The crème de la crème of cinematic fare is finally upon our doorstep and last week, after months and months of speculation, the Canne 2015 lineup was finally announced. Whilst there are still 4 more titles to be announced at a later date, the majority of the competition has been tallied up and is waiting in the wings for its defining moment. But what will this year hold in store for us? Will it be the year of Audiard, Sorrentino, Moretti or someone new? Only time will tell but until that moment comes around, we can do what we do best: Speculate.
The race for the coveted Palme d’Or has begun already and whilst there are a number of big players in the list, it really could be anyone’s game. After his big win in 2013 with The Great Beauty, a film which, whilst did not win at Cannes, went on to scoop up a bag full of awards at other ceremonies, Paolo Sorrentino looks like he could be hot property at this year’s awards. His film Youth looks set to centre around similar themes of Sorrentino’s other works, looking at age, art and the relationship between the two. With an all star cast, the film also sees Sorrentino dabble in English language waters for the second time in his career. The question is however, will Sorrentino get the balance between poignancy and art just right like he did in The Great Beauty, or will he misjudge it a la This Must Be The Place? We will have to wait and see but if his recent work is anything to go by, Youth looks set to be a real contender.
Justin Kurzel might not be a name as familiar as Sorrentino’s but his new rendition of Macbeth looks set to shake things up a bit. After his 2011 film Snowtown, Kurzel made his name as a serious director. Dramatising the murders carried about by notorious John Bunting in small town Australia, Snowtown is an oppressive, consuming watch and will stay with you for long afterwards. Continuing his themes of obsessions, murder and breakdown, Kurzel’s Macbeth stars Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in the leading roles, a pairing that looks set to be as explosive as it is haunting. Whilst Snowtown picked up the audience award at the 2011 festival, could Macbeth be Kurzel’s big win at the festival?
Another hot ticket in the festival’s lineup is Todd Haynes’ new film, Carol, a cinematic retelling of Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Price of Salt. Carol, which stars Cate Blanchett at its helm, tells the story of a young department store worker who falls in love with an elegant older customer. Following the director’s winning cinematic streak, Carol is hot on the minds of most film critics and looks sure to fire up a discussion or two amongst festival-goers.
The Italians are coming to the festival in full force and the country’s second director with his eyes on the prize is Nanni Moretti. Already having won big with his 2001 family drama The Son’s Room, Moretti’s next cinematic offering is on the majority of critics’ radar and certainly won’t go unmissed. Entitled Mia Madre, Moretti’s offering tells the story of a director who attempts to make a movie whilst his mother lies dying in a hospital. Battling with themes of personal loss and self-reflexion, Mia Madre looks set to follow a similar trajectory to Moretti’s other works. Whilst his last work, We Have A Pope, was arguably more comic than most, Mia Madre seems to fall back into the poignant cinematic tradition with which we associate Moretti’s work.
American Indie cinema is also having a moment in this year’s festival as Gus Van Sant returns to competition with his new movie The Sea of Trees. The film promises to follow the more austere, pensive mode of Van Sant’s earlier works, following the lives of two men as they find themselves lost at the base of Mount Fuji in a place known as the “Sea of Trees”. Meeting in the place in which many come to take their own lives, The Sea of Trees will undoubtedly battle with difficult themes of suicide, depression and fears of meaninglessness. Not necessarily one for the already downbeat, The Sea of Trees nonetheless promises thought-provoking, lasting fare.
Proving that the Cannes Film Festival is nothing without a little French contribution, award-winning director Jacques Audiard returns with another work this year. Following the international success of 2012’s Rust and Bone, Audiard is back with equally mouth-watering fare. His film Dheepan is about a Sri Lankan warrior who flees his hometown to become a caretaker in Paris. Retaining the air of mystery around his work seems to be a talent of Audiard and apart from the short narrative slice he has given film writers, nothing much else seems to be known.
Cannes 2015 is a strong year for Asian directors in particular, with huge directorial names bringing new work to the festival. Japan’s Hirozaku Koreeda will present Our Little Sister, a film based on the manga story Seaside Town Diary. Telling the tale of three sisters who are joined by their half sister after the death of their father, the film has already been tipped as the winner of the much coveted Palme d’Or prize. Whether or not Koreeda will take the cake remains to be seen but one thing’s for certain; anything that the director puts his camera to will be cinematic gold in one way or another.
Realistically speaking, we will have no idea who will get the glory come festival time. As often happens, those who we assume will do well often do not play successfully and those which go under the festival radar often come out of the other end with awards. Whilst Cannes is truly anyone’s game, what is undoubtable is that those who will win big are going to be surprising, innovative and engaging. Choosing a winner is all part of the fun and if this year’s lineup is anything to go by, it will certainly be a difficult process for the judges.
You can read the full lineup of Cannes nominees here.