Cannes 2016 Line-Up

Brandon Thompson
Apr 16, 2016
8 min read

Update: Cannes announced the inclusion of Asghar Farhadi's new film 'The Salesman' to its main line-up.

Recently the people behind the Cannes Film Festival announced its line-up for the 69th Cannes Film Festival. In case you missed the announcement here are the main selection films (the ones competing for the Palm d'Or).

"Toni Erdmann," directed by Maren Ade "Julieta," directed by Pedro Almodovar "Personal Shopper," directed by Olivier Assayas "American Honey," directed by Andrea Arnold "The Unknown Girl," directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne "It's Only the End of the World," directed by Xavier Dolan "Slack Bay," directed by Bruno Dumont "Paterson," directed by Jim Jarmusch "Staying Vertical," directed by Alain Guiraudie "Aquarius," directed by Kleber Mendonca Filho "From the Land of the Moon," directed by Nicole Garcia "I, Daniel Blake," directed by Ken Loach "Ma'Rosa," directed by Brillante Mendoza "Bacalaureat," directed by Cristian Mungiu "Loving," directed by Jeff Nichols "The Handmaiden," directed by Park Chan-Wook "The Last Face," directed by Sean Penn "Sieranevada," directed by Cristi Puiu "Elle," directed by Paul Verhoeven "The Neon Demon," directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

"The Salesman," directed by Asghar Farhadi (late edition)

So now that you are familiar with the 19 films i'll give a brief of what I think of the choices.

Toni Erdmann - by Maren Ade

Maren Ade is director I am not familiar with but she did produce the six hour Portuguese film by Miguel Gomes 'Arabian Nights'. Her previous film came out in 2009 titled 'everyone else' was received well by the cinephile community and won Silver Bear at that years Berlin Film Festival. From the plot of this film according to IMDb this sounds like an emotional film but according to Wikipedia it sounds like it may also have a mixture of humor.

As for anticipation levels Toni Erdmann is not so high due to myself not being familiar with the director.

Julieta by Pedro Almodovar

Unlike Ade, I am very familiar with the work of Pedro Almodovar. Each of his movies have strong, very believable characters (well maybe not The Skin I Live In) but Almodovar doesn't go for flashy when it comes to the camera work, the way Billy Wilder directed too. Almodovar is not only unique among his Spanish and European contemporaries but also on the world stage.

I am very eagerly waiting for this movie to hit our shores in Australia.

Personal Shopper by Olivier Assayas

Assayas's last film The Clouds of Sils Maria was lauded by critics and in particular Kirsten Stewart's performance. That's right Kirsten Stewart, some say she should've not only be nominated for the best supporting actress at the Oscar but win as well.

Personally I wasn't a huge fan of the movie but Assayas's movies are normally critical darlings but i'll probably check this one out when I get the chance.

American Honey by Andrea Arnold

This is the first film in five years for Andrea Arnold, her previous films, Red Road and Fish Tank, won the jury prize (third place) back in 2006 and 2009, respectively. This is also Arnold's first movie filmed in the United States. It'll be great to see what strong female characters are brought to our screen here, also can Arnold finally grab a Grand Prix or even the Palm d'Or this time around?

While I haven't seen Fish Tank I do look forward to this because it's always great to see what female directors can bring to the medium.

The Unknown Girl by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

The Dardenne brother's last film 'Two Days, One Night' was their first film to walk away empty handed from Cannes but it didn't it was a drop in quality for them. The two time Palm d'Or winners will most definitely present us another film about the lower class in society and the IMDb synopsis sounds like it will. This sounds like a movie that will be an emotional journey.

I am excited about this movie and I hope I get the chance to see it in cinemas.

It's Only the End of the World by Xavier Dolan

If you have seen my top 10 films of 2015 list you will know that Mommy was my #1 film (just beating Mad Max: Fury Road and Tehran Taxi). This will Dolan's first movie with French actors instead of Canadian ones and oh boy what a cast has he assembled. Lea Seydoux (Palm d'Or winning actress from Blue is the Warmest Colour and Skyfall), Vincent Cassel (Black Swan, Irreversible and La Haine) with Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night, Inception and La Vie en Rose).

Dolan hasn't made a bad film yet and his first movie, I Killed my Mother, was made when he was 19 years old. This is easily my most anticipated film of the festival. (PS Dolan also directed Adele's Hello music video)

Slack Bay by Bruno Dumont

I haven't seen any of Brouno Dumont's previous films but his last film (which was more of TV mini series) did top Cahiers du Cinema's top 10 list of 2014. Dumont has won the Grand Prix (second place) twice before and with a building reputation he could finally win the top prize this year.

While I haven't seen and of Dumont's films I am curious to see this one.

Paterson by Jim Jarmusch

Jim Jarmusch was independent cinema before Soderbergh, Tarantino or Thomas Anderson. Jarmusch has built a reputation for himself as a very unique film maker ever since his first movie 'Stranger Than Paradise' back in 1984, which also won him the Camera d'Or (best first feature). He has also gone on to win the Palme d'Or - Best Short Film and the Grand Prix.

This time he teams up with Adam Driver and this is a movie to look forward to, even if I haven't seen any of his films. (also Jarmusch has a documentary playing out of competition at Cannes this year).

