Palme d’Or: Cannes on the home stretch – who will win at the festival?

Golden Palm
Cannes on the home stretch – who will win the festival?

Sandra Hüller in two prime roles, a Finnish love story or a drama about a couple with a scandalous age difference: Before the end of the Cannes Film Festival, there are some favorites for the main prize, the Palme d’Or, which will be awarded on Saturday evening. A handful of films were able to convince a particularly large number of critics. Among them are the two competition entries in which Sandra Hüller plays. The 45-year-old has a good chance of winning the award for best actress.

In “The Zone of Interest” by Jonathan Glazer, Hüller plays Hedwig, the wife of concentration camp commandant Rudolf Höß. The film, based on a novel by the late author Martin Amis, was praised for its unique narrative approach to the Holocaust. Glazer focuses on the domestic life of Höss and his family, who lived in a luxurious house right next to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Viewers only see the outer walls of Auschwitz or a smoking chimney. Screams can be heard while Hedwig walks through her stately garden or shows flowers to the baby. The horror is made clear by the stark contrast to the life of the Höß family.

In “Anatomy of a Fall” Hüller embodies the author Sandra, who has to answer in court after the death of her husband. The drama by Justine Triet particularly convinced the French critics. Although large parts of the film take place in the courtroom, the work is not primarily about explaining what happened. Instead, the drama is about the line between fiction and reality and the failure of a marriage.

Aki Kaurismäki in the race for the fifth time

The tragic comedy “Fallen Leaves” by Aki Kaurismäki received very good reviews. The Finnish director is in the running for the Palme d’Or for the fifth time and has developed a loyal fan community. An award would probably be understood as honoring his life’s work. “Fallen Leaves” tells the story of two lonely people on the fringes of society who are looking for love. Supermarket worker Ansa has just lost her job for picking up an expired sandwich. The alcoholic construction worker Holappa also staggers from one job to the next. The two find each other without many words – and then threaten to lose each other again. As usual, Kaurismäki tells a sparse fairy tale, which delighted the cinema audience with its humour.

Many Hollywood stars were seen in the competition. For example in Wes Anderson’s film “Asteroid City”, which received rather restrained reviews due to the lack of narrative depth.

It was different with “May December” by Todd Haynes. Natalie Portman plays an actress who wants to film the scandal of a relationship between Gracie (Julianne Moore) and a much younger man. Gracie began an affair with a 13-year-old student in her mid-30s in the 1990s and was imprisoned for it. The two are now married. “May December” features two actresses at their best, and the drama has also been praised for its humor and depth.

Awards ceremony on Saturday evening

“Four Daughters” by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania was also remembered. The film combines fictional and documentary elements and tells the story of the Tunisian Olfa Hamrouni. She became known in 2016 when she made the radicalization of her daughters public. The two left Tunisia as teenagers to fight alongside the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Libya. Now they are in prison.

However, not all 21 competition films have been shown yet. The last two films are to follow on Friday evening.

Last year the satire “Triangle of Sadness” by Ruben Östlund won the main prize. The Swedish director is the president of the jury this year. Only twice in the history of the festival, which took place this year for the 76th time, has a woman won the Palme d’Or. The closing ceremony begins at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Festival de Cannes

dpa