“JFK: Revisited Through The Looking Glass” (Oliver Stone)
Regardless of how you feel about his politics, Oliver Stone’s “JFK” remains one of the most accomplished feats of montage work in movie-making history. The end title cards of Stone’s film mention how much of the Warren Commission’s evidence would not be publicly declassified for decades. Now that 30 years have passed, Stone returns to his world of springboard conspiracies with “JFK: Revisited Through The Looking Glass.” Alongside a team of ballistic experts, political historians, seeming eyewitnesses, and actors like Whoopi Goldberg and Donald Sutherland (who played the mysterious whistleblower “X” in the original film), the Oscar winner reassess the most famous assassination in American history, out to prove that there is now, in fact, enough evidence pointing to the validity of his White House paranoia tapestry. – AB
Special Screenings
“Mi Iubita, Mon Amour” (Noemie Merlant)
After breaking hearts in “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and falling hard for a theme park ride in the odd romance “Jumbo,” acclaimed actress Noemie Merlant brings her freshman feature, “Mi Iubita, Mon Amour,” to the French Riviera. Merlant plays Jeanne, a young traveler on the road to Romania for her bachelorette party when she meets/falls for 17-year-old Nino (Gimi Covaci). 27 and betrothed to someone else, Jeanne’s life circumstances are already a sea apart from Nino’s (not even factoring in the age gap) yet the pair begin a summer fling, nonetheless. Merlant certainly has a thing for forbidden romance stories (I mean, who doesn’t, though?) as there is a lot of thematic overlap in the movies she’s appeared in lately. – AB
“The Year Of The Everlasting Storm” (Anthology Project with several auteurs)
Brimming with the artistic talents of seven different filmmakers—Jafar Panahi, Anthony Chen, Malik Vitthal, Laura Poitras, Dominga Sotomayor, David Lowery, Apichatpong Weerasethakul—and shot across five different countries, “The Year Of The Everlasting Storm” is an unmissable anthology project exemplifying the universal power of cinema. NEON has already released a trailer for the film and its tapestry of styles looks to capture an unprecedented moment in time shared by every nation on this earth. Art is what we turn to in times of never-ending darkness. Sometimes there’s no better way to grieve something like the loss of an entire year than recognize we’ve all weathered the same storm together. – AB
Directors Fortnight
“The Souvenir II” (Joanna Hogg)
Possibly the most awaited title of the Director’s Fortnight section, Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir Part II,” will be unveiled at Cannes. The next chapter of Hogg’s autobiographical story, wherein real-life mother and offspring duo, Honor Swinton Byrne and Tilda Swinton, play Julie and Rosalind, an in-world mom and daughter with a rocky relationship. Originally slated to co-star Robert Pattinson (who dropped out of the project and appears to have been replaced by either Charlie Heaton or Joe Alwyn), the second act of Hogg’s formative saga begins following the dissipation of a troubled relationship with Anthony (Tom Burke), making an attempt to unravel all those lingering feelings via her graduation film. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, Hobb’s follow-up to her Sundance winner is a hotly anticipated one.
“Ali & Ava” (Clio Barnard)
The fourth film from acclaimed British director Clio Barnard (“Dark River,” “The Arbor”), “Ali & Ava” finds a lonely pair of strangers finding connection through their shared affection for a young girl whom Ava teaches and is a neighborly acquaintance of Ali’s. While the pair (played by Adeel Akhtar and Claire Rushbrook) initially bring newfound joy into each other’s lives, Ava and Ali’s pasts eventually catch up to their blossoming passion. Barnard’s talents definitely have our interests piqued, as she’s returning to the fest after her second feature, “The Selfish Giant” previously found success in the same Director Fortnight series back in 2013. –AB
Obviously, that’s just the tip of the iceberg, Cannes is way overloaded with riches and we could easily list another 15-20 films, but this is a solid primer. Other films to watch out for include Ari Folman‘s animated “Where Is Anne Frank,” Sean Penn‘s latest directorial effort “Flag Day,” Arnaud Desplechin’s “Deception” starring Lea Seydoux, Ildikó Enyedi‘s “The Story of My Wife” also starring Lea Seydoux and Louis Garrel, “The Crusade,” Garrel’s own directorial effort starring Garrel, his wife, and former supermodel actress, Laetitia Casta and Joseph Engel, Kirill Serebrennikov’s “Petrov’s Flu,” François Ozon’s “Everything Went Fine,” Nadav Lapid’s “Ahed’s Knee,” Nanni Moretti’s “Three Floors,” Eskil Vogt’s “The Innocents,” “Pieces of A Woman” filmmaker Kornél Mundruczó’s “Evolution,” Hong Sang-soo’s “In Front of Your Face,” actor/director Mathieu Amalric’s “Hold Me Tight,” Eva Husson’s “Mothering Sunday” starring Odessa Young, Josh O’Connor, Olivia Colman, and Colin Firth and many many more.
