Cannes Film Festival: which films not to miss

donderdag 19 mei 2022
13:12
Door: Fleur De Jong

From May 17 to 28, Cannes is once again all about glamour. After three years of waiting, the prestigious film festival could finally start again in all its glory and film producers show their work to the general public. MASTERS lists five films that are not to be missed.Text: Fleur de Jong

1. It's Nice in Here

Although the Netherlands plays a modest role at the seventy-fifth edition of the film festival, there is a bit of Dutch glory. The only Dutch production is the animated film It's Nice in Here by Rotterdam-based Robert-Jonathan Koeyers. The film shows how a young girl and a rookie police officer have different memories of the same fateful moment in a store that will change their lives forever... The film will be shown during the Semaine de la Critique in a block with other short films.

2. Elvis

Many people are looking forward to this film about the King of Rock and Roll; Elvis Presley. The biographical film shows more than 20 years of complex dynamics between manager Colonel Tom Parker (aka Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk) and Elvis ; from his breakthrough to his status as an unprecedented superstar. The film was made by Australian director Baz Luhrmann, who also made The Great Gatsby and Moulin Rouge. Elvis will be played by Austin Butler and Colonel Tom Parker by actor Tom Hanks.

3. Close

This film, from Flemish director Lukas Dhont, is also one of the nominees for a Golden Palm. Close tells the story of Leo and Remi, two thirteen-year-old boys who have a close friendship. Suddenly it is disrupted and Leo tries to understand what went wrong. Leo seeks comfort and grows closer to Remi's mother, Sophie. The boys try to reconcile and get their friendship back on track. A nice touch is that this film also has a Dutch touch; the film received a 300,000 euro grant from the Filmfonds and was co-produced by Amsterdam-based production company Topkapi Films.Photo: Still from Close | Topkapi Films

4. Boy from Heaven

Adam, the son of a fisherman is given the ultimate privilege of studying at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. However, when the supreme religious leader dies on the first day of school, a merciless influence struggle begins to find his successor. Adam also soon becomes a pawn in this struggle. This political thriller was made by Swedish-Egyptian director Tarik Saleh, who five years ago made the wildly exciting The Nile Hilton Incident . Boy from Heaven is one of a total of 21 nominees in the main competition for a chance to win the Golden Palm.

5. Decision to Leave

Hae-Joon works as a detective and begins investigating a murder case. During the investigation, he falls in love Seo-Rae, the deceased man's ex-wife and also the prime suspect in the murder investigation... With this South Korean film, expect mesmerizing cinematography, sensual suspense and plot twists galore. Director, producer and screenwriter Park Chan-wook has won many awards with his previous works and is known for the film The Handmaiden and Oldboy, among others.