The main attraction at what might be the world's most bifurcated film festival is certainly the Palme d'Or competition. But there is always a film or two that finds a fair amount of buzz out of one of the primary sidebars of Directors' Fortnight or Critics' Week (both misnomers, by the way, as the sidebars run 10 day and 9 days respectively). Last year's Critics' Week gave us Raw and the 2015 edition of Directors' Fortnight featured the premiere of Green Room. But typically it's one or two movies max that garner the kind of attention usually reserved for the big competition titles.
That trend does not seem to be holding true in 2017 where quite a few films from the two main sidebars have already received a great deal of buzz, one entry from America even being called the best film at the fest by a few journalists.
Those who were lucky enough to get a seat were treated to a truly beautiful film. Baker turns his attention from L.A.'s seedy Sunset Blvd to Orlando's run down motels that serve as residences for that city's destitute. The Florida Project is told through the eyes of a six-year-old girl played incredibly by Brooklynn Prince and therefore carries with it the magic of a childhood summer where every corner hides some enchanted discovery. Baker's genius is in the nuance he instills in his characters. Willem Defoe plays a motel manager who is at the same time strict, protective, annoyed, gentle, rough, and comedic. In lesser hands, this character's flaws would be heightened and values diminished, only so that a final act reversal would show his growth. But he is so much more in the hands of these talented dramatists and this character, much like the movie, is sure to stick with you long after the credits roll.
Back in Directors' Fortnight, one final movie that seems to have been a big hit is ChloƩ Zhao's The Rider. Like her first film Songs My Brother Taught Me, this sophomore effort from Zhao takes place in the American plains. It tells the story of a rodeo rider who is confronted with the end of his career after he suffers a brutal injury. There is much more in Shelagh's rave review, but she sums it up beautifully by saying, " The Rider confirms Zhao as one of the great new American directors, looking at the lives of people too often ignored in cinema, and in a way too often not attempted."
Cannes 2017 Dispatch: A Strong Year for the Sidebars