Cannes Film Festival — A–Z of films

The closer the glance at the specifics, the more universal the plight becomes.

The script takes an adult approach to emotions, even as it shows how childish a situation can become.

Full of passing vistas, moments of lyricism, raw sex and emotions – all building to a portrait of youths trying to bond together to survive.

The wide-eyed young girl Sophie, who possesses a wisdom and bravura beyond her years, is beautifully caught by newcomer Ruby Barnhill.

Taken as a whole, however, the director is trying too hard, pushing this family so far into caricature that we lose sight of the story of grief that is underpinning the shenanigans.

A fluffy and charming confection that has an enticing exterior without much substance on the inside.

If this gang of ideas doesn’t quite hang together as it should, Benyamina still makes her mark with some brilliant moments.

The threadbare plot relies on the performances and writing to underpin this narrative simplicity.

Huppert's outstanding performance embraces with unswerving delicacy the controversial decisions she faces.

Drawing on that particular quality of light that seems unique to Chile, Jodorowsky paints an alluring portrait of his homeland.

Cotillard's face oscillates mysteriously between the past depicted on the screen and a woman of the present who tries to understand.

Jim Jarmusch has always been great at extracting stories from his subjects. Here, his role is focused more on containment.

Cristian Mungiu is such a master of vivisecting human interrelations that we might almost overlook how he sets the tone with animals, vegetables and minerals.

One of the film’s leading forces is its stunning visual composition.

Kuosmanen constantly shifts perspective, asking us to view the situation from a different angle - and another place of emotional truth.

A beautifully crafted film.

The ‘bad guy’ really is the bank itself – or maybe the American Dream, a frothy notion that never had much currency here and is now bankrupt in the face of a recession.

I like that this film includes a good deal of interesting, amusing gender role reversal

The film preserves a sense of immediacy and is achingly relevant for our times much in the same way Cathy Come Home was for the Sixties.

The histrionics on display submerge everything else while the narrative pitch throws so much at the spectator that it is impossible to sympathise with anyone.

This film is not an encyclopedia entry but a living, breathing adventure ride into French cinema through the eyes and ears of the filmmaker.

Almodóvar exudes a new found confidence.

Despite Nichols’s softly-softly approach, the film packs a powerful punch, constantly reminding us of just how recent these historical injustices are.

With little glances, with the pitch of her voice, Nélisse shows us that Casey is alert to what''s happening around her.

Mauro Herce's cinematography is stunning and merges perfectly with the soundscape created by Emilio García Rivas.

An efficiently diverting thriller.

The script has a heartfelt carefulness but it is never preachy, with 'naughty' conversations about the home's teacher's willy exploding likely to have pre-adolescents (and adults who well remember these sorts of conversations) hooting with laughter.

This is a film about greatness and those who have it thrust upon them.

A triumphant piece of filmmaking.

Gosling and Crowe are wondrous sparring partners.

After the initial disbelief that Jarmusch has written and directed a movie as simple and quiet as this, you settle into the rhythm of the piece and begin to appreciate the secret

Stewart valiantly tries to soldier through but cannot make her character spring to life.

Some of the art is truly breathtaking, especially the star-filled skies, and the movement of the various animals we meet is beautifully observed.

The film's slow burn is gripping but, as it builds to a climax, the plot becomes overwrought.

The absurd exaggerations and the wild parishes of humor are completely original, never cruel, and attached to a physicality that is pure cinema.

He may provide too much shock detail for some audiences but the director proves himself a master story-teller.

Kirill Serebrennikov takes a fearless approach to filmmaking, unafraid of blending intellectual ideas with realistic settings.

Don't be suckered in by the promises of bloodsucking.

The film really shouldn’t work, but it does.

There is less concern here with logic than with mood.