Top Stories
Cannes Awards: Controversial Swedish Satire ‘The Square’ Wins Palme d’Or
The 70th anniversary Cannes Film Festival has wrapped, culminating with an unconventional awards ceremony in which Pedro Almodóvar and his jury bestowed a couple unexpected bonus prizes, including a tie for screenplay and a special award to Nicole Kidman, who appeared in four projects in this year’s official selection, including competition titles “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” and “The Beguiled,” season two of “Top of the Lake” and special screening “How to Talk to Girls at Parties.”
By Peter Debruge | MAY 28, 2017 | 10:25AM PT
Cannes Film Festival: Critics Pick Their 10 Favorite Films
Variety critics pick their 10 favorite films at the Cannes Film Festival including "Loveless," "The Florida Project," "Visages Villages," Carne y Arena," and more.
By OWEN GLEIBERMAN & PETER DEBRUGE | MAY 28, 2017 | 1:07PM PT
‘A Man of Integrity,’ ‘Wind River,’ ‘Barbara’ Take Un Certain Regard Awards at Cannes
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof’s “A Man of Integrity” won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival this evening, beating a diverse international selection of 17 other titles to the honor.
By Guy Lodge | MAY 27, 2017 | 10:41AM PT
Cannes Critics Prize ‘BPM,’ ‘Closeness,’ ‘Nothing Factory’
Robin Campillo’s “BPM (Beats Per Minute),” Kantemir Balagov’s “Closeness” and Pedro Pinho’s “The Nothing Factory” won International Critics’ Prizes Saturday afternoon at the Cannes Festival. Awarded by the International Federation of Film Critics (Fipresci) one day before a international jury headed by Pedro Almodovar announces Cannes Festival’s 2017 Palme d’Or on May 28, the prizes do not always coincide with the official jury’s. “Toni Erdmann” won the Fipresci best competition player award last year, for instance, but nothing from Cannes’ official jury.
By John Hopewell | MAY 27, 2017 | 7:30AM PT
9 Thoughts on Cannes 2017
The Cannes Film Festival played host to some good movies this year (there is never a year when it doesn’t), yet throughout the 12-day event, there has been a pervasive feeling, shared by critics and distributors and publicists and audiences alike, that the festival’s been having a soft year, that the magic was tamped down. It had something do with the lack of a universally agreed upon home run, like “Toni Erdmann” or “Amour” or “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” or “Breaking the Waves.”
By Owen Gleiberman | MAY 27, 2017 | 11:31PM PT
Kirsten Dunst and Sofia Coppola on Hollywood Sexism, Their Feminist ‘Beguiled’ Remake
Sofia Coppola met her muse Kirsten Dunst in 1998. The actress was just 16 at the time, and the 27-year-old daughter of Francis Ford Coppola was about to make her directorial debut with “The Virgin Suicides,” based on a novel that she loved. Dunst was so innocent, she brought her mom along to chaperone their initial conversation. “I was a little nervous,” she says. “It was my first adult role!”
By Ramin Setoodeh | MAY 16, 2017 | 6:00AM PT
Top Reviews
‘The Square’
The word “suspense” connects to thrillers, action and deadly violence. But what if you were a lofty filmmaker out to diagnose the creeping misanthropy of our society, and you were a wizard at applying the dread-ridden playful tools of suspense to that? You’d be Ruben Ostlund, the Swedish director of the acclaimed domestic psychological passion play “Force Majeure” (2014), and now “The Square,” which premiered tonight at Cannes. Ostlund creates suspense the old-fashioned way, setting up scenes that make the audience go: What in God’s name is going to happen next? But he also creates suspense in a new-fangled way, turning the space between people into an alarming existential battleground. He’s like Hitchcock infused with the spirit of mid-period Bergman.
By Owen Gleiberman | MAY 19, 2017 | 4:14PM PT
‘BPM (Beats Per Minute)’
A rare and invaluable non-American view of the global health crisis that decimated, among others, the gay community in the looming shadow of the 21st century, Campillo’s unabashedly untidy film stands as a hot-blooded counter to the more polite strain of political engagement present in such prestige AIDS dramas as “Philadelphia” and “Dallas Buyers Club.” Candidly queer in its perspective and unafraid of eroticism in the face of tragedy, this robust Cannes competition entry is nonetheless emotionally immediate enough to break out of the LGBT niche.
