The 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival ended on Saturday with a prize list that astonished observers.
Palme d’Or, “Anora” by American Sean Baker stole the show from the press’ favorites during the fortnight.
A choice which gives the feeling that the jury chaired by Greta Gerwig was impervious to external influences.
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Cannes 2024: a “Hollywood” edition
In Cannes, you should never trust predictions. While the Croisette predicted the victory ofEmilia Perez by Jacques Audiard at the end of the first week, then moved to second place in the final straight behind Wild Fig Seeds by Mohammad Rasoulof, it is Anora by Sean Baker which was crowned Palme d’Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Not entirely a surprise since the eighth feature film by this 53-year-old independent American filmmaker was very applauded during its various screenings in the middle of the fortnight.
For a long time, this bittersweet comedy which depicts the setbacks of a young sex worker from Manhattan held our highest average among international critics. More classic in form than the Audiard, less political than the Rasoulof in form, Anora is it a minor film? Time will tell. The most unifying? No doubt, to hear Greta Gerwig’s explanations at a press conference.
There was something truthful and unexpected in each of the interpretations
Greta Gerwig on “Anora”
“We were collectively transported and moved by this film“, explained the American director of barbie. “It struck us as both new and in conversation with older forms of cinema. That there was something that reminded us of the classic structures of Ernst Lubitsch or Howard Hawks. And that there was something truthful and unexpected in each of the interpretations. All these faces were unforgettable.”
Duty of reserve obliges, we will not know more. But the choice of the Palme d’Or gives the feeling that, like the jurors of a major trial, Greta, Omar, Eva and the others lived the fortnight isolated from any external influence. That they judged cinema, nothing but cinema. And that it was one of the funniest films in the competition which allowed them to come to an agreement in the end, beyond backgrounds and cultures.
Rasoulof in a category of its own
Should the special prize awarded to Mohammad Rasoulof be seen as a consolation prize? Yes and no. On the one hand, the jury seems to have missed history by refusing the Palme to a filmmaker who risked his life making Wild Fig Seeds, a real indictment against the regime in Tehran, then fleeing his country in order to escape prison. On the other hand, it underlines the uniqueness of a work which did not fit into the same category as the others.
Interpretation awards are less debated. If Sebastian in The Apprentice or Ben Whishaw in Limonov would have deserved to win among the boys, Jesse Plemons confirms in Kinds of Kindness by Yorgos Lanthimos that he is one of the most stunning talents of current American cinema, by turns strange, ordinary and disturbing. And it’s certainly the first time that an actor has been recognized for three different roles in the same film!
Audiard, on the way to the Oscars?
What is beyond doubt, however, is that the Spaniard Karla Sofia Gascon is the first transgender actress awarded at Cannes. The jury undoubtedly saw the symbol. But by prioritizing her with her partners Adriana Paz, Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez for Emilia Perez by Jacques Audiard, he remained impervious to the times, preferring to highlight the collective talent at the service of this extraordinary musical comedy.
Six years later Dheepan, Jacques Audiard therefore leaves with the jury prize while many saw him already storing a second Palme in the living room cupboard. It seemed to us that the regulations prohibited the accumulation of prizes but this small deviation, if it is proven, stands out in view of the daring and creative energy of its Emilia Perez, which we can already imagine raiding the next Caesars. And undoubtedly represent France at the Oscars. Though…
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A filmmaker little known to the general public, the Portuguese Miguel Gomes benefits from an unprecedented spotlight thanks to the Director’s Prize awarded to his ambitious Grand Tour. But we can’t help but think that the jury got the price wrong by distinguishing the scenario from The Substance while it is indeed the astonishing achievement of the Frenchwoman Coralie Fargeat which gives its full scope to this ultra-violent satire of the cult of beauty, still so vivid on the Croisette. The punk palm, certainly.
