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Cannes Film Festival · 2019

Cannes Film Festival 2019

Critics' Week

Programme

26 films · 10 reviews

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Abou Leila

Review preview for Abou Leila

This is a long way off the beaten track of traditional narrative, but it is nonetheless engaging and affecting.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Two men take an increasingly surreal trip into the desert against the backdrop of Civil War.

(Country: Algeria, France; Year: 2019; Director: Amin Sidi-Boumedine; Writer: Amin Sidi-Boumedine; Stars: Slimane Benouari, Lyès Salem, Azouz Abdelkader, Fouad Megiraga, Meriem Medjkrane, Hocine Mokhtar, Samir El Hakim, Slimane Benouari, Lyès Salem, Azouz Abdelkader, Fouad Megiraga, Meriem Medjkrane, Hocine Mokhtar, Samir El Hakim)

Full review

World premiere

Community Gardens (Kolektyviniai sodai)

It is a story about a cold relationship between a father and his son. Their bond, plagued by indifference, disintegrates completely.

(Country: Lithuania; Year: 2019; Director: Vytautas Katkus; Writer: Vytautas Katkus; Stars: Vygantas Bachmackij, Arvydas Dapsys, Aiste Zabotkaite, Jelena Juscenko)

Short. World premiere

Demonic

Demonic revisits the infamous Satanic Panic of the 1980s, a mass hysteria where people around the world recovered false memories of debauchery, murder, human sacrifice and satanic cults.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2018; Director: Pia Borg; Writer: Pia Borg; Stars: Angie Christophel, Hanna Gabriella, Galbraith, Robert Blake)

Short. Special screening. International premiere

Dwelling In The Funchun Mountains (Chun jiang shui nuan)

At her 70th birthday celebration, the mother of the Gu family suffers from a stroke, which precipitates her decline into dementia. Who will take care of her?

(Country: China; Year: 2019; Director: Gu Xiaogang)

World premiere. Closing film

Heroes Don't Die (Les Héros Ne Meurent Jamais)

In a street in Paris, a stranger thinks he’s recognised in Joachim a soldier who died in Bosnia on 21st August 1983. Thing is, this is the very day Joachim was born. Thrown by the idea he might be the reincarnation of this man, he decides to go to Sarajevo with his friends Alice and Virginie. In this country, haunted by shadows of the war, they put their hearts and souls in discovering Joachim’s past life.

(Country: France, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Year: 2019; Director: Aude Léa Rapin; Writer: Aude Léa Rapin; Stars: Adèle Haenel, Jonathan Couzinié, Antonia Buresi, Damir Kustura, Vesna Stilinovic, Hasija Boric, Adèle Haenel, Jonathan Couzinié, Antonia Buresi, Damir Kustura, Vesna Stilinovic, Hasija Boric)

Special screening. World premiere

Ikki Illa Meint

Elinborg accidentally runs into her friend Marita at the supermarket. The conversation is civil yet slightly awkward, as Elinborg has forgotten Marita's birthday. However, something else is nagging Marita, who decides to corner her friend and ask if Elinborg has blocked her on Facebook.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2018; Director: Andrias Høgenni; Writer: Andrias Høgenni)

Short. World premiere

Invisible Hero (Invisível Herói)

Duarte, a blind man in his 50s, starts to look for his Cape Verdean friend, Leandro, who mysteriously disappeared. Despite Lisbon’s summer heat, Duarte walks miles in his neighbourhood but no one seems to have seen him, nor remembers him. His quest will eventually lead him to the heart of the night and reveal his secret.

(Country: Portugal; Year: 2019; Director: Cristèle Alves Meira; Writer: Cristèle Alves Meira; Stars: Duarte Pina, Lucília Raimundo, Duarte Pina, Lucília Raimundo)

Short. Special screening. International premiere

I Lost My Body (J'ai perdu mon corps)

Review preview for I Lost My Body

The fingerprints left behind by us an upon us as we go through life are considered by Jérémy Clapin's animated feature debut.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A cut-off hand escapes from a dissection lab with one crucial goal: to get back to its body. As it scrambles through the pitfalls of Paris, it remembers its life with the young man it was once attached to… until they met Gabrielle.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Jérémy Clapin; Writer: Jérémy Clapin, Guillaume Laurant; Stars: Voices of, Victoire Du Bois, Patrick d'Assumçao, Hakim Faris)

Full review

World premiere

Journey Through A Body

Thomas, a Swiss-German musician, is stuck at home because of a broken foot. He wanders around his tiny Parisian flat, his leg in a plaster, busy composing a new piece. At sunrise, an unexpected female visitor is showing up for him at the door.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Camille Degeye; Writer: Camille Degeye; Stars: Thomas Kuratli, Laurence Hallard)

Short. World premiere

Land Of Ashes (Ceniza Negra)

Selva, thirteen years old, discovers that when we die we just shed our skin. We can turn into wolves, goats, shadows, or anything as long as your imagination allows it.

