I tend to skip the opening night film at Cannes, only arriving the day after. In the last ten years, or since 2016, the only truly worthy opener, worth arriving early at the fest, was Leos Carax’s “Annette,” in 2021.
That said, and as mentioned last week, the opening night film for the 79th Cannes Film Festival will be Pierre Salvadori’s “La Vénus électrique.” It’s been officially announced by the festival this morning. The film will be screened on Tuesday, May 12.
Set in Paris, in the Roaring ‘20s, the film “draws inspiration from sophisticated Hollywood comedy, with its brisk pace, confusion between lies and truth, and precision in writing and direction,” says Cannes’ press release, which also describes Salvadori as a “fervent admirer of Ernst Lubitsch, Billy Wilder and Blake Edwards.”
The French cast is led by Pio Marmaï (“The Divide”), Anaïs Demoustier (“The Count of Monte Cristo”) and Gilles Lellouche (who last directed “Beating Hearts”). Vimala Pons and Gustave Kervern round out the ensemble.
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.