filmmakers' fates, but we're still awaiting updates regarding the other jurors.

Our own Elisa Giudici will be on the ground covering the fest for The Film Experience as she's been doing for the past few years. I'll try to offer another edition of Cannes at Home for those battling cinephile FOMO. In any case, here's the full Main Competition slate Elisa will be considering in a month's time…

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Benoît Magimel Turns 50

by Eric Blume

A young Magimel in Benoît Jacquot's A SINGLE GIRL (1995).

This weekend, we’re celebrating one of French cinema’s greatest actors, Benoît Magimel, who turns 50 today. 

Magimel exploded upon the industry in the mid 1990s, making a string of pictures right after his 21^st birthday that involved collaborations with several big names.  Benoît Jacquot used his broad, handsome face and hooded eyes to great effect in 1995’s A Single Girl opposite Virginie Ledoyen.  The two actors have a truthful, easy spark between them that’s quintessential French post-teen.  The next year, he was featured in the excellent Thieves, by then-huge director André Téchiné, alongside two of the country’s finest, Daniel Auteuil and Catherine Deneuve...

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Godzilla @10: In defense of Gareth Edwards's American Kaiju

by Cláudio Alves

With the triumph of Godzilla Minus One still fresh and the box office success of Godzilla x Kong even fresher, kaiju lovers have reason to rejoice. The king of the monsters is on top as he deserves to be, blasting his atomic breath into the atmosphere as a show of victory. All things considered, there couldn't be a better time to revisit the American Godzilla that revitalized the franchise for a more global audience despite an unfavorable reputation. On its tenth anniversary, it's somewhat surprising how much Gareth Edwards' Godzilla has fallen out of favor. It was never a critical darling, but it feels that the movie has diminished in the collective consciousness. Which is understandable if undeserved…

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A Very French Scandal

by Cláudio Alves

The César Awards ceremony happens tomorrow, with Anatomy of a Fall poised for a sweep befitting its status as an Oscar darling. For some, its victory will taste like justice after what many have decried as a scandalous snub. After all, despite its acclaim, Justine Triet's film wasn't selected to represent France in the Best International Film race. Instead, the selection committee went with Trần Anh Hùng's The Taste of Things, which competed against Anatomy in Cannes, losing the Palme d'Or but nabbing the Best Director prize. The decision generated much press, with people decrying it as undue punishment toward Triet, who criticized Emmanuel Macron's government in her Palme acceptance speech.

However, this perceived indignity has led to its own backlash. Hùng's film has been belittled nonstop, including by Triet on social media. It all culminated with the César nominations, where France's Oscar submission got three "below-the-line" nominations and nothing else…

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Interview: "The Taste of Things" Director Tran Ahn Hung

By Ben Miller

Image courtesy of IFC FilmsI was fortunate enough to sit down with Award-wining Vietnamese director Tran Ahn Hung to talk about his wonderful new film The Taste of Things. We spoke about his film's themes, making a film without conflict, and shooting cooking scenes like action sequences.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.  THIS INTERVIEW CONTAINS SOME FILM SPOILERS

BEN MILLER: I loved your film.  Thank you so much for having it.  I was curious, more than anything else, how the story came about as far as how it relates to the food...

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