During the first day of the Cannes Film Festival 2023, the short film directed by Pedro Almodovar with stars Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal will be presented.
After the opening ceremony with the return of Johnny Depp on the red carpet, Cannes 2023 comes alive with a program full of screenings and meetings.
On Wednesday 17, in fact, the Quinzaine des Realisateurs and the Critics’ Week will also get underway.
The arrival of the western signed by Pedro Almodovar
Among the most awaited moments is the screening of Strange Way of Life, directed by Pedro Almodovar. Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal are the protagonists of the story of a sheriff and a ranch owner who meet after twenty-five years and celebrate their reunion. The next day, however, the real reason for the meeting emerges.
Steven McQueen will present Occupied City, a documentary inspired by Atlas of an Occupied City (Amsterdam 1940-1945) by Bianca Stigter and which offers two portraits of the city investigating what happened during the Nazi occupation and in the years of the pandemic and protests.
Among the special screenings also Anselm by Wim Wenders, which offers a unique cinematic experience by delving into the works of Anselm Kiefer, revealing his source of inspiration and the creative process thanks to the use of 3D.
Michael Douglas, after receiving the Palme d’Or for his career, will be the protagonist of a meeting that will allow him to deepen his career and private life.
Competing titles
There will be two titles in the competition. The first is Monster by Hirokazu Koreeda which tells the story of a mother who feels that there is something wrong with her son’s life. After discovering that a teacher is responsible, the woman demands to know the truth.
The second film in competition is Homecoming by Catherine Corsini. At the center of the plot is Khédidja who works for a wealthy family in Paris, who offer her the possibility of caring for their children during the summer in Corsica, also having the opportunity to bring along her teenage daughters, Jessica and Farah.
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The other proposals of the day
The section In some perspective will open with the screening of Le règne Animal, directed by Thomas Cailley. On the screen is shown a world marked by mutations that are gradually turning humans into animals. François tries to do everything to save his wife and embarks on a mission with his sixteen-year-old son. The cast includes Romain Duris, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Paul Kircher and Tom Mercier.
Among the screenings proposed by the official selection also that of the restored and final cut version of Caligula, the classic of the 70s with stars Malcolm McDowell, Peter O’Toole and Helen Mirren.
The Quinzaine des Cineastes it will instead have as its opening film The Goldman Case, directed by Cédric Kahn, which retraces a case that divided France in 1976 and which stars Arieh Worthalter, Arthur Harari and Chloé Lecerf.
Critics’ Week will open with two films: Ama Gloria by Marie Amachoukeli, which tells the story of little Cléo and her nanny Gloria who has to return to Cape Verde, and Tiger Stripes by Amanda Nell Eu in which twelve-year-old Zaffan discovers a terrifying secret about herself which leads her to be attacked even by her friends, discovering that accepting herself is the only way to be free.
