Stardust Memories: Cannes, Past and Present.
PLUS Our reviews of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - THE FINAL RECKONING, Alec Baldwin's RUST, and HURRY UP TOMORROW, with The Weeknd; a new direction for Screen Australia; and, remembering Robert Benton.
“On the Opening Night of the 78th Festival de Cannes, the jubilation that comes with the annual celebration of global cinema was tempered with a palpable sadness. In his speech to the gathered dignitaries at the Grand Théâtre Lumière, Laurent Lafitte acknowledged a recent passing that hung heavily over the proceedings.
“She was born at the Festival de Cannes. Her humble, powerful grace will be missed. I would like to dedicate this opening ceremony to Émilie Dequenne.” The Belgian actress succumbed to cancer in March at the age of 43. In 1999, ROSETTA earned her the Best Actress prize and the Palme d’Or for its directors, The Dardenne Brothers. Dequenne’s presence on The Croisette that year has become legend, such was her warm, bouyant personality and meteoric rise to stardom in the wake of her festival exposure.
“Also afforded a Cannes tribute was David Lynch, the 1990 Palme d’Or recipient for WILD AT HEART and 2001 Best Director for MULHOLLAND DRIVE. French-Canadian songstress and 2021 Cannes juror Mylène Farmer, who collaborated with Lynch just prior to his passing in January, captivated the audience with a previously-unreleased track called ‘Confession’. In an emotionally raw moment, Farmer sang, “Everywhere, everywhere, I feel you near me.”
“And overnight, the World Premiere of Sepideh Farsi’s documentary PUT YOUR SOUL ON YOUR HAND AND WALK became a moving tribute to its protagonist, Fatma Hassona. The 25-year photojournalist had made it her mission to bear witness to the lives of the people of Gaza, despite the risks associated. She was killed with 10 members of her family, including her pregnant sister, by an Israeli missile that targeted her building in April - just a day after the film had been selected for Cannes, and only three days before her wedding.
Film festivals remind us to reflect upon the impact that artists, activists and storytellers have upon the world, often joyously, but sometimes tinged with heartbreak. Let’s celebrate, mourn, memoralise these three extraordinary spirits as the festival unfolds, and then beyond.”
Simon Foster, Editor: SCREEN-SPACE
OUR REVIEW OF MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - THE FINAL RECKONING
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - THE FINAL RECKONING (Dir: Christopher McQuarrie; starring Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Hannah Waddingham, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff and Henry Czerny)
Tom Cruise began running the path to stardom all the way back in the 1980s, when films about the threat of global thermonuclear war were clogging up these fancy new ‘multiplex’ theatres. In MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - THE FINAL RECKONING, his swan song as rogue super agent Ethan Hunt, Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie ensure the stakes are suitably high by re-energizing all those the atomic panic tropes, and for your ageing Gen-X critic, it’s a blast. Recalling ‘Joshua’, the malevolent mainframe in John Badham’s WARGAMES, M.I.8’s baddie is The Entity, an A.I. digi-villain that has seized control of the missile arsenals of the heavily-armed nuclear powers. If Ethan and his team don’t press all the right buttons in time, The Entity will turn us all to dust. It’s a pretty simple scifi-lite premise, although intricately detailed convolutions enhance the tension, while expanding the running time and demanding focus (two demands that may not sit well with contemporary audiences or critics). In line with the ageing ensemble, there is less cute banter between characters and more memory-gilded melancholy, which the narrative plays into by recalling notable moments and meaningful characters from all previous instalments. And, of course, the stunt work is extraordinary. If he does mothball his on-screen involvement in the M.I. franchise with THE FINAL RECKONING, Tom Cruise leaves behind an action film legacy on par with that of a certain Brit superspy. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
THE FILMS TO WATCH AT CANNES 2025
I’ve only done the one Festival de Cannes - 2016. Woody Allen’s CAFE SOCIETY opened; Jodie Foster’s MONEY MONSTER, with Julia Roberts and George Clooney, premiered; Spielberg dropped THE BFG. Not one of the great years, program-wise. This year looks to be a roster of the highest quality, posing a challenge to the Palme d’Or Jury headed by Juliette Binoche. We took a cross-section of those ‘The Films to Watch at Cannes’ editorials that seem to be everywhere to see what the world’s best film journalists (and me) are hyped for:
DIE MY LOVE (Dir: Lynne Ramsey; starring Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, LaKeith Stanfield, Sissy Spacek and Nick Nolte) “Admirers have had a long wait for Ramsey’s fifth feature, a thriller with a vein of comedy she describes as “dark and f**ked-up,” starring Jennifer Lawrence as a new mother walloped by postpartum depression, deteriorating mental health and a crumbling marriage.” - David Rooney’s 10 Must-See Cannes Titles, The Hollywood Reporter.
