Only only a few hours and the winners of the 76th Cannes Festival will be announced. The forecasts are going well, each giving their own arguments and wishing their favorite films to leave with a great reward.
It is obvious that a prize list is so subjective, that no one can guess what the lucky ones will be.
In 2021 for example, The Titanium film was far from all forecasts, however it had left with the Palme d’Or, The president of the jury, Spike Lee having loved that one can imagine a sexual relation between a woman and a Cadillac.
This year, Ruben Östlund is president of the jury, and Julia Ducournau is a member. These two directors, having won two and one Palmes d’Or respectively, are somewhat special filmmakers, whose films are far from classic. In fact, they both love the adventure. Will they therefore give the Palme d’Or to a slightly “crazy” film?
We can hope, because if that is the case, the film Olffa’s girlsproduced by Kaouther Ben Hania will have all these chances of leaving with the Palme d’Or, or failing this the Grand Prix or the Prix du Jury. This hybrid, between the documentary, the fiction and the making of, can seduce them thanks to this original structure which gives all its value to its message or content. The daughters of Olfa has already appealed to four juries which awarded him the prize for positive cinema, the prize for citizenship, the golden eye and the prize for criticism of François Chaulalais.
In my opinion, the films that are most likely to leave with the prestigious trophies are:
- Rapito/Removing by Marco Bellocchio. A very beautiful historic fresco, with a very beautiful scenario, beautiful sets and costumes, a very beautiful achievement. His only wrong could be his classic treatment, although at the same time modern in these words since to date, some countries are still under a religious dictatorship.
- The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer. Very beautiful film, which deals with the Shoah from a new angle: concentration camps, Nazi side. We are just on the other side of the wall of a concentration camp, we never see the victims, but we are at the camp commander, whose family benefits from the situation, for example the wife has access to the booty harvested among the victims, fur coat, diamonds … The husband organizes the “final solution”, he receives at his home industrialists who submit a plan of an oven, his superiors are proud of him … Director knew how to make the atmosphere frosty: everything is clean, in order, abundance reigns. In contrast to what we are used to seeing on the victims. But the horror, even if it is never shown, is palpable, and finds its peak at the end of the film when we see employees cleaning windows where personal objects that belonged to these victims.
- Anatomy of a fallproduced by Justine Triet. Very beautiful film which deals with couple problems. The trial is so realistic that it feels like the courtroom!
- Fallen Leaves of Aki Kaurismaki, who seduces with his originality and his humor to tell two solitudes that meet.
- Kuru Otlar USTUNE/Dry herbs From Nuri Bilge Ceylan, very beautiful film, very beautiful photos, but perhaps an excess of gossip.
The films, which in my opinion, would not deserve to appear in the list:
- Last summer by Catherine BREILLAT. If the subject is very interesting, the scenario, however, includes some flaws. Why is that all of a sudden, the mother-in-law slept with her stepson? Why did he also have this desire? Nothing suggested this, no look, no gesture … The end is also amazing. Personally the film did not convince me, and I am very far from any moral judgment. No emotion emerges from this film.
- The old oak from Ken Loach. A very disappointing film, we are very far from I, Daniel Black (2016) or Sorry we miss you (2019). It was obvious that Ken Loach would make a social film, but that is too much. Very direct speech, no subtlety, no nuance in the characters, the gentiles are very nice, the bad guys are very mean, but in the end, everything is good that ends well. It is not convincing, it is even boring of predictability.
- Firebrand De Karim Ainouz is also a great disappointment. After her very very beautiful The invisible life of Eurídice Gusmão (Un Certain Regard Prize in 2019) and his documentary Mountain marine (2021), we could expect a very beautiful film, but nothing. Yet another version of the story of Henri VIII and its wives. Nothing new, neither in the narration nor in the structure of the film. The only attraction could be just Jude Law totally unrecognizable in Henri VIII.
- The passion of Dodin Bouffant From Tran Anh Hun, sympathetic, pleasant to see, a tribute to French gastronomy, without more.
Unfortunately I could not see Zero club by Jessica Hausner, Chimera by Alice Rohrwacher, Youth of Wang Bing, Banele e Adama from Ramatatoulaye Sy and Perfect Days from Wim Wenders.
What is certain on the other hand, is that in Tunisia, and surely in everyone Arabic, many of us look forward to this list and hoping for: a golden palm for an Arab film?
