Cannes 2022: Reviews
With more restrictions lifted this year and filmmakers feeling more comfortable to start debuting their work, was the festival able to deliver?
It had been three years since my first time at Cannes in 2019, and the only real recurring thought I have from that trip was that whilst it was an eye-opening experience into the behemoth that is the festival itself, I didn’t actually see anything that I thought was a really “good” film. In the run-up to the festival, it felt like all the projects and films we’d been waiting years to hear more about were finally premiering, so I had high hopes as I tried to plot my schedule out (with no help from the much maligned ticketing system, my hope being the more it’s mentioned the higher the chances of them fixing it for next time). Below I’ve tried to go through all of my thoughts and highlights of the festival.
Rodeo (dir. Lola Quivoron)
Rodeo is the debut feature from Parisian director Lola Quivoron, and centres itself on the motocross scene that has been growing exponentially in the city over the last decade or so. Backed by a soundtrack that takes the best from the French drill and American hip-hop scenes (the inclusion of XXXtentacion the only questionable choice), newcomer Julie Ledru plays the lead role of Julia in this almost consistently exhilarating ride with a performance that’s simultaneously powerful and subtle. There’s an undercurrent of magical realism that acts to tie the entire film together and whilst I know some people were slightly deterred by the somewhat abrupt ending, it still worked for me and packed a firm emotional punch. It’s also worth noting there are some actions scenes in this that are reminiscent of the early Fast & Furious series – if they were set in France, played entirely by Parisian teenagers and shot on such a low budget you genuinely worry for the safety of those involved.
War Pony (dir. Gina Gammell and Riley Keough)
It only feels natural to follow up talking about Rodeo with talking about War Pony. Both are debut features that focus on a very specific community that has been ravaged by the political situation in their country. For War Pony, we are dropped into the Pine Ridge Native American reservation in South Dakota, following the parallel stories of two young men as they try to navigate their way through and out of poverty. For half of the film, we follow the younger Matho as he steals his dads stash to try and sell what he can before eventually smoking it himself, slowly watching on as his life spirals out of control. In contrast, the other half of the film tracks the day-to-day life of the smooth-talking Bill - the epitome of the modern entrepreneur. The concept of a film that focuses on a Native American reservation being directed by a White Woman is going to be a point of contention, but a lot of effort has gone into including members of the community shown on screen in the production of the film, with some Elders listed as Producers on the title, which led to its authentic feeling, however true that might be.
Decision To Leave (dir. Park Chan-wook)
I’d argue going into the cinema for Decision to Leave was probably the instance when my expectations were highest, but as my last film of the festival this year I’m happy to say I wasn’t too disappointed. It’s missing a few tropes of a traditional Park Chan-wook experience but I think that’s also going to make it one of the more accessible of his films upon release. Whilst it follows many of the conventions of a modern Noir film and still manages to remain fresh, there were moments when things started to become a little too convoluted and I found myself switching off from time to time. The film must be commended however for the way in which it integrates technology into the narrative; never feeling unnecessary and always driving the film forward.
Joyland (dir. Saim Sadiq)
Joyland finally delivered something for me at Cannes that had been missing up until that point – a poignant Queer story. It also happens to be the film that holds the title for being the first Pakistani film to ever screen at the festival. What was originally sold to me as a terse drama focusing on the romantic relationship between a young man and a trans woman who works at the nearby erotic theatre turned out to be a beautiful and honest tale that was filled with laughter and tears. At its core, Joyland is a family drama, but it’s the performance of Alina Khan as Biba, the trans performer and erotic dancer, that overshadows everything else and elevates the film. All her scenes carry with them a poignancy that the others do not, and Khan truly rises to the occasion. It felt to me that Biba’s character was slightly underutilised in the closing act of the film, but that doesn’t do too much to detract from the whole piece. As in insight into a community that is rarely seen on screen in Europe, it was an amazing and contemplative experience.
Holy Spider (dir. Ali Abassi)
Every time I think back to this film I find myself questioning whether or not the film needed to be made. Set in the holy city of Mashhad, Iran, the story draws from the real-life events of a serial killer who stalked female sex workers in the city and murdered them under the delusion that he was “cleansing the city”. As with other Abassi films, the violence towards women shown is grotesque, and whilst some might say it’s relevant to the plot on this occasion, I’d still argue it was wholly unnecessary. Throughout the film there is an angle of religious politics that brings with it an abhorrent ugliness. All of the lead characters play into a certain stereotype of devout Muslim men that I haven’t seen on screen since the beginning of the millennium. And with all that being said, I didn’t feel like the film added anything new to a conversation that hasn’t been discussed already. The protests that look place on the Croisette before its premiere feel justified.
Aftersun (dir. Charlotte Wells)
When it was described to me as a quaint film following a single father and his daughter on their budget holiday to Turkey in the programme, I wasn’t expecting Aftersun to become my film of the festival, but what the debutant director Charlotte Wells has done here for me is extraordinary. In real terms, nothing overly dramatic happens over the course of the story, but that doesn’t mean to say there isn’t a multitude of things bubbling away under the surface, waiting to erupt at any moment. Playing a father figure, the worry going in was that Paul Mescal might come across as too young, but if anything the way in which he plays the role with youthful naivety only improves the performance. As the daughter, Frankie Corio, in her first film, feels like she’s been acting for several years longer than she’s even been alive. Her performance is filled with subtlety that blew everyone in the auditorium away.
The connection and bond that the two shared is also integral to the emotional impact of the film. There wasn’t one moment in the film where you were worried that was anything untoward going on between the two of them. It’s actually the fact that there isn’t that drives this film forward, as you sit there trying to put your finger on the reason things aren’t quite as they should be. There isn’t even so much as a revelation in the final act to explain everything. What Wells manages to do is draw so much pain and anguish from the mundane, the ordinary. The lives that you and me may be living, but not fully appreciating the emotional toll they’re taking. The way in the which it turns out the story is being told is also cleverly woven into the plot and with all things considered, I’m very excited. Firstly for this film to be released later in the year (by Mubi), and secondly to see what Wells creates next.