MAGELLAN (Dir: Lav Diaz; starring Gael García Bernal and Angela Azevedo) “At a shade under three hours, [Lav Diaz’s] biopic about Ferdinand Magellan, starring Gael García Bernal as the 16th century Portuguese explorer, is one of his more relatively concise statements on life, death, and the human experience.” - 20 Most-Anticipated Movies of Cannes 2025, Rolling Stone
THE CHRONOLOGY OF WATER (Dir: Kristen Stewart; starring Imogen Poots, Thora Birch, Kim Gordon, Jim Belushi and Tom Sturridge) “A story that includes everything from BDSM to drug and alcohol abuse – with a happy, inspirational ending, no less. So far the movie only has distribution in France. After the festival, it should have a whole lot more.” - 7 Buzziest Cannes Movies for Sale, The Wrap
ALPHA (Dir: Julia Ducornau; starring Tahar Rahim, Golshifteh Farahani, Mélissa Boros and Emma Mackey) “Despite having just two features under her belt—2016’s RAW also premiered on the Croisette; her previous movie, TITANE, won the Palme d’Or—Ducournau has swiftly emerged as one of our most fearless, audacious filmmakers. That makes ALPHA an instant event.” 23 Films We Think Will Rock the Cannes Film Festival 2025, Vanity Fair
PLANETES (DANDELION’S ODYSSEY) (Dir: Momoko Seto) “An irresistible pitch: Earth is destroyed, and four dandelions find themselves projected into space to embark on a search for a hospitable new environment to take root anew and keep their fluffy plant kingdom afros viable. I anticipate pistil-packing wonder.” - Movies Without Tariffs: A Preview of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, RogerEbert.com
Simon says…SENTIMENTAL VALUE (Dir: Joachim Trier; starring Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgaard and Elle Fanning) I’m on the record as a Renate Reinsve devotee, entirely due to her pairing with director Joachim Trier on THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD (see my chat with her here). They’ve reteamed for this “intimate and moving exploration of family, memories, and the reconciliatory power of art.” Add to the mix Elle Fanning, and SENTIMENTAL VALUE feels primed for Palme d’Or glory.
LATEST TRAILERS
What's coming soon to the multiplex, the arthouse, the festival circuit.
SUPERMAN (Dir: James Gunn; starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan. Nicholas Hoult, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Sara Sampaio, Alan Tudyk and Pruitt Taylor Vince). James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind.
SMURFS (Dir: Chris Miller; featuring the voices of Rihanna, Nick Offerman, Daniel Levy, Amy Sedaris, Natasha Lyonne, Sandra Oh, Octavia Spencer, Nick Kroll, Hannah Waddingham, Alex Winter, Maya Erskine, Billie Lourd, Kurt Russell and John Goodman). When Papa Smurf is taken by evil wizards, Razamel and Gargamel, Smurfette leads the Smurfs on a mission into the real world, where they discover what defines their destiny to save the universe.
