Whilst the first few days of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival might have had fans worried, most titles premiering to decent or middling reviews, the closing days of the festival have seen a string of acclaimed premieres all hoping to win the Palme d’Or. Unfortunately, Paolo Sorrentino’s (“The Hand of God,” latest “Parthenope, “ is not one of them, receiving a mixed 58 on Metacritic after Cannes reactions came in. The exploration of youth and nostalgia set to the backdrop of a Naples summer, the film fell on mostly deaf ears, with Tim Robey of the Telegraph describing it as a film that “amounts to almost nothing”, and David Ehrlich of IndiWire criticising the decision to deny “its namesake any real interoritiy”.
Portugese director Miguel Gomes returned with “Grand Tour”, set in Burma during the days of the British Empire. Jonathan Romney of Screen Daily lipraised the film as a “hypnotic and inventive Asian odyssey”, but Jordan Mintzer of the Hollywood Reporter was more critical suggesting that “anyone looking for a good story (…) may find themselves admiring the scenery without ever relishing it”. Its score of 74 on Metacritic is nothing to balk at, but it isn’t enough to put it in contention for awards.
A film that followed a fimilar fate was Karim Ainouz’s “Motel Destino about a neon-hued sex hotel on the coast of Brazil which is unexpectedly turned on its head with the unexpected arrival of a man on the run after a botched hit. The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw praised the terrific central trio and their “intensely and unselfconsciously physical performances” whilst Phil de Semlyen of Time Out writing that the film is “frisky but fleeting”, most having problems with the second and third acts.
Things picked up though with India’s first Palme d’Or contender in thirty years, “All We Imagine as Light” from Payal Kapadi, as a nurse in Mumbai who takes a road-trip to a beach town. Indian producers hoped the festival would be a launching ground for a new era of international-focused Indian film production, and it would appear this is the perfect film to exemplify Indian filmmaking talents. It received a 97 on Metacritic, one of the highest of the festival, with Jessica King of Variety writing that Kapadia has established a “rare talent for finding passages of exquisite poetry” and Sophie Monks Kaufman writing that it has a “hypnotic grace creating a rhythm that induces pure pleasure,” both giving the film a perfect score of 100. Kapadia’s film has been one of the most warmly received entries in competition, and thus could be a sleeper hit for the Palme.
Finally, the beloved writer-director Sean Baker (Tangerine, The Florida Project, Red Rocket), has returned once again, to premiere “Anora”. The film went into the festival with the backing of Neon, the most successful company at Cannes in the past five years, and thus entered as an early-favourite, heavily tipped to do very well at the awards. It didn’t disappoint. Mikey Madison has already been Oscar-tipped as a young sex worker who impulsively gets married in Vegas to a rich Russian oligarch (Mark Eydelstein). The film has been one of the highlights of the festival for many, with most wondering if it will be Sean Baker to continue Neon’s Palme d’Or hotstreak. If it does, it will be the fifth year in a row the studio has taken the award!
