Before the Palme d'Or race ended on May 27, the Cannes film festival heated up the world's film industry over the past week.
Starting on May 16, thousands of people flocked to the city of Cannes in the south of France to watch the most anticipated film premieres from directors around the world.
A breath of fresh air
As veteran actor Michael Douglas shared when accepting the Palme d'Or for lifetime achievement this year: "There is always a breath of fresh air at Cannes, a place that has long provided a wonderful platform for intrepid creators pursuing bold art and outstanding storytelling."
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| The crew of "Killers of the Flower Moon" stands out when attending Cannes 2023. (Source: Getty Images) |
In fact, the titles screened at this year's Cannes Film Festival have stirred excitement among movie lovers everywhere, and for good reason.
A typical example is Killers of the Flower Moon by Martin Scorcese - one of Hollywood's most veteran filmmakers with many classic films including Taxi Driver, Gangs of New York, Shutter Island ...
Nearly four hours long, Scorsese still maintains a challenging length for viewers, but with a compelling story revolving around a massacre related to oil exploration rights in the early 1990s, the film received a nine-minute standing ovation when it premiered at Cannes on May 20.
In the film, actor Leonardo DiCaprio continues to play the villain Ernest Bukkart - a man who wants to take over the oil land owned by his wife. The performances of both Leo and Lily Gladstone (as his wife Mollie) were highly praised by most American newspapers.
Director Scorsese chose northeastern Oklahoma as the main setting for Killers of the Flower Moon , which received a production budget of up to $200 million. With the Oscar race looming, Paramount has set the film for an October 20 theatrical release, followed by a streaming release on Apple+.
This year's festival is also headlined by the fifth instalment of the Indiana Jones series and the film Jeanne du Barry , in which Johnny Depp plays Louis XV - his first role three years after a series of controversial lawsuits against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
If outside the red carpet, thousands of fans carried signs to welcome him, then on the red carpet, he was surrounded by the media and received enthusiastic cheers from the audience in France for his role as King Louis XV.
The focus of female faces
Along with the schedule of screening a series of quality films, Cannes this year also attracts bright female faces.
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| Star Jennifer Lawrence appeared gorgeous on the Cannes red carpet. (Source: Getty Images) |
That is Cate Blanchett and The New Boy – a film in the Un Certain Regard competition that received very positive comments from British and American writers. Belonging to the low-budget independent film genre, Cate Blanchett plays the main role – a rebellious nun who takes care of an orphaned native child, and also participates in the film production.
Appearing gorgeously on the Cannes red carpet, star Jennifer Lawrence surprised everyone because she came to this year's film festival to promote her self-produced documentary called Bread and Roses , as well as to find an official distributor for the film in the US market.
Filmed last year with the idea of promoting and honoring women in a troubled country like Afghanistan, Bread and Roses is in the Special Screenings section at Cannes this year.
In addition, May December is one of the three films with the highest votes (in the competition category), bringing together two bright female faces, Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore.
Meanwhile, German actress Sandra Huller has two works competing for the Palme d'Or, The Zone of Interest and Anatony of a Fall , both of which have been highly appreciated by the press.
Notably, Swedish actress Alicia Vikander also shined as Queen Katherine Parr - the last wife of King Henry VIII in the work Firebrand . This is the rare time she has been praised since the film The Danish Girl in 2015.
Not only that, Cannes 2023 may surprise with some other talented female actors such as Isabella Rossellini in the movie La chimera , Juliette Binoche in the movie The Pot-au-Feu , Mia Wasikowska in the movie Club Zero ...
In addition to the cast, there are also a record number of female directors competing this year, with six. In Cannes history, only two female directors have ever been honored: Jane Campion for The Piano and Julia Ducournau for Titane .
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| Actress Michelle Yeoh stands out on the red carpet of Cannes 2023. (Source: Getty Images) |
Asian attraction and Vietnam's mark
Along with stars like Gong Li, Tang Wei, Michelle Yeoh… films from Asia are also the focus of attention at Cannes this year.
Inshallah a Boy is the first Jordanian film to compete at a Cannes Film Festival. Director Amjad Al-Rasheed's film tells the story of a young widow who goes through extraordinary efforts to save her home.
Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda returns to Cannes with Monster . The film explores the complex inner lives of children and adults, along with issues such as violence, homophobia, spam on social networks, etc.
Competing for the Palme d'Or at Cannes, French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung's La Passion de Dodin Bouffant tells the story of an outstanding chef, showing the connection between love and cuisine. The film promotes the spirit of dedication and creative freedom.
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| A scene from the movie "La Passion de Dodin Bouffant" by French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung. (Source: Écran total) |
Not only a place to screen films, Cannes also offers a great opportunity for Vietnamese filmmakers to find suitable partners to export their films abroad. Notably, the fantasy-drama Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell by young director Pham Thien An was selected to attend the Directors' Week at the film festival.
In addition, the Marché du Film - a film market held within the framework of Cannes, is known as one of the largest film markets in the world. This year, the event has the participation of about 280 booths and more than 1,300 film distributors from all over the world.
Here, the representative of Vietnam is Hang Trinh - CEO of Skyline Media Company, who brought to Cannes more than 70 Vietnamese films to approach the international market. The list of films includes famous works such as: Ashes of Glory, Night of Glory, Ten, Sister Sister 2 ...
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| A scene from the film "Inside the Golden Cocoon" by young director Pham Thien An. (Source: JKFilm) |
It can be seen that participating in Cannes and Marché du Film not only brings opportunities for cultural exchange but is also an important step in expanding vision, promoting sustainable development and diversification of the Vietnamese film industry in the future.
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