(Country: Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, France; Year: 2019; Director: Sofia Quiros; Writer: Sofia Quiros; Stars: Smashleen Gutiérrez, Humberto Samuels, Hortensia Smith, Keha Brown, Smashleen Gutiérrez, Humberto Samuels, Hortensia Smith, Keha Brown)

World premiere

The Last Trip To The Seaside (Ultimul Drum Spre Mare)

Six passengers are traveling to the seaside in a train compartment. After a while, a suspicion makes some of them lose their composure and the remainder of the trip goes terribly wrong.

(Country: Romania; Year: 2019; Director: Adi Voicu; Writer: Adi Voicu; Stars: Angela Marcovici, Ana Ciontea, Cristina Juncu, Silviu Debu, Salih Yildirim, Alina Vior)

Short. World premiere

Litigante

Review preview for Litigante

Captures the way that when you're living in a stressful situation, even a moment of respite can seem like a curve ball.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
In Bogota, Silvia, a single mum and a lawyer, is implicated in a corruption scandal. At the same time she is trying to cope with her sick mum.

(Country: Colombia, France; Year: 2019; Director: Franco Lolli; Writer: Franco Lolli, Marie Amachoukeli, Virginie Legeay; Stars: Carolina Sanin, Leticia Gomez, Antonio Martinez and Alejandra Sarria.)

Full review

World premiere. Opening film

Lucía En El limbo

Sixteen-year-old Lucia wants to get rid of two things more than anything - her lice & her virginity.

(Country: Belgium, France, Costa Rica; Year: 2019; Director: Valentina Maurel; Writer: Valentina Maurel; Stars: Ana Camila Arenas, Ana Camila Arenas)

Short. World premiere

The Manila Lover

During a trip to the Philippines, middle-aged Norwegian Lars has met the Filipina he wants to share his life with, but to his surprise she turns him down. Lars now has to face his own prejudices and deal with this uncomfortable situation.

(Country: Norway, Philippines; Year: 2019; Director: Johanna Pyykkö; Writer: Johanna Pyykkö; Stars: Øyvind Brandtzæg, Angeli Bayani)

Short. World premiere

Naptha

Review preview for Naptha

Hussain, ably supported by nuanced and heartfelt performances from Ignacius and Ladwa, wastes no time in quickly establishing a believable relationship between the two men

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Faraz’s quiet life working at an isolated petrol station is turned upside down when his ageing father Malik begins to speak in a long-forgotten language and insists on returning back home.

(Country: UK; Year: 2018; Director: Moin Hussain; Writer: Moin Hussain; Stars: Divian Ladwa, Ernest Ignatius, Suleiman Hussain Ali, Divian Ladwa, Ernest Ignatius, Suleiman Hussain Ali)

Full review

Short. Special screening. International premiere

Our Mothers (Nuestras Madres)

Guatemala, 2013. The country is riveted by the trial of the military officers who started the civil warErnesto, a young anthropologist, thinks he has found a lead that will allow him to find his father, a guerillero who disappeared during the war.

(Country: Guatemala, Belgium, France; Year: 2019; Director: César Díaz; Stars: Armando Espitia, Emma Dib, Aurelia Caal, Julio Serrano Echeverría, Victor Moreira)

World premiere

Party Day (Dia De festa)

Review preview for Party Day

while the scripting feels naturalistic, the decision to infer almost everything about Mena's, without being specific, feels frustratingly oblique in places.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Mena organises a birthday party for a daughter. But after a phone call from her mother, she becomes distraught.

(Country: Portugal; Year: 2019; Director: Sofia Bost; Writer: Tiago Bastos Capitão; Stars: Rita Martins, Melissa Matos, Sandra Celas, Sara Gonçalves, Teresa Madruga, Fernanda Neves, Mariana Silva)

Full review

Short. World premiere

Please Speak Continuously And Describe Your Experiences As They Come To You

Review preview for Please Speak Continuously And Describe Your Experiences As They Come To You

He shows almost as much affection for body horror as his father David, and uses food to deliberately disgusting effect.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Emily is a patient at an experimental psychiatric facility where a brain implant prototype allows her to relive her dreams.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2019; Director: Brandon Cronenberg; Writer: Brandon Cronenberg; Stars: Deragh Campbell, Neil Bennett, Ian Goff, Deragh Campbell, Neil Bennett, Ian Goff)

Full review

Short. Special screening. World premiere

She Runs

In an ordinary Chinese winter, a small city junior high student, Yu, tries to quit her school aerobic dancing team.

