I attended Cannes Film Festival for the 1st time. These are the movies I'd tell you to see — and skip — when they arrive in theaters.

I didn't expect to spend most of my time at the Cannes Film Festival in the beautiful French Riviera with my eyes glued to my phone, furiously refreshing the ticketing pages to get a coveted seat at a screening, but it paid off. I saw 11 movies over the course of six days.
Over the last few years, Cannes has become a major hot spot for filmmakers hoping to have their movies considered for the Oscars. In 2024, it gave us Best Picture winner Anora, buzzed-about box office shocker The Substance and the awards season villain of the century, Emilia Pérez. This year, the festival's top prize (the Palme d'Or) went to It Was Just an Accident, with other highly anticipated films like The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sirât and Sound of Falling nabbing other accolades. This might be the last time you hear about those titles until January, but trust me, they'll be back for awards season in full force.
Often at festivals, movies screened for cinephiles on the ground never make it to a wider audience. But Cannes is now the battleground for trendy film distributors hoping to get movie lovers talking for the rest of the year and during awards season. Many of the movies I saw will be coming soon, and I wouldn't be surprised if they're all snatched up in the next few weeks for theatergoers' viewing pleasure.
I left after the first week of screenings, so I was crushed to miss out on buzzy flicks like Sentimental Value, The Secret Agent and It Was Just an Accident. The ones I did get to see have been haunting me in the best way, though. Here are my favorites from the festival — and the ones I've already forgotten.
Jennifer Lawrence is already an Oscar winner and a legend, but her brief time away from the spotlight was clearly refreshing because she turns this sad story about how a woman becomes increasingly unhinged after having a baby into a riveting masterpiece.
It's visually stunning, and Robert Pattinson is delightfully pathetic, but Lawrence steals every scene. It sold for a whopping $24 million, and if Lawrence doesn't get an Oscar nod for this one, I'll eat my Cannes-branded tote bag.
I had a particularly intense Mission: Impossible screening complete with the cast and my first-ever standing ovation, which went on for 7.5 minutes, but the movie is objectively big, loud and fantastic even without all of the pageantry of a premiere.
The alleged final movie of the franchise is in theaters now, so you won't have to wait to see it, but try to go IMAX if you can! You'll want to see Tom Cruise defying gravity and logic in the sanctuary of a big-screen theater, because it's truly a religious experience.
All you need to know about Sirât is that a father goes with his son to find his missing daughter at a rave, and it gets worse from there. The movie has an infectious score, and the plot is so jaw-droppingly unsettling and unexpected from start to finish that I was white-knuckling my seat.
Several people walked out of my screening, and when it ended, I ranted to my husband for five minutes straight about how upsetting it was. The next morning, I woke up realizing I had seen a masterpiece. Thank goodness Neon is bringing it to theaters.
I was particularly invested in Eddington because I spent hours standing in line to get a glimpse of its star-studded cast members like Pedro Pascal and Austin Butler, but the COVID-era Western satire fell flat for a lot of critics.
When my screening ended, a man in front of me stood up, shouted 'Boo!' and briskly exited the theater. It might be a little too soon for anyone to fully appreciate the uncanniness of pandemic life onscreen, but the polarizing movie comes to theaters July 18 regardless.
Plenty of actors premiered their directorial debuts at Cannes this year: Kristen Stewart, Scarlett Johansson and Harris Dickinson all had buzzy screenings. But I was lucky to see Urchin, which Babygirl standout Dickinson wrote and directed, as my final movie of the festival.
I loved how evident it was in the film that Dickinson's acting talent comes from his deep emotional intelligence. His directing elevated what could have been a depressing film about a man struggling to break out of the cycle of addiction and homelessness into a poignant tale that will haunt me.
Nouvelle Vague, or New Wave, is Richard Linklater's French-language, black-and-white ode to director Jean-Luc Godard. It recreates the filming of Godard's most iconic movie, Breathless, in 1959, and all the antics that ensued when the chaotic director pieced together a masterpiece based solely on vibes. That might sound a little pretentious and inaccessible to most audiences, and maybe it is, but this was Cannes, baby!
There was so much witty banter and so many references to influential filmmakers that my heart turned into a glowing ball of cinephilic pride. It felt like being in a college film class again. It's coming to Netflix, so you can have that feeling in your own living room.
If you've seen a Wes Anderson movie before, you'll be familiar with what goes down here: Quirky characters, elaborate set pieces and a series of ultra-famous faces.
Benicio del Toro stars as a businessman who taps his nun daughter (newcomer Mia Threapleton) as his sole heir, but assassins and business rivals — including Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston, who they must defeat in a basketball game — cause trouble for them along the way. Michael Cera is particularly delightful in his role. It's just a blast.
I was expecting a slow and sweet romantic drama to be Cannes's opening night movie, but I wasn't prepared for it to be a musical. The film follows a celebrity chef who must return to her hometown after a family emergency and reconnects with an old crush. It was a lot like The Bear, but with singing.
One thing that pervaded my jet-lagged mind during the screening, though, was how much I loved the main character's haircut. Should I get bangs?
Though I came to Cannes hoping to see controversy and critical accalaim, I was quietly moved by The Little Sister, which stars Nadia Melliti in her first-ever role as a Muslim teenager secretively coming to terms with her queer identity.
The movie demands patience and attention — a tall order for a long day of screenings — but delivers with one particularly gorgeous scene between the protagonist and her mother in which not much is said directly. I won't spoil it, but I promise it's worth it, and Melliti unexpectedly won Cannes's Best Actress prize for it.
Case 137 is about a detective investigating an act of violence by police officers — a timely premise that I have, unfortunately, seen played out on nearly every season of Law and Order in a tight 40 minutes.
What I will remember far longer than anything that happened in the movie, though, is the fact that one of its stars was banned from walking the red carpet at the premiere because of rape allegations against him. It was the first ban of its kind at Cannes, and it sparked quite a bit of discourse on the Croisette.
I was low on energy and worried about time when I slipped into the premiere screening of this German-language film about girls growing up in the same farmhouse over the span of 100 years. How many times could I watch generational trauma unfold without getting bored and worn down? Endless, apparently.
Its stars, who I had never heard of, delivered performances I'll never forget, and the plot went places I'd never think to go. The standing ovation was cut short for time — Mission: Impossible premiered after this one — but Sound of Falling was the best of the festival for me. I may give it my own standing ovation when it comes to theaters stateside.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

