French filmmaker Xavier Beauvois is clearly not a fan of the most recent Palme d’Or winner, Julia Ducournau’s “Titane. He went on Twitter to express his discontent (translated from French):
“I have the impression that “Onoda”, unjustly relegated to the outskirts of Cannes competition in favor of an unwatchable automobile movie from the Lyon Godfather (Thierry Fremaux), is in the process of returning, calmly, to its rightful reputation: that of a great film.”
Check out that dig at Cannes boss Thierry Fremaux. Do we think Beauvois has dug himself in a hole when it comes to being selected at future Cannes editions? Beauvois could also just be bitter that none of his recent films made it to Cannes. He’s basically a one-trick-pony in the US, with only “Of Gods and Men” breaking out as a critical hit
French film critics fell hard for Arthur Harari ”Onoda,” but it was relegated to the sidebar section Un Certain Regard. Ok, fine, maybe it deserved to be part of the official competition, but Beauvois criticizing “Titane” is misguided. There were far worse films in the 2021 competition: “Flag Day,” “Three Floors,” “The Story of My Wife,” “Casablanca Beats” etc.
“Titane” has actually turned out to be a very divisive film with French critics. It holds a 3.5 star average rating on ALLOCINÉ, the French equivalent of Rotten Tomatoes, and a tepid 2.8 audience score.
I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of looking forward to the “Michael” sequel. Whether Vantoine directs it or John Logan, it doesn’t matter—it’s an inevitable sh*tshow that will result from its making and release.