Cannes 2025: Notes from a Festival That Still Matters

I don’t know what you were doing this week, but I was watching Cannes from the sidelines, piecing together the buzz, the ovations, and the inevitable controversies. What emerged? A lineup that tells us cinema is far from dead. Actually, it’s sprinting ahead, bold as ever, refusing to be boxed in by genre or country. Here’s what stood out to me, films that moved the critics, the audiences, and the standing-ovation timers. And, I can't wait to actually see them start to finish.

First, the film everyone’s talking about, Sentimental Value, from Norwegian director Joachim Trier, clocked a 19-minute standing ovation. That’s not a typo. Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve lead this gentle, aching story about estranged family members finding their way back to each other. It’s touted as quiet, elegant, and apparently devastating in the best way. It’s also now a front-runner for both the Palme d’Or and the Oscars. If you see one thing this fall, everyone is saying, let it be this.

Then there’s the political heat. Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho gave us The Secret Agent, a surreal thriller set during Brazil’s 1970s dictatorship. It’s got spies, shadows, and scenes that supposedly sit in your bones. A masterclass in turning political trauma into cinematic poetry. Everyone’s betting on this one for the Palme.

Ukraine showed up. Two Prosecutors, from Sergei Loznitsa, is a biting satire of Stalin-era bureaucracy. Think Kafka in a fur hat, but with a sharper edge and better pacing. It’s not just good, it’s important, and everyone knows it.

Jennifer Lawrence made her Cannes debut with a bang. Lynne Ramsay’s Die, My Love gave her a role unlike anything we’ve seen her in. It’s raw, it’s haunting, and it left the audience gutted. This might be the film that reminds everyone why she won that Oscar in the first place. And, her interviews show a new Lawrence, a mature Lawrence that has a depth that I like a lot. As if she realizes now that taking herself seriously is a good thing.

From Germany came a quiet stunner. Sound of Falling, directed by Mascha Schilinski, is one of those films you don’t talk about right away because it hits somewhere below the ribcage. Told through the eyes of a child, it’s about trauma, memory, and the sounds we carry. It could take the Palme. It should.

Let’s talk about Chile. The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo, directed by Diego Céspedes, won the Un Certain Regard competition. It’s a lyrical, intimate portrait of a town caught in the early days of the AIDS crisis. It’s a big win for Chilean cinema and a reminder that some of the best stories are still being told just outside the spotlight.

Richard Linklater returned to Cannes with a love letter. His new film, Nouvelle Vague, is a tribute to Godard, to Breathless, and to all of us who still believe the history of cinema matters. It’s promising to be charming, smart, and maybe even necessary.

Kristen Stewart stepped behind the camera. Wow. Can't wait. Her directorial debut, The Chronology of Water, adapted from Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir, isn’t for everyone I'm told, but it wasn’t meant to be. It’s sold as visceral and unapologetic. It might not win awards, but it will find its audience, and that’s enough.

And finally, everyone is saying to keep your eye on Harris Dickinson. Yes, the actor. He directed Urchin, a deeply personal film about addiction and survival in the underbelly of London. It’s rough. It’s real. And it shows Dickinson has more than one talent worth watching.

Cannes this year reminded me of something important. Film still makes us feel, argue, weep, rally. And maybe most of all, it reminds us that telling a story well is still an act of power.