UPI

10 hours ago

• UPI

Russell Crowe confirms 'Highlander' casting

June 21 (UPI) -- Oscar-winning Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind and Thor: Love and Thunder star Russell Crowe has joined the ensemble of the new remake of the classic 1986 fantasy film, Highlander. "Yes... it's true... I shall be returning to the highlands... with a sword... it has been a few centuries..." there can be only one," Crowe wrote on X Saturday. The actor's post included a link to a Variety report about the casting news. Crowe will play the mentor to Henry Cavill's Scottish title character in the film about immortal warriors. The movie is being directed by Chad Stahelski and is expected to be released theatrically in 2026. Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery starred in the original. Penn siblings, Russell Crowe attend Rome Film Festival

Business Insider

13 hours ago

• Business Insider

Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle on why he would never make 'Slumdog Millionaire' today

British director Danny Boyle has said he wouldn't even think of making a film like " Slumdog Millionaire" today, citing concerns over "cultural appropriation." "I'm proud of the film, but you wouldn't even contemplate doing something like that today. It wouldn't even get financed," he told The Guardian about the hit 2008 movie. The filmmaker won an Oscar for best director for the movie, which follows a young Indian man (played by Dev Patel) as he is given the life-changing opportunity to appear on a local version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" The film, which won eight Academy Awards, received critical acclaim and was a hit at the box office, but some critics took issue with its portrayal of Indian society. "We wouldn't be able to make that now," Boyle said. "And that's how it should be. It's time to reflect on all that. We have to look at the cultural baggage we carry and the mark that we've left on the world." Boyle said that while he had made efforts "to make a film within the culture," including working with a large local crew, it was still a "flawed method." "You're still an outsider," he said. "That kind of cultural appropriation might be sanctioned at certain times. But at other times it cannot be." "Slumdog Millionaire" was adapted by screenwriter Simon Beaufoy and based on the novel "Q & A" by Vikas Swarup. The film grossed more than $378 million worldwide. Boyle's latest movie, a zombie horror titled "28 Years Later" — part of the "28 Days Later" series — was released in theaters on June 20. In a recent interview with Business Insider, the director discussed his return to the zombie genre and why they shot the film using modern tech like iPhones and drones. "I felt an obligation to take the spirit of the first movie, but be aware that the technology has moved on so much," Boyle said. "Phones now shoot at 4K, which is what a lot of cameras shoot at anyway. And the advantage of using the phones is we were able to be very lightweight," he added.

USA Today

16 hours ago

• USA Today

Bryan Cranston champions Ford's new philanthropy push at revived Detroit landmark

