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More after the jump including Jessica Chastain, The Northman, Sean Penn, Peter Sarsgaard, and the shirtless dancers from Euphoria...

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Posterized: Sean Penn as director

by Nathaniel R

Dylan and Sean Penn earlier this summer at Cannes.

Former movie star Sean Penn celebrated his 61st birthday just two days ago and now welcomes his sixth directorial effort, Flag Day, into US theaters. Though Penn's name was once intoned with a kind of reverence by fellow actors and critics his film career has been curiously uneventful for a decade now (with his supporting role in The Tree of Life, 2011, his last real prestigious success... and mostly by association at that). One suspects the fading film career is more from a shift in his own interest and priorities given his political activism than a lack of opportunities but it's always hard to know given the fickle nature of Hollywood and stardom in general.

Can Flag Day serve as a kind of jumpstart for a comeback in the next few years? Does he even want that? He has two films (as an actor) in preproduction now, a drama with Dakota Johnson and a drama with Tye Sheridan.  How many of his six directorial efforts have you seen? The posters are after the jump...

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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 at Home: Day 5

by Cláudio Alves

After the virulently negative reviews that befell The Last Face, it's surprising to see Sean Penn back in the main competition so soon. Flag Day marks Penn's third directorial effort to vie for the Palme d'Or after winning big in Cannes as an actor. The reactions, so far, seem primarily positive, and that's a big step-up from last time. Another main competition screening was Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen's Compartment No. 6, which some have already compared to Before Sunrise. Back in 2016, he won the Un Certain Regard section with The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, so this promotion to the big league feels especially earned. To celebrate the occasion, our alternative program shall focus on these directors' earlier successes…

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Dead Man Walking @ 25: Susan Sarandon's long road to the Oscar

by Cláudio Alves

25 years ago, Tim Robbins' Dead Man Walking opened in theatres. The film dramatizes the true story of Sister Helen Prejean, the close relationship she forged, as a spiritual adviser, with convicted murderers on death row. Here, they are made into the composite fictional figure of Matthew Poncelet. Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn take on the lead roles, delivering two of the best performances of their respective careers. He received his first Oscar nomination out of it. She was honored with her fifth nod and, presently, her last. And she finally won the Best Actress trophy. 

The actress may be a controversial figure, but I'm not here to litigate her politics or the way she chooses to express them. Instead, I'd like to look at her achievements as a performer, specifically the five works that paved the way to that triumph on the night of the 67th Academy Awards. Join me – won't you? – as we explore Susan Sarandon's long road to the Oscar… 

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