Staying Vertical by Alain Guiraudie

This is the follow up the under-rated film Stranger by the Lake for Guiraidie, which won him the Un Certain Regard directing award along with the Queer Palm. While I wasn't a fan of Stranger by the Lake this could be the film that makes me fall in line with everyone else in terms their respect for Guiraudie.

I am interested to see this movie overall.

Aquarius by Kleber Mendonca Filho

I don't know anything about this director and so I don't know what to expect here.

I will wait for the reviews for this movie to make up my mind on whether to see it or not.

From the Land of the Moon by Nicole Garcia

This is another director I don't know anything about but she has had more of a history as an actress, however it's the third movie Garcia will have brought to Cannes. Marion Cotillard stars here for her second movie for the festival.

Like Aquarius I will wait for reviews for this movie.

I, Daniel Blake by Ken Loach

Ken Loach had claimed that he will retire after his last film but obviously isn't the case here. Loach has won the Palm d'Or before in 2005 for The Wind That Shakes Barely. Loach is also known for his movie Kes which is classic for british cinema.

I haven't seen any of Loach's films but I am interested to see when I get the chance.

Ma'Rosa by Brillante Mendoza

This Filipino director won Mise En Scene (best director) back in 2009 but I haven't read much about Mendoza. It is great to see a movie from the Philippines in the main competiton as films from countries with a smaller industry normally get relegated to the Un Certain Regard section.

I'll wait for the reviews before seeing this.

Bacalaureat by Cristian Mungiu

Recently I wrote a list of top films per year of the 2000s and for 2007 the top film was 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. His last solo movie as a director won him a screenplay award at Cannes.

As a staple of the Romanian New Wave I am very excited to see what Mungiu brings us this time.

Loving by Jeff Nichols

This the second Jeff Nichols film this year, after Midnight Special and his fifth film over all. I have only seen his debut Shotgun Stories but if his films get better with each installment which is what i've heard I am indeed excited for this. Returning from Midnight Special is Joel Edgerton and everyone of his films so far, Michael Shannon.

This is a movie I will see the first chance I get.

The Handmaiden by Park Chan-Wook

The director of Oldboy is back with a new film. The South Korean New Wave brought a well deserved spotlight to the country in the early 2000s and it's never let down since. Chan-Wook shared the Jury Prize with Fish Tank in 2009 and the Grand Prix in 2003 for Oldboy (and if was up the president of the Jury, Tarantino, it would've won the Palm d'Or)

I am indeed very interested in this.

The Last Face by Sean Penn

Sean Penn's last film (that he directed) Into the Wild is a favorite of mine. Penn brought his 2001 film The Pledge to Cannes but went away empty handed but he did win Best Actor in She's So Lovely. Penn is a respected actor and director so it will be interesting to see what Penn brings us this time.

I am very eager to see this movie.

Sieranevada by Cristi Puiu

This is the third film Puiu has brought to Cannes and his first in the Offical Selection. He won the Un Certain Regard Prize in 2005 for The Death of Mr. Lazarescu.

I haven't seen any of Puiu's films but I am looking forward to this because Puiu is a respected director.

Elle by Paul Verhoeven

Paul Verhoeven is mainly known for Robocop, Total Recall and Showgirls. Since his last handful of movies from the 1990s/2000s made in the USA, Verhoeven returned to his home country to make smaller films and its payed off for him with making films that have received a better reception.

Even though he did a couple of bad movies I still am a fan of Robocop and I look forward to seeing this.

The Neon Demon by Nicolas Winding Refn

There are already trailers for this online and it looks like Black Swan but modelling instead of ballet. With Elle Fanning at the forefront of this movie with Keanu Reeves as a supporting actor this movie looks like to keep your eyes out for. Refn also won Mise En Scene in 2011 for Drive.

I am very excited about this movie.

The Salesman by Asghar Farhadi

A Separation is one of the finest films of the decade and one of Iran's best efforts and with A Separation Farhadi showed a strong sensibility as a film maker, even if Iran's industry has a restrained voice. The Salesman will see Farhadi return to Iran after he made his last film 'The Past' in France.

This is not only one of my most anticipated film of the festival but one of the few that you can be certain will have a high chance of winning a prize.

Just some other thoughts about the selected films.

Women Directors - for male to female directors in the industry there is only 9% female ones but of the films about 15% of them are female, so don't complain about the lack of female directors.

Documentaries - I wish there were documentaries in the official selection like the Venice and Berlin film festivals as they have proven to be of high quality of lately (winning the last two Golden Bears).

First Time Directors - Last year the only first time director in the main selection was László Nemes for Son of Saul. It went on to win the Grand Prix along with the Oscar for Best Foreign Film last February.

Films not here - Oliver Stone's 'Snowden', Warren Beatty's Howard Hughes project, Martin Scorsese's 'Silence', Ben Wheatly's 'Free Fall', Derek Cianfrance's 'The Light Between the Oceans', Terrence Malick's 'Voyage of Time', Clint Eastwood's 'Sully' Asghar Farhadi's untitled project and Denis Villeneuve's 'Story of Your Life' are all notable exceptions.

Films out of competition - Woody Allen's latest 'Cafe Society' opens the festival, Steven Speilberg's 'The BFG' also picked up a slot and Shane Black's 'The Nice Guys' starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. Jodie Foster also has a new movie 'Monster Monster' starring George Clooney.

My top five picks - If I could be there in Cannes next month and choose any of the five films to see they would be... (in no particular order)