(Cannes) Every day, La Presse presents films seen on the Croisette.
Set in 1955 in the depths of the desert of the American West, Asteroid City is one of those films where the smallest role is played by a renowned actor. More successful than The French Dispatch, Wes Anderson’s new opus still suffers from this desire to appeal to too large a cast. It leaves a little perplexed, insofar as, once again, we wonder on arrival about what we have just seen. With his absurd, tongue-in-cheek humour, the director of Moonrise Kingdom leads us into a story where gifted children are invited to Asteroid City, a desert town, to present their inventions to a delegation of soldiers and astronomers. that nuclear tests are taking place right next door. All this part takes place in a decor with saturated colors, which is almost comic book. At the same time, a black and white play inspired by what is happening in Asteroid City is rehearsed. The whole thing is of course inventive, often impressive in terms of the composition of the images, and punctuated with underground gags that make you smile. But still ? I nevertheless wanted to ask at the exit.
A co-production between France and Quebec, Caitin Blues is presented as part of ACID (Association du Cinéma Indépendant pour sa diffusion), a section integrated into the Cannes Film Festival, which includes a dozen international productions. Already shown at the Visions du réel (Nyon) and Hot Docs (Toronto) festivals, this documentary film, directed by adopted Quebecer Justine Harbonnier, paints the portrait of Caiti Lord, a talented artist in her thirties. living in Madrid, New Mexico. The interest of the feature film lies in the particular journey of a woman who cannot really live from her art, but who, above all, tries to build herself, despite the pitfalls on her way. Talking about herself at the microphone of a program she hosts on the radio, also finding herself a family among those who are considered marginal in more conservative circles, Caiti reveals herself to be touching, especially as the director offers his attentive and benevolent camera, in addition to highlighting his talent as an artist. In the background of this first feature film, a particular political context, that of the first years of the presidency of Donald Trump.
