Cannes 2023 Preview: 5 Films to Be Hyped for in This Year’s Official Selection
Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival.
In less than a fortnight, the world's leading filmmakers, industry professionals, critics, and cinephiles will once again journey to the Cote d'Azur for the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, one of film culture's greatest highlights of the year. Rushing between screenings, sleep-deprived festival patrons will be blessed with Cannes' stunning sunshine and the Mediterranean Coast's calming draw, visible from almost everywhere in the ancient city. For two weeks, Cannes will be dominated by movie lovers from every corner of the globe. From the latest arthouse discoveries to major blockbuster summer hits, this year's edition of Cannes will premiere some of cinema's most exciting new work, marking the year's first hugely influential film festival.
This year's Main Competition jury at Cannes will be presided over by Ruben Östlund, last year's recipient of the Palme d'Or thanks to his crowd-pleasing social satire, Triangle of Sadness, with American actor John C. Reilly serving as the president of the Un Certain Regard, a section of the festival which features upcoming directors and unique movies. Cannes will open with Jeanne du Barry, directed by French filmmaker and actress Maïwenn, and close with Pixar's latest, Elemental, both of which will show Out of Competition. Strikingly, this year's edition will feature more female filmmakers than ever, with 6 Main Competition titles directed by women and the festival's other sections platforming female creators too. While many media outlets have focused on Killers of the Flower Moon making its debut at Cannes or the international launch of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on the Croisette before its summer release, Foremost Film is looking at other titles from this year's festival that audiences should get excited about. Let's look at 5 films that movie lovers should have on their radar as they make their Cannes premieres in the coming weeks:
'Firebrand'
Courtesy of Brouhaha Entertainment.
A period piece to look forward to in the Main Competition this year is Firebrand, the English-language debut feature from Brazilian filmmaker Karim Ainouz. Based on the 2012 novel Queen's Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle, Firebrand is described as a psychological thriller that centers around the married life of Katherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of the infamous English Tudor King Henry VIII. Alicia Vikander and Jude Law will play the leading monarchal roles, both no strangers to embodying bygone eras through their performances. Ainouz has already displayed an aptitude for working in period settings with The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão, which topped the Un Certain Regard section back in 2019, so viewers can expect a lushly wrought recreation of the 16th-century English royal court in Firebrand.
'La Chimera'
Courtesy of Neon.
After winning the Best Screenplay Award in the Main Competition in 2018 for Happy as Lazzaro, Italy’s Alice Rohrwacher will hit the Croissette again this year with her latest work, La Chimera. Heartthrob Josh O'Connor stars in the 1980s-set film as a young British archeologist caught up in the black market sales of ancient artifacts. Italian icon Isabella Rossellini will costar in the movie, along with the director's sister, Alba Rohrwacher. After the whimsical, pastoral design of Happy as Lazzaro, La Chimera seems like an entirely different perspective into the greed of capitalism. Still, we will only know for sure after the film's upcoming Cannes premiere. Neon secured North American distribution rights for La Chimera at last year's edition of Cannes, so this could possibly be the company's third Palme D'or winner in a row.
'May December'
Courtesy of Killer Films.
May December marks the 10th feature film from American filmmaker Todd Haynes and his 5th work to premiere at Cannes. Another foray into nuanced domestic drama, May December stars Julianne Moore and Charles Melton as Gracie and Joe, a married pair facing provocation by a Hollywood movie production based around the couple's scandalous tabloid romance from decades before. Natalie Portman also stars, portraying the actress set to play Gracie in the film adaptation of their dramatic affair. May December will serve as a slight departure from Haynes's earlier movies, in which he has frequently collaborated with master cinematographer Ed Lachman, this time working with Christopher Blauvelt (known for his cinematography in Kelly Reichardt's films.) Still without a distributor, May December will likely be a big sale out of Cannes this year.
'The New Boy'
Courtesy of Roadshow Films.
A major highlight in this year's Un Certain Regard section (and possible snub in the Main Competition) is The New Boy, the latest work from Aboriginal filmmaker Warwick Thornton. Starring Cate Blanchett and newcomer Aswan Reid, The New Boy is a 1940s set drama revolving around an isolated Australian monastery thrown into turmoil when a young Aboriginal orphan arrives mysteriously in the middle of the night. The New Boy is Thornton's first feature film since his international breakthrough earning the Platform Prize at TIFF for Sweet Country in 2017, and Blanchett's first role since lighting last awards season on fire as Lydia Tár. Frequently serving as director, writer, and cinematographer on his projects, Thornton's creative spirit embodies the concept of auteur filmmaking and will be a fantastic representation of Australia's Aboriginal community at this year's Cannes.
'The Zone of Interest'
Courtesy of A24.
Finally, Jonathan Glazer returns to the film festival circuit with The Zone of Interest, his first feature since Under the Skin became a critical hit in 2013. Loosely adapted from a novel of the same name by Martin Amis, The Zone of Interest is a tale of forbidden romance between a Nazi officer and his commandant's wife, set in Auschwitz during the height of the Holocaust. The film's producer and distributor, A24, has kept tight-lipped about The Zone of Interest, adding to the anticipation around Glazer's latest work, only his fourth feature film in the past 20-plus years. However, audiences can likely expect the movie to boast a fantastic score created by Mica Levy (whose career in film began with Under the Skin) and masterful cinematography from Łukasz Żal (Ida, Cold War,) both Oscar-nominated in the past. The Zone of Interest marks Glazer's first appearance in the Main Competition at Cannes.
Other Cannes Premieres We Are Looking Forward To:
Banel et Adama by Ramata-Toulaye Sy
Club Zero by Jessica Hausner
Killers of the Flower Moon by Martin Scorcese
Le Règne Animal by Thomas Cailley
Occupied City by Steve McQueen
Pictures of Ghosts by Kleber Mendonça Filho
Strange Way of Life by Pedro Almodóvar