(Country: China; Year: 2019; Director: Qui Yang; Writer: Qiu Yang; Stars: Xue Jiayi)

Short. World premiere

Tenzo

To address the social crisis, Chiken - a buddhist monk - throws himself into various tasks such as a suicide helpline, in his temple in Yamanashi. In Fukushima, his old mate Ryûgyô - whose temple was wrecked by the tsunami - lives in a portacabin and works on construction sites.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2019; Director: Katsuya Tomita; Writer: Toranosuke Aizawa, Katsuya Tomita)

Short. Special screening. World premiere

The Trap (Fakh)

Away from preying eyes, a young unmarried couple retreat to the depth of a desolate run-down Egyptian seaside resort, to make love. The power dynamic between them is tested, when the girl reveals she wants their relationship to end.

(Country: Egypt, Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Nada Riyadh; Writer: Nada Riyadh; Stars: Shaza Moharam, Islam Alaa, Nabil Nour El Din)

Short. World premiere

Tuesday From 8 To 6 (Mardi de 8 à 18)

Névine, a secondary school monitor, is fully committed to her somewhat thankless day job, dealing with teachers, administration and students. Logan, a pupil she is fond of, insists on getting a cap back from lost and found. She has no idea of the consequences of her gesture.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Cecilia de Arce; Writer: Cecilia de Arce, Patricia Mortagne; Stars: Rime Nahmani, Hicham Talib, Tobias Nuytten, Big John de Paname, Rebecca Finet, Chainez Dehchar, Florian Lemaire)

Short. World premiere

The Unknown Saint (Le Miracle du Saint Inconnu)

Review preview for The Unknown Saint

The situation is ripe with ridiculousness, but Aljem shows a lot of restraint.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Moments before his capture by police, a thief digs a grave to hide a bag of money. Released from prison years later he returns to retrieve the bag, only to find a shrine to an Unknown Saint build directly over his loot, and a brand new village constructed all around it.

(Country: Morocco, France, Qatar, Germany, Lebanon; Year: 2019; Director: Alaa Eddine Aljem; Writer: Alaa Eddine Aljem; Stars: Younes Bouab, Salah Ben Saleh, Bouchaib Semmak, Mohammed Nouaimane, Anas El Baz, Abdelghani Kitab, Hassan Ben Badida, Ahmed Yarziz, Younes Bouab, Salah Ben Saleh, Bouchaib Semmak, Mohammed Nouaimane, Anas El Baz, Abdelghani Kitab, Hassan Ben Badida)

Full review

World premiere

Vivarium

Review preview for Vivarium

Lorcan Finnegan never allows us to lose sight of the absurdity of the situation, nor of the real life absurdities that it points up.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
In search of a starter home, a young couple follow a mysterious estate agent and get trapped in a strange housing development.

(Country: Ireland, Belgium, Denmark; Year: 2019; Director: Lorcan Finnegan; Writer: Lorcan Finnegan, Garret Shanley, Garret Shanley; Stars: Imogen Poots, Jesse Eisenberg, Jonathan Aris, Olga Wehrly, Danielle Ryan, Senan Jennings, Molly McCann, Eanna Hardwicke, Shana Hart, Imogen Poots, Jesse Eisenberg, Jonathan Aris, Olga Wehrly, Danielle Ryan, Senan Jennings)

Full review

World premiere

A White, White Day (Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur)

Review preview for A White, White Day

A White, White Day mingles some very dark dramatic moments with the comedy of the absurd.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
An off-duty police chief begins to suspect a local man to have had an affair with his wife, who has recently died in a car accident. Gradually his obsession for finding out the truth accumulates and inevitably begins to endanger himself and his loved ones.

(Country: Iceland, Denmark; Year: 2019; Director: Hlynur Palmason; Writer: Hlynur Palmason; Stars: Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir, Hilmir Snær Guðnason, Sara Dögg Ásgeirsdóttir, Björn Ingi Hilmarsson, Elma Stefania Agustsdottir, Haraldur Stefansson, Laufey Elíasdóttir, Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Arnmundur Ernst Björnsson, Þór Hrafnsson Tulinius, Sverrir Þór Sverrisson)

Full review See: Interview with Ingvar Sigurdsson about A White, White Day (Hvitur, Hvitur Dagur)

World premiere

You Deserve A Lover (Tu mérites un amour)

Review preview for You Deserve A Lover

Sex itself is mostly not shown, as its the initial connection with Lila and the emotional aftermath that counts.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
After Rémi's infidelity, Lila, who loved him more than anything, has a hard time dealing with their break-up. One day, he announces that he will travel alone to Bolivia to soul-search and try to understand his mistakes. There, he lets her know that their love story is not over.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Hafsia Herzi; Writer: Hafsia Herzi; Stars: Hafsia Herzi, Djanis Bouzyani, Jérémie Laheurte, Anthony Bajon, Sylvie Verheyde, Karim Ait M'hand, Myriam Djeljeli)

Full review

Special screening. World premiere