A sensation is spreading on the Croisette. This is goosebumps. What should we think of this Crimes of the Future by Cronenberg which received a six-minute ovation when it premiered at the Grand Théâtre Lumière? An admirer of the director of A History of Violence swears that it is a concentrate of all his work. That is to say. In the conference room, the journalists are surprisingly transformed into groupies. Strange image that that of colleagues glued to the table to take photos of celebrities. These arrived a quarter of an hour late. Does the fault lie with Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux or Kristen Stewart?
Cronenberg carries the journalists in old road of the media exercise. “When I write a new film, I don’t think about my old films. But I know that there will necessarily be links because they come from the same nervous system. And cinematographic crimes, I would still like to commit some of them … ”, launches the filmmaker of 79 years, who largely influenced the winner of the last palme d’or to date. And who kept and then put his kidney stones on sale as NFTs.
In this crime, he imagines a dystopia, if one dares to say intestinal, in which an artist plays with her organs to create an avant-garde spectacle. Tantalizing. The film addresses “the question of who owns his own body”, he summarizes. Before adding, referring to the possible overturning in the United States of the Roe vs. Wade judgment authorizing women to have abortions: “It is a constant in history that certain governments seek to control the population.”
Édouard Baer, who does not present a film but has the desire to blow a wind of fantasy on the Croisette, gave an appointment at 12:07 p.m., by a word dropped on Instagram, in the gardens of a hotel to celebrate during the day. Soon, the crowd came in large numbers and welcomed by a handshake from the actor, dancing to the rhythm of a municipal band happy to have to play Elton John and the group Europe. This pot, organized with François Damiens, was given in honor of Franco-Belgian friendship. A joke? Even former Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo honored him with his presence.
“It’s in addition to the festival, the desire to add something. It reminds me of my youth in the 1970s and 1980s,” smiles Édouard Baer, referring to the freedom that reigned a few decades ago on the Croisette. Martine, who has frequented the place for thirty years, has the same feeling: “At the time, the parties kept their doors open, we slipped in and had fun…” Today, the highly rated terrace of Albane looks like Fort Knox. On the spot, young trendy France Inter, amused moviegoers or unidentifiable characters jiggle. Dressed as a woman, Romy Schneider’s former housekeeper sips champagne.
Tito El Frances skilfully cuts slices of a tasty black Bigorre pork ham. We know this tattooed guitarist for his appearances on Radio Nova or France Inter in the wake of Baer. “I met Édouard when I had put my guitar to dry in the middle of hams”, swears the guy from the Arcachon basin. He bustles around the pig’s leg, a long knife in one hand, a glass of red wine in the other. Olas and a Marseillaise electrify the guests languid with alcohol and the sun. A young girl has had a Cannes palme d’or drawn on her short blond hair. Another has it tattooed on her arm.
The festival is like a beacon of vanities: by the sea, a jogger goes shirtless, takes a photo of himself with a statue in the shape of a golden palm. Not far from there, Nicolas Sarkozy in sneakers forces his bodyguards to run under the sun. A pair of crocodile loafers stick out from a deckchair. A huge bouquet of red roses is walking around town: it is to join the suite of a famous actress, we are told. The seller at the auction regrets that Liberation is no longer successful. “I sell 70 a day, compared to 300 a day four years ago…”, explains the man, a gardener the rest of the year. Ryan can’t hide his joy. This first-grade student comes to Cannes for the first time, quickly bought a tuxedo and never leaves the halls of the city. “I dream of seeing all the films. To say that my school thinks that I am on an internship as we speak…”
Next to him in front of the Palace of Festivals, a group holds a sign “Free Çiğdem Mater”. This documentary filmmaker and journalist has just been sentenced to 18 years in prison. A decision described as “devastating” for human rights by Amnesty International. He is accused of supporting the philanthropist Osman Kavala, sentenced to life imprisonment for “attempting to overthrow the government”, as well as the demonstrations sparked by the construction of a shopping center in an Istanbul park. She was accused of shooting a documentary on the subject. “Ridiculous allegations”, sweeps Nadir Öperli, co-producer with Çiğdem Mater of Burning Days, presented in Un certain regard. “We are wholeheartedly with her,” breathes director Emin Alper.
