Asteroid City and Bellocchio’s Rapito: A Cannes Portrait of Iconic Storytelling
Wes Anderson’s latest project found its backdrop in Madrid’s Chinchón, yet the film offers no obvious on-screen proof of its location. Instead, the imagery reinforces the director’s signature world, a stylized universe that has grown into a cultural icon and even a meme. Shown in competition at Cannes, Asteroid City reveals a pace and density unlike some of Anderson’s earlier works, such as The French Dispatch (2021). It remains visually rich and densely layered, with each frame designed as a scene that invites contemplation from a distance. The film presents a crowded cast and a narrative that feels almost otherworldly, with meticulously arranged compositions that reward patient, attentive viewing. There are no easy entrances; the visuals dominate, and the story unfolds through a series of carefully orchestrated vignettes.
Most of the action unfolds in a vast American desert setting, framed around a school event dedicated to astronomical observation. The premise reads like a stage production split into multiple acts, with Anderson occasionally shifting the level of reality to reveal behind-the-scenes preparations in black and white. A narrator sometimes appears to interpret the intertwining plots, guiding the audience through the mood and intent of the piece.
The cast numbers in the dozens, and the dialogue moves rapidly, challenging audiences to keep pace. Rather than deeply profiling each character, Anderson concentrates on the joy of the craft—playful, intricate visuals that could double as interior design inspiration. The question speed creates is whether viewers can fully savor each image before the next one arrives. The film’s verbal and visual flow is swift, creating a cinema experience that can feel almost exhaustingly dense, yet undeniably alive.
Bellocchio and the Edgardo Mortara Story
Italian director Marco Bellocchio brings a different kind of intensity to the Cannes lineup with a focus on a pivotal moment in Italy’s modern history. His new work, Rapito, centers on Edgardo Mortara, a Jewish boy from Bologna who was taken to Rome and forcibly converted to Catholicism by order of Pope Pius IX in 1858. The events surrounding his disappearance became a flashpoint in debates about religious authority, civil rights, and the emerging liberal state.
The film traces the legal and political consequences of the case, showing how the Pope’s influence in central Italy sparked widespread controversy and contributed to the tensions that would shape the era. The courtroom drama underscores the clash between religious power and liberal reform, a clash that reverberated beyond Italy’s borders and fed into the broader discourse of human rights at the time. Bellocchio’s approach emphasizes dramatic intensity and historical texture, aiming to illuminate the moral stakes without letting antagonists dissolve into caricature.
In Bellocchio’s portrayal, the characters carry the weight of a moment when statecraft, faith, and public opinion intersected. The director’s focus on Pius IX and his adherents is sharp, with the intention of exposing abuses of power while maintaining a cinematic energy that keeps viewers engaged. Some observers note that the film’s brisk pacing and narrative breadth can sometimes overshadow finer emotional details, yet the work remains a vivid study of a critical crossroads in Italian and European history.