Cannes Film Festival 2017: 10 Films Everyone Will Be Talking About
How to fake your film knowledge and sound like a Cannes regular
From Sofia Coppola's chilling new thriller, to Kristen Stewart's short film about heartbreak, these are the 10 films to familiarise with ahead of Cannes Film Festival 2017.
Les Fantômes d'Ismaël (dir: Arnaud Desplechin)
Who's in it? Marion Cotillard and Charlotte Gainsbourg
What is it? Translated in English as Ismael's Ghosts, the plot follows a widowed filmmaker whose life is disrupted when his late ex-wife returns from the dead.
Come Swim (dir: Kristen Stewart)
Who's in it? Josh Kaye and Sydney Lopez
What is it? Kristen Stewart steps behind the camera for the first time for a short film called Come Swim about heartbreak. Its star is seen in various states of depression and can't satisfy his desire for water while a woman taunts him with words that heighten his thirst. The soundtrack comes via Stewart's ex-girlfriend, St Vincent.
Happy End (dir: Michael Haneke)
Who's in it? Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Louis Trintignant
What is it? Critics expect Happy End (the title of which has no correlation with the film's sad conclusion), to serve as a Palme d'Or hat trick for Michael Haneke, who previously won with Amour and The White Ribbon. Atlhough details about the film have been kept under wraps, it's set in Calais and centres around a bourgeois family whose life contrasts starkly to the refugee crisis unfolding around them.
Twin Peaks (TV – dir: David Lynch)
Who's in it? Kyle MacLachlan, Madchen Amick, Sherilyn Fenn
What's the story? Very little has been revealed about David Lynch's Twin Peaks sequel, which has only intensified intrigue surrounding it. All we know is that there will be 18 episodes and that several of the original cast members, including Kyle MacLachlan, Sherilyn Fenn and Alicia Witt, will make their return.
Okja (dir: Bong Joon-Ho)
Who's in it? Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal and Lily Collins
What is it? Backed by Netflix, fantasy film Okja focuses on a young girl who fights to stop a multinational corporation from kidnapping her best friend – an ambiguous creature that's somewhere between an animal and a human. The special effects alone have cost $50 million, so expect a fantastical spectacle.
Redoubtable (dir: Michel Hazanavicius)
Who's in it? Louis Garrel
What is it? Oscar-winning Michel Hazanavicius (the brains behind 2011 silent film The Artist) directs a biopic about iconic new wave auteur Jean Luc Godard, focusing on the relationship he had with actress Anne Wiazemsky. The two were married for almost a decade. Hazanavicius promises the film will be as lighthearted and funny as it will be informative.
Sea Sorrow (dir: Vanessa Redgrave)
Who's in it? Emma Thompson and Ralph Fiennes
What's the story? Vanessa Redgrave makes her directorial debut with a documentary about the refugee crisis. So moved was she by the harrowing sight of three-year-old Alan Kurdi's body washed up on a beach, she decided to self-fund a project to raise awareness for the plight of people feeling their war-torn homes.
Wonderstruck (dir: Todd Haynes)
Who's in it? Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams and Amy Hargreaves
What's it about? Another book adaptation, Wonderstruck tells the stories of two deaf children from different time periods, who are both mysteriously connected.
You Were Never Really Here (dir: Lynne Ramsay)
Who's in it? Joaquin Phoenix
What is it? Based on a short story of the same name, You Were Never Really Here is a thriller about a war veteran who tries to save a girl from sex trafficking. The score is by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, while the project will be directed by Lynne Ramsay, who was behind the chilling We Need To Talk About Kevin. This won't be a cheerful one.
The Beguiled (dir: Sofia Coppola)
Who's in it? Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell
What's the story? The second film adaptation of Thomas P. Cullinan's book, A Painted Devil (Clint Eastwood directed the 1971 version), Sofia Coppola adds her unique take to the American Civil War drama thriller, in which a dying soldier is rescued by a 12-year-old and nursed at a local girls' school. Expect betrayal, seduction and a very dark twist.
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