Neïla Driss
Only only a few hours and the winners of the 76th Cannes Festival will be announced. The forecasts are going well, each giving their own arguments and wishing their favorite films to leave with a great reward.
It is obvious that a prize list is so subjective, that no one can guess what the lucky ones will be.
In 2021 for example, The Titanium film was far from all forecasts, however it had left with the Palme d’Or, The president of the jury, Spike Lee having loved that one can imagine a sexual relation between a woman and a Cadillac.
This year, Ruben Östlund is president of the jury, and Julia Ducournau is a member. These two directors, having won two and one Palmes d’Or respectively, are somewhat special filmmakers, whose films are far from classic. In fact, they both love the adventure. Will they therefore give the Palme d’Or to a slightly “crazy” film?
We can hope, because if that is the case, the film Olffa’s girlsproduced by Kaouther Ben Hania will have all these chances of leaving with the Palme d’Or, or failing this the Grand Prix or the Prix du Jury. This hybrid, between the documentary, the fiction and the making of, can seduce them thanks to this original structure which gives all its value to its message or content. The daughters of Olfa has already appealed to four juries which awarded him the prize for positive cinema, the prize for citizenship, the golden eye and the prize for criticism of François Chaulalais.
In my opinion, the films that are most likely to leave with the prestigious trophies are:
- Rapito/Removing by Marco Bellocchio. A very beautiful historic fresco, with a very beautiful scenario, beautiful sets and costumes, a very beautiful achievement. His only wrong could be his classic treatment, although at the same time modern in these words since to date, some countries are still under a religious dictatorship.
- The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer. Very beautiful film, which deals with the Shoah from a new angle: concentration camps, Nazi side. We are just on the other side of the wall of a concentration camp, we never see the victims, but we are at the camp commander, whose family benefits from the situation, for example the wife has access to the booty harvested among the victims, fur coat, diamonds … The husband organizes the “final solution”, he receives at his home industrialists who submit a plan of an oven, his superiors are proud of him … Director knew how to make the atmosphere frosty: everything is clean, in order, abundance reigns. In contrast to what we are used to seeing on the victims. But the horror, even if it is never shown, is palpable, and finds its peak at the end of the film when we see employees cleaning windows where personal objects that belonged to these victims.
- Anatomy of a fallproduced by Justine Triet. Very beautiful film which deals with couple problems. The trial is so realistic that it feels like the courtroom!
- Fallen Leaves of Aki Kaurismaki, who seduces with his originality and his humor to tell two solitudes that meet.
- Kuru Otlar USTUNE/Dry herbs From Nuri Bilge Ceylan, very beautiful film, very beautiful photos, but perhaps an excess of gossip.
The films, which in my opinion, would not deserve to appear in the list:
- Last summer by Catherine BREILLAT. If the subject is very interesting, the scenario, however, includes some flaws. Why is that all of a sudden, the mother-in-law slept with her stepson? Why did he also have this desire? Nothing suggested this, no look, no gesture … The end is also amazing. Personally the film did not convince me, and I am very far from any moral judgment. No emotion emerges from this film.
- The old oak from Ken Loach. A very disappointing film, we are very far from I, Daniel Black (2016) or Sorry we miss you (2019). It was obvious that Ken Loach would make a social film, but that is too much. Very direct speech, no subtlety, no nuance in the characters, the gentiles are very nice, the bad guys are very mean, but in the end, everything is good that ends well. It is not convincing, it is even boring of predictability.
- Firebrand De Karim Ainouz is also a great disappointment. After her very very beautiful The invisible life of Eurídice Gusmão (Un Certain Regard Prize in 2019) and his documentary Mountain marine (2021), we could expect a very beautiful film, but nothing. Yet another version of the story of Henri VIII and its wives. Nothing new, neither in the narration nor in the structure of the film. The only attraction could be just Jude Law totally unrecognizable in Henri VIII.
- The passion of Dodin Bouffant From Tran Anh Hun, sympathetic, pleasant to see, a tribute to French gastronomy, without more.
Unfortunately I could not see Zero club by Jessica Hausner, Chimera by Alice Rohrwacher, Youth of Wang Bing, Banele e Adama from Ramatatoulaye Sy and Perfect Days from Wim Wenders.
What is certain on the other hand, is that in Tunisia, and surely in everyone Arabic, many of us look forward to this list and hoping for: a golden palm for an Arab film?
Neïla Driss
