Cannes Film Festival — A–Z of films

An intensely sad and affecting look at a hugely talented young woman, ill equipped for the all-consuming fame which her soulful voice would bring her.

Mixes observations on capitalism, society and storytelling.

The production and costume design by Huang Wen-ying combine historical accuracy with a revelation of detailed splendour.

The levels of twee are fairly high, and contrasted with the bizarre and often regressive gendered comedy it’s likely to divide audiences right down the middle.

A beautifully crafted piece.

The story is wonderfully told, and it absorbs the viewer completely.

"At the heart of the kingdom there is nothing," it says, but all the fascinating splendour that exists around that gap!

The director is adept at confronting ordinary people with extraordinary situations to test their resilience.

The film has charm, due in most parts to Shameik Moore's performance

Structurally illustrates how the indigenous people don't see time as being a chronological straight line but as multiple realities existing simultaneously.

Less psychological and more formulaic than his previous feature, this is still relentlessly entertaining.

Repeated viewings also reveal the beautiful circularity of the film that begins at more than one end.

Hitchcock/Truffaut has the intriguing aura of a first episode with all the questions answered easily producing 500 more to be asked.

The story is not as well-developed as it should have been but it’s an enjoyable enough treat for Allen fans for whom he can do no wrong.

As usual with Pixar the film operates on twin levels - with one part going straight over the heads and minds of its junior target audience and the other heading directly to their parents.

There's a wonderful flexibility to Fukatsu's performance as a woman who bears endless slights as she struggles to retain her decorum.

From silence and small details, César Augusto Acevedo weaves a devastating tale.

Mark Osborne's gently unfolding palimpsest of a film is a sweet tribute to generations of readers who have been enchanted by the prince.

Amare's performance is a real gem.

Lanthimos satirises our obsession with relationships and modern day electronic dating rituals although the results are not nearly as funny and knowing as the director clearly thinks.

Trier has difficulty holding it all together as he examines themes of grief, parenting, family, and coming of age.

None of the characters seem grounded in any kind of reality.

This gloomy film certainly has the power of its rage and anguish, but it could have used some restraint too.

Stephane Brizé is a master of films that appear to say very little but actually speak volumes.

Kurzel helps to put his two actors at the top of their game.

Baroque-n-roll does not begin to describe the petrol-headed delirium on offer here.

A bold study of what it means to be Chinese in the modern age.

The director and her co-writer Alice Winocour side with their young protagonists, drawing on their boundless energy to tell their story in the spirit of a fable and in a way that makes it accessible to younger audiences.

Desplechin, like no other, startles with his enigmatic perceptions on the gender divide.

If you ever threw safety to the wind and sailed deeply into the love that could be your undoing, you will be able to identify with what Maïwenn and her brilliant actors are exploring.

Nobody sneaks up on you, light-footed, perplexing, hilarious, quite the way Nanni Moretti does with his scenes.

It is when Neither Heaven Nor Earth ventures into the unexplainable that it brings us closest to the concrete battlefield.

Deftly scripted, subtle and challenging, this is a film which reminds us why Muntean is such an important contributor to the Romanian New Wave.

It is in the women's emotions that the heart of the matter lies and Kore-eda, as always, handles them with an elegant lightness of touch.

Fonzi's performance is perfectly judged.

Hákonarson proves himself a master of his material - a sort of rural Ken Loach - shooting sparingly yet dramatically against extreme weather conditions.

One of the greatest works of art in cinematic history.

The twists and turns of this narrative fail to ring true with too many implausibilities in the plotting to give any credibility.

Villeneuve sustains the knife-edge tension without a blip.

Jackson Martin, Nick Serino and Reece Moffett have great chemistry and give wonderfully naturalistic performances, making them easy to engage with.

Zhao is in no hurry, allowing the sense of life in Pine Ridge to seep in to the bones of the film.

This is a claustrophobic, breathing-down-your-neck look at man's inhumanity to man - as though the Dardennes brothers had taken a one-way ticket to hell.

With heart-rending emotion and considerable physical punch Emmanuelle Bercot immerses us in French young offenders’ procedures.

An intimate and immensely moving portrait of three lost people who come together and learn to find some direction in their lives.

On balance, the dexterity of Garrone’s vision papers over the cracks and finds the poetic dimensions of the magical material.

James Cameron's masterpiece. A lean, brooding, violent and unforgettable experience from a director hungry for success.

Lime is one of the cinema’s greatest baddies.

Singer and McQuarrie expertly sustain a rich and tantalising conceit, keeping the reader guessing to a superb climax – and beyond.

The natural wonders of the desert can be read as an invitation to reach into the vast barrenness inside.

The trappings and style more than make up for any lack of substance.