Cannes 2021 will have a lot of films. There won’t be a lot of Americans, but the ones who will are important: Sean Penn, Sean Baker, and especially Tom McCarthy, of “Spotlight” fame. McCarthy’s “Stillwater” could be a big player next fall and in awards season.
Sean Baker’s last movie was “The Florida Project,” still a breath of fresh air in filmmaking.
Sean Penn’s “Flag Day” will be of interest because, well, it’s Sean Penn. It stars Josh Brolin, Kathryn Winnick, and according to the imdb, both of Sean’s kids, Dylan and Hopper, have roles. Screenplay is by Jez Butterworth, which is very good news.
As previously noted, the opening film is Leos Carax’s “Annette,” which I’ve heard interesting things about. Adam Driver stars in it, and there’s a lot of him. Marion Cotillard is said to be in only part of the film with music from the totally cult and outlier duo, Sparks.
Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch” is in there, as expected.
Will there be another “Parasite”? Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar winning film began at Cannes in 2019. Is there film not in English that will surprise everyone? Thierry Fremaux hopes so.
Spike Lee leads the jury, and the show begins July 6th. But France is the key question here. Will Cannes guests have to quarantine for 7 days when they arrive? Can anyone afford a week of staying in the hotel before ten days of the festival? I have a feeling Cannes will be the same as ever, overcrowded and full of mischief!
COMPETITION
“Ahed’s Knee” OR “Ha’berech,” Nadav Lapid
“Annette,” Leos Carax — OPENING FILM
“Benedetta,” Paul Verhoeven
“Bergman Island,” Mia Hansen-Løve
“Casablanca Beats,” Nabil Ayouch
“Compartment No. 6” OR “Hytti Nro 6,” Juho Kuosmanen
“Drive My Car,” Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
“Everything Went Fine” OR “Tout s’est bien passé,” Francois Ozon
“Flag Day,” Sean Penn
“France,” Bruno Dumont
“The French Dispatch,” Wes Anderson
“A Hero,” Asghar Farhadi
“La fracture,” Catherine Corsini
“Lingui,” Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
“Memoria,” Apichatpong Weerasethakul
“Nitram,” Justin Kurzel
“Paris, 13th District” OR “Les Olympiades,” Jacques Audiard
“Petrov’s Flu,” Kirill Serebrennikov
“Red Rocket,” Sean Baker
“The Restless” OR “Les Intranquilles,” Joachim Lafosse
“The Story of My Wife,” Ildikó Enyedi
“Three Floors” OR “Tre Piani,” Nanni Moretti
“Titane,” Julia Ducournau
“The Worst Person in the World” OR “Julie (en 12 Chapitres),” Joachim Trier
UN CERTAIN REGARD
“After Yang,” Kogonada
“Blue Bayou,” Justin Chon
“Bonne Mère,” Hafsia Herzi
“Commitment Hasan,” Hasan Semih Kaplanoglu
“Freda,” Gessica Généus
“Gaey Wa’r,” Na Jiazuo
“Great Freedom,” Sebastian Meise
“House Arrest” OR “Delo,” Alexey German Jr.
“The Innocents,” Eskil Vogt
“La Civil,” Teodora Ana Mihai
“Lamb,” Valdimar Jóhansson
“Let There Be Morning,” Eran Kolirin
“Moneyboys,“ B.C Yi
“Noche de Fuego,” Tatiana Huezo
“Rehana Maryam Noor,” Abdullah Mohammad Saad
“Unclenching the Fists,” Kira Kovalenko
“Un Monde,” Laura Wandel
“Women Do Cry,” Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova
OUT OF COMPETITION
“Aline, the Voice of Love,” Valerie Lemercier
“Bac Nord,” Cédric Jimenez
“Emergency Declaration,” Han Jae-Rim
“In His Lifetime” OR “De son vivant,” Emmanuelle Bercot
“Stillwater,” Tom McCarthy
“The Velvet Underground,” Todd Haynes
MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS
“Bloody Oranges,” Jean-Christophe Meurisse
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
“Babi Yar. Context,” Sergei Loznitsa
“Black Notebooks,” Shlomi Elkabetz
“H6,” Yé Yé
“JFK: Through the Looking Glass,” Oliver Stone
“Mariner of the mountains” OR “O Marinheiro das Montanhas,” Karim Aïnouz
“The Year of the Everlasting Storm,” Jafar Panahi, Anthony Chen, Malik Vitthal, Laura Poitras, Dominga Sotomayor, David Lowery and Apichatpong Weerasethakul
CANNES PREMIERE
“Cow,” Andrea Arnold
“Deception” OR “Tromperie,” Arnaud Desplechin
“Evolution,” Kornél Mundruczo
“Hold Me Tight,” Mathieu Almaric
“In Front of Your Face,” Hong Sang-soo
“Jane by Charlotte,” Charlotte Gainsbourg
“JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass,” Oliver Stone
“Mothering Sunday,” Eva Husson
“This Music Is Playing for No One,” Samuel Benchetrit
“Val,” Ting Poo and Leo Scott