MORE FILM REVIEWS:
RUST (Dir: Joel Souza; starring Alec Baldwin, Josh Hopkins, Patrick Scott McDermott, Travis Fimmel, Jake Busey, Rhys Coiro, Richard Gunn and Frances Fisher) The heartbreaking on-set death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins means the release of Joel Souza’s RUST, above all other considerations, acts as a testament to her artistry, and a very fitting one. The rich, dark shadows of candlelit cabins; the vast, ruggedly-textured landscapes; and, the coarse, weatherbeaten profiles of her actors all indicate Hutchins was a studious admirer of such western classics as SHANE, WINCHESTER ‘73 and McCABE & MRS. MILLER. A very fine Patrick Scott McDermott plays Lucas, a 14 year old left in charge of his home and younger brother after tragedy befalls his parents. When circumstances collude to find the teenager guilty of a capital offence, his estranged grandfather, wanted gunman Harlan Rust (Alec Baldwin) rescues him and flees cross country, with ruthless bounty hunter ‘Preacher’ (Travis Fimmel) and sheriff Helm (Josh Hopkins) in pursuit. Authentically mounted and rich in genre tropes/traditions, RUST is a finely rendered contemporary staging of an ol’ Hollywood ‘oater’, bolstered by resonant performances by Baldwin and McDermott. Of course a pall is cast over the whole viewing experience (thankfully, the ‘church sequence’ that was being filmed at the time of Hutchin’s death has been removed) but its release ensures her final work is a lasting legacy to a beautiful talent. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
HURRY UP TOMORROW (Dir: Trey Edward Shults; starring Barry Keoghan, Jenna Ortega and Abel Tesfaye) The pitch would’ve been ‘The Weeknd’s PURPLE RAIN’, a pulsating mash-up of the artist-as-himself exploring the dark sides of his creativity and how they fuse with his performance art persona. And with Barry Keoghan coming off SALTBURN, Ortega the ‘it-girl’ thanks to WEDNESDAY, director Trey Edward Shults hot off fest hit WAVES and The Weeknd still a big deal, this was a package any studio suit keen to get the kids back to the movies would have hastily greenlit a couple of years back. But the defiantly style-over-substance result is a wildly indulgent ode to narcissistic self-obsession, in which Abel gets to scream, “F**k you, bitch!” at women who point out his flaws yet still wants Shults (who tries hard) to paint him as some sort of ‘sensitive guy’. Hard to fathom perhaps, but HURRY UP TOMORROW is less PURPLE RAIN and more STARDUST MEMORIES, Woody Allen’s career-derailing, bitterly-satirical takedown of his own fame and fans…without the laughs. ⭐️⭐️
HEADLINE MAKERS
12 TIMES THE PALME D’OR WAS AWARDED TO THE WRONG FILM: Soderbergh over Spike? Joffe over Tarkovsky? There have been obvious occasions when the Palme d’Or jury — by committee, by compromise, or by sheer blind spot — just gets it wrong. (READ: The Hollywood Reporter)
SCREEN AUSTRALIA CHAIR ANNOUNCES NEW STRATEGIC DIRECTION: Michael Ebeid AM shares how SA is evolving to support a vibrant, viable screen industry to seize the opportunities of tomorrow. (READ: Screen Australia)
KUNG FURY 2 SIZZLE REEL SETS FILM-WEB ON FIRE: Watch it while you can - most sites have had to remove it - but the leaked 10 minutes of David Sandberg’s insane ‘80s homage suggests the long-delayed project (featuring a mulleted Michael Fassbender) is truly nuts…and must be released. (WATCH NOW: Filmparadiset)
ROBERT BENTON, OSCAR-WINNING DIRECTOR OF KRAMER VS KRAMER, DIES, AGED 92: From his origins as a true Hollywood rebel to his mainstream acceptance with KRAMER VS KRAMER, PLACES IN THE HEART and THE HUMAN STAIN, Benton was a unique talent (READ: The New York Times)
FCCA SHELL OUT TOP TROPHIES FOR MEMOIR OF A SNAIL: Oscar-winner Adam Elliott can add three Film Critics Circle of Australia gongs to his trophy cabinet after Memoir of a Snail topped the 2024 FCCA Awards winner’s list (READ: Screen-Space)
WHY WE LOVE MOVIES
Highway Carnage (NSFW) - FINAL DESTINATION 2 (2003)
With FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES in cinemas this week, we revisit what many horror fans consider the high watermark in the ‘Death Seeks Revenge’ franchise - the multi-vehicle pile-up and bloody aftermath of a logging truck mishap (WARNING - not for the faint-hearted).
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
And if SCREEN-SPACE isn’t enough Simon for you…:
LISTEN to me co-host the weekly film and TV podcast SCREEN WATCHING with Dan Barrett, of Always Be Watching notoriety;
WATCH/LISTEN Dan and I reflect on the films of 1987 in our fun retro-podcast, BEST MOVIE YEAR (available to watch on our YouTube channel)
FOLLOW my curatorial efforts as Festival Director of the SYDNEY SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL.