The Critics' Week selection (La Semaine de la Critique) has unveiled its selection for its 52 edition (16 to 24 May) at the Cannes Film Festival.
The Week will open with Suzanne, the second feature by Kateil Quillévéré, a young director who came to attention with her debut feature Poison Violent. According to Critics' Week director Charles Tesson, it is in the gritty tradition of Maurice Pialat.
The other French titles in the section are Nos Héros Son Morts Ce Soir, a black and white nod to the thrillers of the Fifties, and Les Rencontres D'Après Minuit by Yann Gonzalex which is said to recall the first films by Betrand Blier who made Buffet Froid. It stars Eric Cantona and Alain-Fabien Delon.
Paul Wright's Irish-set For Those In Peril represents the UK, a story of a shipwreck and the guilt of a survivor. From Italy comes Salvo by Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza about the daily grind of a professional killer. A story of police corruption by Yury Bykov, The Major tells of a Russian police officer who asks his colleagues to cover up the accidental killing of a boy - with disastrous consequences.
India which generally has a strong Cannes presence this year, will be represented by Ritesh Batra's The Lunchbox, a romantic comedy. From Québec comes Sébastien Pilote's Le Demantèlment; Argentina fields Los Duenos by Agustin Toscano and Ezequiel Radusky while David Lowery's Ain't Them Bodies Saints from the US is described as a classic homage to Bonnie and Clyde with Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara and Keith Carradine.
The closing film will be revealed later but Tesson promises it will be a surprise worth waiting for.