By Guy Lodge | MAY 20, 2017 | 5:52AM PT
‘The Beguiled’
Don Siegel’s 1971 Civil War drama “The Beguiled,” starring Clint Eastwood as a wounded Union soldier hiding out at a girls’ boarding school in rural Mississippi, is a quintessential film of the early ’70s — and by that, I don’t mean it’s any sort of masterpiece. Far from it. It’s a crudely lit piece of baroque Gothic exploitation, “gripping” yet overwrought, and it basically has the plot of a porn film. Eastwood’s character falls into one bed after another, and he receives a shockingly cruel punishment when Geraldine Page, as the turned-on but repressed headmistress, makes the vengeful decision to amputate his injured leg for dubious medical reasons. “The Beguiled” is like a mediocre Tennessee Williams play staged by Sam Peckinpah as a third-wave-feminist horror film. Yet there’s no denying it’s a picture of its time.
By Owen Gleiberman | MAY 24, 2017 | 4:19AM PT
‘You Were Never Really Here’
Some filmmakers rust during periods of inactivity; Lynne Ramsay arches and tenses, lying in wait like an attack dog. And attack she does, though not in all the expected ways, in her astonishing fourth feature “You Were Never Really Here,” a stark, sinewy, slashed-to-the-bone hitman thriller far more concerned with the man than the hit. Working from a pulp-fiction source that another director might have fashioned into a “Taken” knockoff, Ramsay instead strips the classically botched job at the story’s core down to its barest, bloodiest necessities, lingering far more lavishly on the unspoken emotions rippling across leading man Joaquin Phoenix’s face, and the internal lacerations of trauma and abuse they cumulatively reveal.
By Guy Lodge | MAY 26, 2017 | 3:33PM PT
‘In the Fade’
First off: Fatih Akin’s “The Cut” was an aberration, as we all suspected. The director celebrated for his edgy takes on intriguing characters more or less returns with “In the Fade,” a well-constructed, at times moving story of a Hamburg woman seeking justice after the murder of her Kurdish husband and son by a couple of Neo-Nazis. “More or less” because the excellent first quarter gives way to a relatively standard-issue though handsomely produced legal drama with several stock characters and a script that feels too guided by the presumed requirements of mainstream cinema. Diane Kruger’s powerhouse performance in her first German-language production goes a long way toward compensating for the narrative’s dip into overly crystalline waters, and international sales have been unsurprisingly brisk given the film’s incontrovertible general appeal.
By Jay Weissberg | MAY 26, 2017 | 5:35AM PT
Photo Galleries
Cannes Film Festival 2017: Red Carpet Arrivals (Photos)
From Michelle Williams and Julianne Moore to Emily Ratajkowski and Adriana Lima, see the latest looks from La Croisette.
By Jacob Bryant | MAY 16, 2017 | 6:30AM PT
Nicole Kidman, Jessica Chastain Attend amfAR Gala in Cannes (Photos)
The amfAR gala lived up to it's starry reputation as celebrities gathered at the Hôtel du Cap to raise money for HIV/AIDS research.
By Jacob Bryant | MAY 25, 2017 | 11:49AM PT
Cannes Opening Night Red Carpet Arrivals (Photos)
Julianne Moore, Will Smith, Naomie Harris, Elle Fanning, Uma Thurman, Emily Ratajkowski, Robin Wright, Susan Sarandon, Adrian Brody and more walked the glittery red carpet to open the 70th Cannes Film Festival.