It's midmorning June 17 and actor Bryan Cranston is in a private room deep inside Michigan Central Station seated in an overstuffed lounge chair. He leans back, smiling and welcoming the respite from the grueling 82-degree heat he'd just endured for more than an hour outside, speaking in front of hundreds of Ford Motor Co. employees, dealers and some media. Cranston, 69, isn't complaining. Heck, he isn't even sweating. The Oscar-nominated star volunteered to be in Detroit to emcee the event to kick off Ford's new philanthropy program: Ford Building Together. The program aims to better unite Ford's nationwide dealership network and employees so that they can provide more efficient relief during disasters. Ford is partnering with four charities in the new program. 'I'm here to build that community, that's what it's all about," Cranston told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, of why he supports Ford's philanthropy work. "I'm tired of the vitriol and the rancor and the finger-pointing. We're better than that. We have a variety of different opinions on religion and politics and life. But let's find the commonality. This is one of those events that finds that commonality. This is a celebration of the American spirit.' The American spirit is fitting for Ford as the company touts itself as the most American of all the automakers, often citing the statistic that 80% of the vehicles it sells in the United States, it also assembles here. That is a timely message amid President Donald Trump's trade war, which seeks to encourage more U.S.-based manufacturing. A quiet philanthropist Cranston is most famous for playing the dad in the early 2000s sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle" and more recently as playing Walter White, a chemistry teacher turned drug dealer, in the hit 2008-13 drama "Breaking Bad." In 2016, he was nominated for Best Actor for the movie "Trumbo." Despite his movie star credentials, Cranston is a dedicated philanthropist, though he said this is the first time he has talked so openly about it. "I've been involved in philanthropy for quite a while. My wife and I have a fund set up for a variety of charities," Cranston said. "It was Jane Kaczmarek, who played my wife in 'Malcom in the Middle,' who said, 'Paying back, donating time, energy and money to charities is reciprocal to our good fortune and it kind of comes with the territory.' " He has used social media to promote his involvement with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children over the years. And, even with his business endeavors, Cranston makes an effort to give back. "I'm so blessed; I'm so lucky. Why not share it?" Cranston said. "I don't know how good I'd be as a mogul, wanting to make more and more. I want to make and share, make and share. That's what we discovered when Aaron Paul (costar in 'Breaking Bad') and I started our mezcal company Dos Hombres — we have to give back to the people of Mexico. It's the right thing to do." 'You want me to show up?' Cranston's ties to Ford started years ago. The relationship has taken him from rescue work with the automaker's philanthropy arm after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, to more recently his visit to Dearborn, Michigan Truck Plant to donning a hard hat to trapse through the very building he sat in on June 17: Michigan Central Station, well before it was renovated. Cranston's famous voice — a deep, gutteral baritone — won him a contract as the voice of Ford commercials starting in October 2018 with the launch of the "Built Ford Proud" campaign, according to Ad Age. He has also voiced Ford Philanthropy promotional videos. Before that, he said he has personally bought several F-150 crew cab pickups over the years, donating them to charities to use after hurricanes to rescue people in flooded areas. As for his personal car, Cranston has been driving an all-electric Mustang Mach-E for the past few years. So when Ford told him about this new philanthropy program that partners with the American Red Cross (Cranston said he donates blood regularly), Habitat for Humanity, Feeding America and Team Rubicon, he didn't hesitate to help. "Ford said, 'Do you wanna …?' I said, 'You want me to show up?' They said, 'Will you? Really?' I said, 'Yeah, yeah.' So here I am," Cranston said. Cranston's visits to Michigan To get to Detroit on June 17, Cranston took a day and a half off from the set of his latest project, a dark comedy movie being filmed in Champaign, Illinois, called "Chili Finger." It also stars Judy Greer, Sean Astin and John Goodman. The timing is interesting, too. Cranston said it was nearly four years ago to the date when he entered "this building wearing a hard hat and a vest, stepping over puddles and fallen cables and graffiti and broken marble … it was a mess." That was in 2021 or so and Cranston said he'd come to Michigan to do research for the 2022 movie "Jerry and Marge Go Large" costarring Annette Bening based on the true story of Jerry and Marge Selbee, of Evart, Michigan, who figured out how to win the lottery. Cranston took a detour from his research to come to Detroit during that visit where he met up with friends. While in the city, he took a tour of Dearborn Truck Plant to see the F-150 pickup being made and then he made his way to Michigan Central Station. "I came here to see what Ford was doing to this and why," Cranston said. "I thought, 'Oh my gosh this is a huge undertaking.' I knew it was Bill Ford's baby and people thought he was a little crazy to do this and look at it now. It's gorgeous.' Executive Chair Bill Ford was on FOX News Channel's "FOX & Friends" the morning of June 17 talking to co-host Steve Doocy about the long-standing desire to repair the train station. "It had become a mecca for drug dealers and everything else. I drove by it almost every day and often, what happened was, there were stories, national stories about the decay of Detroit ... and this was often the visual," Ford said of the train station. Ford spent close to $1 billion to renovate the old train depot, which now holds shops, offices and soon, a luxury hotel. Since it opened to the public in June 2024, Ford said it has had about 300,000 visitors. On June 2, NoMad Hotels, an upscale boutique brand affiliated with Hilton and featuring a bourgeois-bohemian flair, said it plans to open an approximately 180-room hotel on the top floors of Michigan Central Station in the first half of 2027. Cranston's take on Detroit sports Cranston glances around at the marble walls. The sunlight pierces through the skylights illuminating the once downtrodden train depot. He is aware the building reflects the Motor City, a place he calls a "great town" that he visits often. "I'm really, really happy to see it come back," Cranston said. "There were times when I was here, where it was almost like a ghost town and to see that urban renewal is really rewarding.' Cranston has a couple of hours before he has to catch a flight back to Champaign, Illinois, and return to his real job. He doesn't mind going back to work, saying he is grateful that he gets to do what he loves for a living and it has given him a platform to help others. There is one regret though, being a Tigers fan, Cranston wishes he could have caught a game while here. "But the last time I was here, it was about a year and a half ago, and I'm from Los Angeles originally so I'm a Rams fan," Cranston said. "We came to play the Lions and the Lions beat us. They played a better game and they won. They've got a great team and it was a lot of fun." Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@ Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.