The highly awaited 76th Cannes Film Festival is now underway, gearing up to dazzle movie enthusiasts worldwide with its glamor, famous celebrities gracing the red-carpet steps of Palais des Festivals, and, most importantly, an exclusive peek at some of 2023’s most eagerly awaited films.
The final instalment of the Indiana Jones series and another collaboration between Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese are on the list.
Other top features include Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore working together on Todd Haynes’ May December, a historical drama starring Alicia Vikander and Jude Law, and a sizzling performance by Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke in Pedro Almodóvar’s LGBT-themed Western.
Here are the top ten films that have already started causing a buzz ahead of their Cannes premieres…
Jeanne du Barry
In his first acting stint following legal battles with his ex-wife Amber Heard, Johnny Depp stars as King Louis XV of France, who falls deeply in love with the lower-class courtesan Jeanne du Barry, who is also referred by her popular moniker, Madame du Barry. She is played by the film’s director, Mawenn.
Defying societal norms, he brings her scandalously into his chateau in Versailles, creating further outrage in the court.
The cast of this French-language film also includes Benjamin Lavernhe, Pierre Richard, Melvil Poupaud, Pascal Greggory, and India Hair.
Controversy has clouded the festival’s opening film, Jeanne du Barry, after Mawenn was accused of assaulting a French journalist by pulling his hair and spitting in his face.
Thierry Fremaux, the Cannes Film Festival director, has defended the industry against actress Adele Haenel’s claims that the industry rigorously defends its “rapist heads,” and addressed the criticism over opening this year’s festival with a Depp-led film.
In a pre-festival opening night press conference, according to Variety, Fremaux told journalists, ‘If you assumed it’s a festival for rapists, you won’t be here listening to me, you wouldn’t be lamenting not getting tickets for screenings.’
He further stated: ‘To be honest, there’s only one rule in my life, which is the freedom of thought, speech, and action within legal boundaries.’
‘If Johnny Depp had been prohibited from acting in a film, or if the film itself had been banned, we wouldn’t be discussing it right now.’
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
The Indiana Jones franchise’s fifth installment, directed by James Mangold, sees Harrison Ford reprise his role as the adventurous archaeologist for one last time at Cannes.
The 2008 film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was not as well-received by critics or fans, despite being a commercial success, earning more than $790 million on a $185 million budget.
In this adventure, Ford (80) is joined by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who brings to life his rebellious niece, Helena. Together, they embark on a race against time to find a legendary object that could alter the course of history.
Set in 1969, Jones finds himself in the middle of the Space Race against the Soviet Union.
Mads Mikkelsen portrays Jürgen Voller, a former Nazi and NASA member participating in the moon landing programme, who aims to improve the world according to his understanding.
John Rhys-Davies reprises his role as Sallah, while Antonio Banderas, Toby Jones, and Boyd Holbrook are part of the ensemble.
This Indiana Jones film is the first that doesn’t credit either George Lucas or Steven Spielberg as its writer or director, although they are both executive producers.
Asteroid City
Right on the back of TikTok’s Wes Anderson craze and the fascination over an AI-generated version of Star Wars directed by Anderson, he’s back with his next project.
Rightly so, Asteroid City is a sci-fi romantic drama-comedy where a Junior Stargazer conference’s schedule gets thrown off by globally significant incidents.
The teaser reveals Anderson’s trademark style, pastel palette, and nostalgic ambience at full play.
Moreover, Anderson has managed to assemble an unbeatable star-studded cast.
Tom Hanks makes his first Anderson appearance, joining the likes of Margot Robbie, Steve Carell, and Liev Schreiber.
Notable alumni from previous Anderson projects include Scarlett Johansson, Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton, and Jeff Goldblum.
Strange Way of Life
The release of the Strange Way of Life trailer in April sparked immediate comparisons to Brokeback Mountain, fitting as Pedro Almodóvar was initially offered the opportunity to direct the 2006 Oscar-winning film with Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger.
The trailer follows Pedro Pascal’s cowboy character Silva as he travels across the desert on horseback to meet an old friend he hasn’t seen in 25 years, Sheriff Jake, played by Ethan Hawke.
The trailer unveils how the pair navigate their unexpected romantic history in moments reminiscent of Hollywood’s golden age of Westerns.
Adding tension are scenes of fighting, horseback riding, and dust-ups, with The Last of Us actor Pascal attending to a sickly Hawke.
‘You once asked me about the life of two men sharing a ranch. I’ll answer you now,’ Pascal says in a quote which likely drove a significant portion of the internet’s response.