By JACOB BRYANT | MAY 17, 2017 | 10:33AM PT
Latest News
Magnolia Pictures Takes U.S. Rights on Cannes Prizewinner ‘Dogman’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American rights to Italian director Matteo Garrone’s gritty revenge drama “Dogman,” which won the best actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Dubbed an “urban Western,” the movie marks Garrone’s return to smaller-scale Italian-language filmmaking following his English-language fantasy “Tale of Tales.” “Dogman” is inspired by a murder committed by […]
By Nick Vivarelli | Jul 10, 2018 | 5:17PM
Film Review: ‘Little Tickles’
Already the 2018 film festival circuit has yielded two high-profile titles that both deal with the trauma of childhood sexual abuse: Jennifer Fox’s Sundance sensation “The Tale,” and Cannes discovery “Little Tickles,” the debut film from Andréa Bescond, co-directed by Eric Métayer and based on Bescond’s autobiographical one-woman play. The films bear many similarities: Both […]
By Jessica Kiang | Jul 10, 2018 | 3:23PM
Film Review: ‘Our Struggles’
The major drama happens upfront in “Our Struggles”; the process of living with its less eventful but consistently taxing fallout, however, is where the meat of Guillaume Senez’s simple, affecting new film lies. Peering into the frown lines left where domestic and professional strife intersect, Senez’s film adopts a tone as straightforward as its title […]
By Guy Lodge | Jul 02, 2018 | 3:50PM
Film Review: ‘3 Faces’
We are now eight years into the 20-year filmmaking ban imposed on Iranian director Jafar Panahi, for allegedly making propaganda against his country’s regime. “3 Faces” is the fourth film he has made illicitly under conditions a lesser director might find paralyzing. But Panahi’s irrepressible, mischievous storytelling instinct has with tenacious regularity found its way […]
By Jessica Kiang | Jul 02, 2018 | 5:44AM
Cannes Winner ‘Burning’ Bought by Well Go for October Release (EXCLUSIVE)
Well Go USA has acquired all North American rights to Lee Chang-dong’s Korean drama “Burning,” which won the Fipresci Prize last month at the Cannes Film Festival. Well Go USA will release “Burning” to theaters across the nation beginning Oct. 26 in New York City, with expansion to follow throughout November. Based on a story […]
By Dave McNary | Jun 28, 2018 | 6:36PM
Marion Cotillard’s Drama ‘Angel Face’ Bought by Cinema Libre (EXCLUSIVE)
Cinema Libre Studio has acquired North American rights to “Angel Face” (Gueule d’Ange), starring Marion Cotillard, Variety has learned exclusively. The drama marks the first feature-length film for French director Vanessa Filho (“Love Punch”), based on an original screenplay developed by Filho with Alain Dias. The movie was produced by Moana Films’ Marc Missonnier (“Marguerite”) […]
By Dave McNary | Jun 26, 2018 | 11:14PM
Annecy Film Review: ‘Mirai’
After such expansive fantasies as “Wolf Children” and “Summer Wars,” Japanese animation master Mamoru Hosoda delivers a story of such intimate, unpretentious simplicity, you’d hardly recognize it as coming from the ambitious visionary behind those films. And yet “Mirai” — which inventively depicts the way a young boy’s world is turned upside down by the […]
By Peter Debruge | Jun 15, 2018 | 4:52AM
Strand Releasing Scoops U.S. Rights to Christophe Honoré’s Cannes Player ‘Sorry Angel’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Strand Releasing has acquired U.S. rights to Christophe Honore’s “Sorry Angel” which world premiered in competition at Cannes Film Festival. Sold by MK2, “Sorry Angel” takes place in Paris, in 1993, and follows Jacques, a renown writer and single father in his 30’s who is desperately trying to maintain a sense of normalcy against the […]
By Elsa Keslassy | Jun 14, 2018 | 12:59PM
Cannes’ Animation Title ‘Another Day of Life’ Sails to Foreign Territories (EXCLUSIVE)
Indie Sales has scored key deals on its critically acclaimed animated feature “Another Day of Life,” rolling off its world premiere as a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival. The Paris-based sales company, which is hosting a gala screening of “Another Day of Life” today June 12 at the Annecy Animation Festival, has sold […]
By Elsa Keslassy | Jun 12, 2018 | 5:00AM
The Orchard Nabs Crime Drama ‘El Angel’ Out of Cannes (EXCLUSIVE)
The Orchard has secured North American rights to Luis Ortega’s “El Angel” following its debut at the Cannes Film Festival. It will debut in the U.S. later this year. Reviewers in the south of France praised the film for its visual panache and compared its treatment of violence and criminality to the early work of […]
By Brent Lang | Jun 07, 2018 | 9:13PM
Film Republic Adds ‘Aleksi’ to Slate (EXCLUSIVE)
