IviDvo

Once upon a time, there was a poor woodcutter and his wife, they did their best to survive – the story takes place during wartime and winter. One day, a small precious cargo falls out of a passing train and turns their lives upside down. I don't want to give away more of the story because I think that if you don't find out anything about the film beforehand, its development is quite unpredictable, and that's what I liked about it. At times poignant, at times dramatic and chilling... I think the animation was very well suited for this kind of story, and it's all nicely illustrated by Alexandre Desplat's haunting score. [Festival de Cannes 2024]

Catherine de Saint Phalle, known as Niki, was an important and multi-talented artist, painter, sculptor and illustrator. In her childhood she experienced very severe traumas that led to deep depression and a suicide attempt. It was during her stay in a psychiatric hospital that she began to devote herself to creative activity. Niki is the directorial debut of the well-known actress Céline Sallette, who shows quite some talent and attention to detail with this film. What I found to be a very interesting move were the scenes where Niki creates her works, or someone is watching and evaluating them, but the viewer doesn't see a single detail, there is not a single shot of her work, which is such a great bait for the uninitiated who doesn't know her works. Which was definitely the case for me, so logically I googled the artist right after the screening. [Festival de Cannes 2024]

Motel Destino is a pretty ordinary love story with a predictable plot, the kind we’ve seen a thousand times, only set in a less typical environment for us. The vast majority of the film takes place in a sex hotel. The sex is not so much on camera, but rather permanently audible out of frame (from the rooms). This film doesn't strike me as anything very interesting or original (except maybe the constant moaning), without much substance, and I don't really see why it was chosen for the main Palme d'Or competition. [Festival de Cannes 2024]

I know it's not right to generalize, but this is how I really imagine today's twenty-somethings: sad obsession with the perfect Instagram or Tiktok profile, the more likes, shares and followers, the more people like us. The perfect and terribly dangerous illusion of social media. Half of your followers love you beyond the grave, and the other half would love to get you into that grave themselves, at least threaten you with it. There are 50,000 people who love you on social media, and in reality, nobody really gives a damn about you. Even Liane is a victim of this virtual world and virtual love and is convinced that when she gets to the reality show called Miracle Island, which she auditions for, she will be loved even more. Her follower count is soaring thanks to her provocative stories, giving her that external validation she craves so much, as all of us want is to be liked, but at what cost? Today, virtually everyone can be an influencer, even if their content is absolutely nothing, where will this lead? [Festival de Cannes 2024]

Jérémie arrives in his hometown for the funeral of his former employer, to whom he was very close, and stays for a few days with the deceased's wife, the widow Martine. She is happy to host him at her place, but her son resents it. What appears at first to be a friendly comedy quickly slides into a chilling and nerve-wracking detective drama, but retains a solid dose of wit and humour to the end. One of the most interesting characters is the priest... you'll understand why when (if) you see the film. [Festival de Cannes 2024]

A very cute animated film about a lonely cat who must join forces with other animals during a devastating flood to become a team player. I think it's a very bold film, because it's a silent film that manages to keep the viewer's attention throughout thanks to some nice and unconventional (if at times flawed) animation, some beautiful music, and some likeable animal characters who sometimes act like animals, sometimes like humans, which is a bit too shallow and banal, but probably makes it more accessible and fun for the viewer. [Festival de Cannes 2024]

This year, the festival has featured several biopics such as The Apprentice, Being Maria, and Niki. And although in the technical side Limonov is one of the most accomplished and authentic, I liked it least of all. It's a huge shame, because the first 45 minutes are great and pumped up, and if they had maintained that pace to the end, it would have been a blast. But that didn't happen, so after that hour the film started to slow down considerably and I stopped enjoying it. But what's really great is the use of grainy cinematography in places, creating the illusion of period footage that actually looks like it was shot in the seventies. Like I said, the technical side of the film is really brilliant. Ben Whishaw is a great actor, and his portrayal of Limonov is impressive, but it's true that this narcissistic underground writer and activist did nothing for me, so I followed his story pretty disinterestedly. [Festival de Cannes 2024]

One of the nicest and funniest films of this year's festival. Thibault is a successful and famous conductor who discovers he has a brother. Jimmy has a huge musical talent too, but he wasn't so lucky with the environment he grew up in, so he wasn't able to fully develop his talents. Although they don't meet until they are adults, gradually their brotherly relationship begins to deepen and they are both a huge asset to each other, enriching each other's lives. The film is full of incredibly endearing and likeable characters who deliver one funny line after another. I can't say that the story overall is particularly original, because in truth it's a bit predictable, but that didn't bother me at all. For me, it was such a treat to the soul and I left the cinema with a smile on my face and a tear in my eye. [Festival de Cannes 2024]

The only thing I knew about Anora before the festival was that it was supposed to be about a stripper who meets the son of a Russian oligarch, and very quickly they want to get married. And I think that's pretty much all you need to know. When it gets here, go see it in the theater and I promise you'll have a good time. You'll get a solid dose of harmoniously balanced drama and comedy. What I found very interesting about this film is that I actually didn't find most of the characters entirely likeable, (which is usually what I need for a film to fully draw me in), but I still enjoyed it immensely because it's played to perfection by the entire ensemble cast. So I'm quite happy about the Palme d'Or award at Cannes. [Festival de Cannes 2024]

Demi Moore est de retour ! Et dans quel film ! Quand une amie m’a demandé de quoi il s’agissait, j’ai répondu : quelque chose comme La mort vous va si bien, mais en plus moderne, plus dévoilant, plus honnête, plus audacieux, plus cru, plus psychologique, et surtout... plus sanglant ! J’ai passé un moment incroyable, mais en même temps, le film m’a fait réfléchir... Je n’ai pas à me préoccuper du vieillissement pour le moment, mais il arrive, et je suis entourée de femmes qui sont à un stade de la vie similaire à celui du personnage principal (mais qui ne sont pas célèbres), et je peux voir que c’est un lourd fardeau... Le corps n’est plus aussi frais et ferme qu’avant, les hommes ne vous tournent plus autour, et cela peut jouer terriblement avec le psychisme et avec l’estime de soi... Tout cela est parfaitement dépeint, à mon avis. Que dire, le monde a de tout temps mis un accent énorme sur l’apparence, il le fait encore et le fera probablement toujours. Et voilà ensuite qu’un minable comme celui joué par Dennis Quaid décide de vous, de votre valeur et de votre vie : un contraste parfait. Pour moi, c’est l’expérience cinématographique de l’année, que je reverrai volontiers, malgré la surenchère et l’absurdité de la fin. [Festival de Cannes 2024]