Having previously won the Palme d’Or in 2001 for “The Son’s Room” and premiered the majority of his films in competition, Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti has been a mainstay at the Cannes Film Festival for several decades. His latest film, “A Brighter Tomorrow,” marks a welcome return to the French Riviera following the poorly-received “Three Floors.” Getting special permission from Cannes to release his films locally prior to hitting the Croisette, Moretti’s 14th feature was released in Italian theaters on April 20, where it has greatly resonated with audiences and earned around $4 million. 

Continue reading ‘A Brighter Tomorrow’ Review: Nanni Moretti’s Latest Is A Messy Meta Comedy About Filmmaking [Cannes] at The Playlist.

In “Terrestrial Verses,” the first collaboration between co-directors Alireza Khatami and Ali Asgari that was met with applause throughout the entirety of its premiere screening in the Un Certain Regard section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, observes life under Iranian theocracy through the mundane experiences of 12 ordinary people across various ages that are bookended by a prologue and epilogue. As we watch them navigate complex situations related to social repression, the swift 77-minute runtime never misses a beat.

Continue reading ‘Terrestrial Verses’ Review: Ali Asgari & Alireza Khatami’s Collection of Vignettes Is A Thoughtful Examination Of Injustices Faced In Iran [Cannes] at The Playlist.

This year’s dark horse in competition at Cannes is easily “Leila’s Brothers,” Iranian writer-director Saeed Roustaee’s third feature and worthy follow-up to his intense 2019 cop thriller “Just 6.5.” With hints of “The Godfather” and Arthur Miller evident throughout, the drama is a sprawling tale exploring dysfunctional family dynamics, economic hardships, and generational wealth. 

READ MORE: Cannes Film Festival 2022 Preview: 25 Must-See Films To Watch

“Leila’s Brothers” follows the lives of a Tehran family as they struggle to stay afloat amidst financial hardships and complicated familial relationships.

Continue reading ‘Leila’s Brothers’ Review: A Beautiful Drama About Family Ties [Cannes] at The Playlist.

A drastic departure from his prior films “Border” and “Shelley,” Ali Abbasi’s newest film, “Holy Spider,” draws inspiration from the 2000-2001 crimes and subsequent trial of Saeed Hanaei (played here by Mehdi Bajestani), a war veteran-turned-serial killer in the Iranian city of Mashhad who murdered 16 sex workers, claiming that he was cleansing the holy city of sinners and corruption in the name of Islam.

Continue reading ‘Holy Spider’ Review: Ali Abbasi’s Iranian True Crime Procedural Underwhelms [Cannes] at The Playlist.

Inspired by her own late mother’s long battle with multiple sclerosis, writer/director Emily Atef’s (“Molly’s Way,” “3 Days in Quiberon”) latest work, “More Than Ever,” delivers a poignant and well-acted story. Featuring Gaspard Ulliel’s last performance, the film asks its audience to face the reality of and ponder the inevitability of death as well as the line between those who have experienced a type of suffering and those who haven’t. 

READ MORE: Cannes Film Festival 2022 Preview: 25 Must-See Films To Watch

In her first of two films premiering at this year’s Un Certain Regard section at Cannes — the second being Marie Kreutzer’s brilliant “Corsage” — Vicky Krieps stars as Hélène, a 33-year-old woman struggling with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a rare illness that impacts the lungs and causes breathing to become increasingly more difficult until the person eventually suffocates to death.

Continue reading ‘More Than Ever’ Review: Vicky Krieps & Gaspard Ulliel Shine In A Heartbreaking Tale Of Love & Death [Cannes] at The Playlist.

In 2017, Swedish-Egyptian director Tarik Saleh’s breakthrough film “The Nile Hilton Incident” was the subject of much controversy and was ultimately banned in Egypt due to its in-depth portrayal of police corruption in modern-day Egypt. Five years later, Saleh is back with “Boy From Heaven” (“Walad Min Al Janna“), a transfixing feature tackling the harsh realities that occur in the country, this time exploring the complicated and corrupt relationship between religion and politics. 

READ MORE: Cannes Film Festival 2022 Preview: 25 Must-See Films To Watch

The film centers on Adam (Tawfeek Barhom), the wide-eyed son of a small-town widowed fisherman, who receives the news that he has been awarded a state sponsorship to study at the prestigious Al-Azhar University in Cairo, one of the leading institutions of Sunni Islam.

Continue reading ‘Boy From Heaven’ Review: Tarik Saleh Crafts A Gripping Exploration Of Religion & Politics In Egypt [Cannes] at The Playlist.

Returning to Cannes a year after his feverish drama “Petrov’s Flu” hit the Croisette, Kirill Serebrennikov can finally attend the festival in person after recently being free from years of house arrest. Debuting in competition, his latest offering, “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” is a slow-burn historical drama that never manages to escape from being a bore despite its seemingly intriguing premise. 

As opposed to channeling all of his energy into making a project entirely focused on the life and career of famed 19th-century Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky — “The Music Lovers” already exists for that — Serebrennikov instead, as the title suggests, puts all the attention on Antonina Miliukova, a music student who becomes fully consumed with her affections for Tchaikovsky and eventually marries him.

Continue reading ‘Tchaikovsky’s Wife’ Review: Kirill Serebrennikov’s Historical Melodrama Is a Repetitive Tale Of A Toxic Marriage [Cannes] at The Playlist.

Period dramas have long been a beloved genre of film and television, consistently indulging audiences in enthralling plots while fulfilling our deepest desires of escapism through lavish costumes and satisfying (yet sometimes frustrating) romances that keep you hooked. Costume dramas don’t seem to be going out of style any time soon, with the popularity of shows like “Bridgerton,” “The Gilded Age,” and “Outlander” serving as proof.

Continue reading ‘The Essex Serpent’ Review: Claire Danes & Tom Hiddleston Are Superb In An Somewhat Underwhelming Gothic Drama at The Playlist.