Killers of the Flower Moon
Martin Scorsese makes a Cannes comeback, 47 years after he launched Taxi Driver to a mixed reception of boos, walk-outs, and Tennessee Williams’ criticism as jury president.
Despite the controversy, Taxi Driver went on to win Cannes’ top honour, the Palme d’Or.
Scorsese’s current project again stars frequent collaborators Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Killers of the Flower Moon, an Apple Original, is based on David Grann’s non-fiction book about a series of mysterious murders of Osage tribe members in 1920s Oklahoma, which triggered a major FBI investigation led by J Edgar Hoover.
The cast is rounded out by Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, John Lithgow, and Brendan Fraser.
This is Scorsese’s first Western film and his most expensive production to date with a budget of approximately $200 million (£159 million).
May December
Todd Haynes, a former Cannes Film Festival winner with Velvet Goldmine in 1998, is back with a romantic drama starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore.
Haynes has previously directed unique films such as the unconventional Bob Dylan biography I’m Not There and the romantic period drama Carol starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara.
May December centres on an actress (Portman) researching the real woman (Moore) she’s supposed to play in a film. The woman captured national attention two decades prior due to her and her husband’s sensationalized tabloid romance, largely fueled by their significant age gap.
Their relationship begins to strain under the weight of digging into their past.
Shot in the atmospheric city of Savannah, Georgia, the film also stars Charles Melton, Piper Curda, Elizabeth Yu, and Gabriel Chung.
Firebrand
Firebrand, based on Elizabeth Fremantle’s 2013 novel Queen’s Gambit and directed by Karim Anouz, will premiere at Cannes this month.
The film features Alicia Vikander, an Academy Award winner, as Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s last wife who outlived him.
Upon being appointed Regent while Henry battles abroad, Katherine has pushed for a future inspired by her radical Protestant ideals.
However, when a sick and paranoid King returns, he vent his fury on the radicals, accusing Katherine’s childhood friend of treason and burning her at the stake. This forces Katherine to fight for her own survival.
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Filmed at Haddon Hall in Derbyshire for authentic setting, the film stars Jude Law as the latest in a string of handsome actors chosen to portray the Tudor king in his final days.
Sam Riley and Eddie Marsan join as Thomas and Edward Seymour, with Simon Russell Beale, Ruby Bentall, Erin Doherty, and Patsy Ferran also featuring.
The Zone of Interest
Partial inspiration for The Zone of Interest came from Martin Amis’s 2014 novel of the same name, set within the Auschwitz concentration camp.
The A24 co-production directed by Jonathan Glazer follows Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig as they aspire to create an idyllic life in a house near the camp amidst the atrocities.
The film was shot on location in 2021 in Auschwitz, one of the most well-known Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust.
Christian Friedel and Sandra Hüller take on the lead roles, with supporting roles filled by Daniel Holzberg, Sascha Maaz, and Max Beck.
UK-born Glazer previously received critical acclaim for his 2013 film Under the Skin with Scarlett Johansson, as well as his cinematic debut, Sexy Beast, in 2000 starring Sir Ben Kingsley and Ray Winstone.
Monster
Hirokazu Kore-eda is the writer and director behind the drama, which is his first Japanese-language film since the global success of 2018’s Shoplifters, which earned him the Palme D’Or at Cannes that year and got him an Oscar nomination for best international feature.
Sakura Ando features as a mother who confronts a teacher after noticing troubling changes in her son, Minato’s behavior.
However, the truth gradually unfolds as the story is narrated from the viewpoints of the mother, teacher, and child.
The cast includes Eita Nagayama as the teacher, Hori, Soya Kurokawa as Minato, and Yoko Tanaka as the principal.
This is the fourth time that Kore-eda has a film competing at Cannes, having previously entered with Like Father, Like Son (which won the Jury Prize), Our Little Sister, and After the Storm.
He also directed the 2019 film The Truth with Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche, and Ethan Hawke.
Elemental
Disney will wrap up the 2023 Cannes Film Festival with Pixar’s newest release, Elemental.
This is part of a long-standing tradition where the studio premieres its films at the festival, including Up, Inside Out, and Soul.
Directed by Peter Sohn, the director of 2015’s The Good Dinosaur and the voice of SOX, Buzz Lightyear’s robot-cat companion in last year’s film Lightyear, Elemental is sure to impress.
The official synopsis states: ‘In a city where fire, water, earth, and air inhabitants coexist harmoniously, a fiery young woman and a laid-back man are about to discover something elemental: just how much they have in common.’
Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie lend their voices to the main characters Ember and Wade, while Catherine O’Hara and Wendi McLendon-Covey also narrate the film.
