Bad gala and Zelensky’s speech
Cannes 2022 kicks off on 17 May at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès. The screening was opened by Michel Hazanavicius’ zombie comedy Final Cut. Initially, the tape bore the name “Z”, which is now scandalous for Europe, and was urgently renamed on the eve of the start of the festival. The film itself “Artist!” by its author. It caused an ambiguous and often heavy reaction from critics, who noted its secondary nature and optionality.
The opening ceremony was remembered much more by emotional moments. speech It consists of references to famous anti-militarist films, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator and Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now.
Tom Cruise’s victory and Serebrennikov’s success
Tom Cruise brought his new movie “Top Gun: Maverick”, the sequel to “Top Gun”, to Cannes. A spin-off of the ’80s hit movie that once made Cruise famous around the world marks another successful milestone. in his acting career. The new tape of Cruise starring as producer and working on it received a standing ovation for five minutes. Critics were not indifferent: most agreed that this is a masterfully made blockbuster, which perfectly combines large-scale action sequences and dramatic character lines. Also at the festival, Cruz was awarded the honorary Palme d’Or along with actor Forest Whitaker.
Similarly, Mad Max: Fury Road author George Miller’s new painting Three Thousand Year of Wishing was welcomed at Cannes. The premiere of the film, about an unexpected encounter between a female archaeologist (Tilda Swinton) and a magical genie (Idris Elba), received a standing ovation for six minutes and was among the future Oscar nominees.
Baz Luhrmann, who presented his Elvis biography to the public, also received his share of general acclaim. Austin Butler, the performer of the main role of the king of rock and roll, is already “courting” as the leader of the Oscar nomination, and the picture itself received a 12-minute standing ovation (this year’s Cannes record).
Cruz, Miller and Luhrmann enjoyed their non-competitive victories. main program He was also remembered for his high-profile broadcasts.
The first film to raise the bar for the 75th Cannes Film Festival was James Gray’s semi-autobiographical film Armageddon Time (Towards the Stars). The film takes place in the 1980s, when a new president is elected in America and Gray himself attends the same school as future President Donald Trump. The plot consists of the personal memories of the director, who managed to create a brilliant cast of stars: Anne Hathaway, Anthony Hopkins, Cate Blanchett, Oscar Isaac and others.
The currently unspoken leader in the reviews is the painting “Decision to Leave” by Park Chan-wook (author of “Oldboy”). This is an aesthetic romantic thriller about a detective who falls in love with the murdered man’s wife, who is the prime suspect during an investigation. The painting was called the new “In the Mood for Love” and “ideal noir”.
Body horror master David Cronenberg brought his first film in seven years, Crimes of the Future, to Cannes. This is the story of an artist who finds an unconventional way of making money: He grows new organs for himself to entertain the public, with a tragic end. Future Crimes has been dubbed by world critics as an elegant and provocative film in the best traditions of the “old” Cronenberg, which pays special attention to the visual spacing of its stories.
This is another special premiere of Cannes registered director Kirill Serebrennikov is the only Russian director accepted for the competition. Serebrennikov brought to the Croisette his new painting “Tchaikovsky’s Wife” with Alena Mikhailova in the lead role. Western critics praised Mikhailova’s acting work, but the film itself was met with mixed reviews. For some, the story of Antonina Milyukova, who married the gay Tchaikovsky, seemed overly ambitious.
Russia represented by Victoria Bonya
In 2022, the directorate of the festival did not allow the official delegation and the press to come from Russia to Cannes due to the armed conflict in Ukraine. But on the first day of the show, Cannes’ regular guest, Russian Victoria Bonya, walked the red carpet. The socialite apparently made it to opening night thanks to the ticket purchased, but many journalists were infuriated by the double standard in the festival management position.
Nude activist on the red carpet
On May 20, during the premiere of the painting “Three Thousand Years Wishes” on the red carpet finished French activist. The woman was almost naked, her chest painted in the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
An anti-militarist action was also carried out by the film crew of the Ukrainian movie “Vision of a Butterfly”: director Maxim Nakonechny and producers Daria Bassel and Elizaveta Smith appeared on the red carpet in T-shirts depicting destroyed Ukrainian cities.