It’s March which means it’s time for our monthly Cannes spitball. The lineup is supposed to be announced in late April. This year, more eyes than ever will be directed at the Croisette, especially after last year’s Palme d’Or winner triumphed at the Oscars — that’s now two out of the last five years that the Cannes winner won Best Picture.
First off, conflicting reports in regards to Terrence Malick’s “The Way of the Wind” — I had been told the film wasn’t finished, but another source tells me it’s now officially being shopped around to U.S. distributors. An edited cut of the film is being shown to buyers.
My source goes on to state that Malick might have finally concluded his six-year journey editing the film. A Cannes premiere is back in play for this one, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
The big surprise at this year’s Cannes might be Mascha Schilinski’s “The Doctor Says I’ll Be Alright” which is being highly tipped for a competition slot. The amount of internal buzz I’ve been hearing about this film is deafening. It could turn out to be this year’s “All We Imagine As Light.”
As previously reported, Na Hong Jin’s “Hope” won’t be ready. Bi Gan is also working fast on “Resurrection,” but might not reach the submission deadline. Julian Schnabel’s “In the Hands of Dante” is potentially eyeing a Venice premiere. Meanwhile, Fatih Akin’s “Amrum” seems to have locked up a Cannes Premiere slot.
On the U.S. side, and practically locked in, are Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” and Wes Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme.” No word yet on whether Ari Aster’s “Eddington” and Oliver Hermanus’ “The History of Sound,” both submitted, have been accepted yet.
Aster and Hermanus’ films could appear out of competition which is the same fate that’s been reserved for Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie’s “Mission: Impossible — The Last Reckoning.”
I’m also hearing about newly submitted films from Cannes regulars Saeed Roustaee (“Woman And Child”), Maryam Touzani (“Calle Malaga”), Haifaa Al-Mansour (“Unidentified”), and Mario Martone (“Fuori”).
In more concrete news, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s “Young Mother” has been selected for competition. They are Cannes regulars, having already won the Palme d’Or, so this isn’t a surprising development. However, what’s actually surprising is the amount of internal enthusiasm for this film which could turn out to be a critical comeback for the Dardennes.
CURRENT 21 PALME D’OR CONTENDERS
Die, My Love (Lynne Ramsay)
Alpha (Julia Ducournau)
Father Mother Sister Brother (Jim Jarmusch)
The Phoenician Scheme (Wes Anderson)
The Mastermind (Kelly Reichardt)
Eddington (Ari Aster)
No Other Choice (Park Chan-wook)
The Way of the Wind (Terrence Malick)
Highest 2 Lowest (Spike Lee)
Sentimental Value (Joachim Trier)
Nouvelle Vague (Richard Linklater)
The Secret Agent (Kleber Mendoca Filho)
Young Mother (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne)
Orphan (Laszlo Nemes)
Yes! (Nadav Lapid)
Disappearance (Kirill Serebrenikkov)
Miroirs No. 3 (Christian Petzold)
The Love That Remains (Hlynur Pálmason)
The Doctor Says I’ll Be Alright (Mascha Schilinski)
Private Life (Rebecca Zlotowski)
Two Prosecutors (Sergei Loznitsa)
Notice, only two French filmmakers in my predictions (Ducournau and Zlotowski). It’s become mandatory to have anywhere between 4-6 films from France in competition. This year, it’s going to be a bloodbath of well-known French directors vying for those elusive competition spots. Among them …
The Magnificent Life of Sylvain Pagnol (Sylvain Chomet)
Dossier 173 (Dominik Moll)
Sacrifice (Roman Gavras)
Une Affaire (Arnaud Desplechin)
Enzo (Robin Campillo)
Stitches (Alice Wincour)
Here are 19 additional Cannes contenders, stemming from all over the world.
Wake of Umbra (Carlos Reygadas)
Rosebushpruning (Karim Aïnouz)
In the Hands of Dante (Julian Schnabel)
Eagles of the Relublic (Tarik Saleh)
Tu ne fera point d’image (Kaouther BenHania)
After (Oliver Laxe)
L’interet D’Adam (Laura Wandel)
Resurrection (Bi Gan)
At the Sea (Kornél Mundruczó)
Silent Friend (Ildiko Enyedi)
Duse (Pietro Marcello)
Romería (Carla Simon)
El Ser Querido (Rodrigo Sorogoyen)
Dry Leaf (Alexandre Koberidze)
Rosebushpruning (Karim Aïnouz)
Woman And Child (Saeed Roustaee)
Calle Malaga (Maryam Touzani)
Unidentified (Haifaa Al-Mansour)
Furio (Mario Martone)
Meanwhile, Laika's stop-motion fantasy "Wildwood" held at #3 with $7.5M in its second weekend, a respectable 39% drop. The well-reviewed film has earned $25M domestic and $35M globally so far.