THEstart the countdown for Cannes 2023but the Festival it certainly does not lose its propulsive thrust. For Italy, then, the beauty begins now: it’s the day of Kidnapped by Marco Bellocchiofollowed – always in competition – by The sun of the future by Nanni Moretti on May 24 and from The chimera by Alice Rohrwacher on the 26th. It will be a good match: all three of our directors are much loved by the French and have already received awards on the Croisette.
The Mortara case told by Marco Bellocchio
Great expectations (and not just a way of saying, foreign colleagues are already asking for opinions, trusting that it has been previewed in Italy) for the new work by Bellocchio, 83 years old carried with incredible creative freshness.
The dark page in our history – the case of Edgardo Mortara, the Jewish boy who in 1858 was taken away from his family to be brought up as a Catholic in the custody of the Pope – is also known in the international film scene because Steven Spielberg already wanted to tell about it screen.
Barbara Ronchi in a scene from “Kidnapped”, in competition at the Cannes Film Festival 2023 (photo Anna Camerlingo).
The host of performers is very promising, all straddling cinema and theatre: Paolo Pierobon, Fausto Russo Alesi, Barbara Ronchi, Leonardo Maltese, Filippo Timi, Fabrizio Gifuni and Federica Fracassi. But very soon everyone will be able to have their say: the film will be released in Italian cinemas on May 25th.
The belligerent samurai
Takeshi Kitano – another master, but out of competition, in the Cannes Première section – also investigates the past of his country in Kubi. It takes us – after a gestation period of thirty years – to 16th century Japan during the civil war between clans for the (definitive) conquest of power. «It is the greatest epic blockbuster since the time of the gods Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa” production notes guarantee. It takes little time to understand if they are reliable..
An all-star cast
Scarlett Johansson in “Asteroid City” (Courtesy of Pop. 87 Productions/Focus Features).
Wes Anderson’s is also an (eternal) return, which he brought to Cannes in 2012 Moonrise Kingdom and in 2021 The French Dispatch. The formula is the same: vintage context, maximum weirdness. And all-star cast: Scarlett Johansson, Margot Robbie, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Willem Dafoe, Tilda Swinton, Steve Carell, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Maya Hawke. No, It’s Not Over: Jeff Goldblum, Rupert Friend, Liev Schreiber, Matt Dillon, Rita Wilson, Jeffrey Wright, Jason Schwartzman. This time we are in 1955 in an (imaginary) town in the American desert where an astronomy conference is being held. Fans of the director will not be disappointed.
The return of Mia
Mia Wasikowska in “Club Zero”, in competition at the Cannes Film Festival 2023.
Perfectly on the Zeitgeist however, in this age obsessed with food for better or for worse, is the starting point for Club Zero of the Viennese Jessica Hausnerwhich has brought five films to Cannes since 1999. Mia Wasikowska – unforgotten Alice in Wonderland according to Tim Burton – she’s a high school “mindful eating” teacher. Who, in the unawareness of his colleagues and in the carelessness of his parents, manipulates (riskily) the boys.
Parents & society
“The central point is: how can a father and a mother watch over their children if they do not have enough time for them?” anticipates the director. “It can happen to any of us. I have the impression that the failure is not of individuals, but of the social system». The debate is open…
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