London-based boutique film sales outlet Film Republic has added Barbara Vekaric’s “Aleksi” to it slate. The company has unveiled a promo for the film, which is wrapping post-production. The Croatian-Serbian co-production features Tihana Lazovic, who appeared in 2015 Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner “Zvizdan” (The High Sun). She was selected by European Film Promotion […]
By Leo Barraclough | Jun 02, 2018 | 9:06PM
Film Review: ‘Buy Me a Gun’
There’s a Fury Road of sorts running through “Buy Me a Gun,” Meso-American filmmaker Julio Hernández Cordón’s orderless, genre-splicing seventh feature, but it’s a bumpy, meandering one; driving along it, you’ll spot “Mad Max’s” desolate, sun-scorched vistas from the windows, passing by at a fraction of the speed. An indeterminately dystopian vision of Mexico in […]
By Guy Lodge | May 31, 2018 | 5:34PM
Film Review: ‘Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché’
There’s an alarming degree of disingenuousness, or perhaps merely naiveté, permeating “Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché.” To begin with, there’s that title, “The Untold Story,” which ignores a number of earlier documentaries not to mention the significant amount of scholarship on pioneering filmmaker Alice Guy-Blaché. Also omitted is any mention of the […]
By Jay Weissberg | May 31, 2018 | 12:59AM
Cannes Standout ‘Happy as Lazzaro’ Inks Major Global Sales (EXCLUSIVE)
“Happy as Lazzaro,” a prizewinner at the Cannes Film Festival, has sold widely around the world, including to China, the U.K., Germany and Spain, following Netflix’s previously announced acquisition of North and Latin American rights. German sales company The Match Factory has closed deals for more than 20 territories for the time-bending fable about Italy’s […]
By Nick Vivarelli | May 30, 2018 | 3:31PM
New Fund for Women-Directed Films Launches in France
The French culture minister is preparing the launch of a fund dedicated to backing between 10 and 20 projects by women filmmakers. Venus Victrix was created with the help of Eric Garandeau, the former CNC president, co-finance the development and production of movies from female directors around the world. It will operate like funding schemes […]
By Elsa Keslassy | May 30, 2018 | 1:04PM
Fox Networks Grabs Hot Cannes Titles ‘Kingkiller,’ ‘355,’ ‘Scary Stories’
Fox Networks Asia has picked up a slew of rights to film titles that were the hottest earlier this month in Cannes. They include Sam Raimi’s “The Kingkiller Chronicle,” female actioner “355” to be produced by and star Jessica Chastain, and Benedict Cumberbatch-starring Cold War thriller “Ironbark.” The networks group operates some 150 channels in […]
By Patrick Frater | May 29, 2018 | 1:08PM
Kornél Mundruczó’s ‘Jupiter’s Moon’ Sold to Distrib Films U.S. (EXCLUSIVE)
Distrib Films US has acquired U.S. rights to Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó’s “Jupiter’s Moon,” which world premiered in competition at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. “Jupiter’s Moon” follows a young immigrant who mysteriously develops superpowers that enable him to levitate at will after being shot down while illegally crossing the border. Thrown into a refugee […]
By Elsa Keslassy | May 24, 2018 | 1:33PM
Cannes: ‘Burning’ Adds U.K., Japan, Australia Distribution Deals
Distributors in over 100 territories have picked up rights to “Burning,” the Korean drama that debuted in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. With rights deals conducted by sales agent Finecut, the film was licensed to Thunderbird Releasing for the U.K., Palace Films for Australia and New Zealand and to Twin Co for Japan. Other […]
By Patrick Frater | May 24, 2018 | 7:06AM
Cannes Film Review: ‘The Great Mystical Circus’
As the surprise box-office success story of the last six months or so, Michael Gracey’s “The Greatest Showman” indicated that contrary to the film’s sniffy critical reception, there is indeed an audience for glitzy, period-inflected, fanfare-filled stories of life beneath the Big Top. But its word-of-mouth slow build to moneymaking, cult-spawning juggernaut status is unlikely […]
By Jessica Kiang | May 24, 2018 | 6:45AM
Cannes Winner ‘Sicilian Ghost Story’ Bought by Strand Releasing (EXCLUSIVE)
Strand Releasing has acquired all North American rights to Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza’s drama “Sicilian Ghost Story,” Variety has learned exclusively. “Sicilian Ghost Story” opened the International Critics’ Week at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, marking the first time an Italian film launched the Critics’ Week. Grassadonia and Piazza won the David di Donatello […]
By Dave McNary | May 23, 2018 | 9:43PM
