Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Through the Shattered Lens

The initial line-up for the 2023 Cannes Film Festival was announced today. Usually, films are added (and occasionally even withdrawn) after the initial announcement so this list will probably be added to in the days and weeks to come:

COMPETITION:

Club Zero, Jessica Hausner
Asteroid City, Wes Anderson
The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer
Fallen Leaves, Aki Kaurismaki
Les Filles D’Olfa (Four Daughters), Kaouther Ben Hania
Anatomie D’une Chute, Justine Triet
Monster, Kore-eda Hirokazu
Il Sol Dell’Avvenire, Nanni Moretti,
La Chimera, Alice Rohrwacher,
About Dry Grasses, Nuri Bilge Ceylan,
L’Ete Dernier, Catherine Breillat,
The Passion of Dodin Bouffant, Tran Anh Hung,
Rapito, Marco Bellocchio,
May December, Todd Haynes,
Firebrand, Karim Ainouz,
The Old Oak, Ken Loach,
Perfect Days, Wim Wenders,
Banel Et Adama, Ramata-Toulaye Sy,
Jeunesse, Wang Bing,

OUT OF COMPETITION:

Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese
The Idol, Sam Levinson
Cobweb, Kim Jee-woon
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, James Mangold
Jeanne du Barry, Maiwenn

MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS:

Omar la Fraise, Elias Belkeddar
Kennedy,” Anurag Kashyap
Acide, Just Philippot

SPECIAL SCREENINGS:

Retratos Fantasmas (Pictures of Ghosts), Kleber Mendonca Filho
Anselm, Wim Wenders
Occupied City, Steve McQueen
Man in Black, Wang Bing

CANNES PREMIERE:

Le Temps D’Aimer, Katell Quillevere,
Cerrar Los Ojos, Victor Erice,
Bonnard, Pierre et Marthe, Martin Provost,
Kubi, Takeshi Kitano

For Oscar watchers, the big news is probably that both Asteroid City and Killers of The Flower Moon will be premiering at Cannes. Asteroid City is the latest from Wes Anderson and, to be honest, I have my doubts about it as an Oscar contender. The trailer indicates that it’s very, very quirky. While Anderson did receive some Oscar recognition for Grand Budapest Hotel, a good deal of that film’s success was due to Ralph Fiennes’s lead performance. Fieness kept Grand Budapest rooted in a stylized reality. I’m not sure if anyone in the cast of Asteroid City is going to perform the same duty. If Asteroid City is going to become an Oscar contender, a good showing at Cannes would definitely help.

As for Killers of the Flower Moon, it’s being shown out of competition. I can understand the logic. With all of the high expectations that come along with being Martin Scorsese’s latest film (as well as being the first Scorsese film to feature both De Niro and Di Caprio), it’s best not to run the risk of being snubbed by the unpredictable Cannes jury. The last thing anyone wants is for the narrative to shift from “sure-fire contender” to “late career disappointment.”

The Cannes Film Festival runs from May 16th to May 27th!

It’s debatable what type of effect a victory of Cannes will have when it comes to the Oscars. Indeed, because of the festival’s international nature, it’s often the case that some of the most acclaimed films at Cannes aren’t even eligible to be nominated. Blue Is The Warmest Colour was one of the best films to released in the United States last year but its victory at Cannes certainly did not translate into Oscar nominations. However, at the same time, there’s probably some truth to the theory that winning the Palme d’Or allowed some of the more mainstream-minded Academy voters to consider The Tree of Life as a legitimate Oscar possibility, as opposed to just an art house indulgence.

So, in other words — who knows?

One thing is for sure. Winning at Cannes will definitely not hurt the Oscar chances of Bennett Miller, Timothy Spall, and Julianne Moore. In fact, the only film that truly seems to have been knocked out of Oscar consideration by its Cannes reception would appear to be Grace of Monaco. (Well, okay — Lost River, too. But was anyone expecting Lost River to be an Oscar nominee before it premiered at Cannes?)

Anyway, enough of me pretending to be an expert on how the Oscars work! Here are the winners from Cannes:

In Competition

Palme d’Or – Winter Sleep by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Grand Prix – The Wonders by Alice Rohrwacher
Best Director – Bennett Miller for Foxcatcher
Best Screenplay – Andrey Zvyagintsev and Oleg Negin for Leviathan
Best Actress – Julianne Moore for Maps to the Stars
Best Actor – Timothy Spall for Mr. Turner
Jury Prize – Mommy by Xavier Dolan and Goodbye to Language by Jean-Luc Godard

Un Certain Regard^[39]

Un Certain Regard Award – White God by Kornél Mundruczó
Un Certain Regard Jury Prize – Force Majeure by Ruben Östlund
Un Certain Regard Special Prize – The Salt of the Earth by Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado
Un Certain Regard Ensemble Prize – The cast of Party Girl
Un Certain Regard Award for Best Actor – David Gulpilil for Charlie’s Country

Cinéfondation^[40]

First Prize – Skunk by Annie Silverstein
Second Prize – Oh Lucy! by Atsuko Hirayanagi
Third Prize – Sourdough by Fulvio Risuleo and The Bigger Picture by Daisy Jacobs