On the red carpet at Cannes last week, Tom Cruise flashed his pearly whites at a team of French fighter jets as they blazed a tricolore trail overhead for a screening of his new film, Top Gun: Maverick.
Welcome to Cannes , reality and unreality colliding in two very different blockbuster moments. What is it even doing there? Do you really have to ask? Lovingly assembled from old home footage and newsreel clips by its co-star and director, Marusya Syroechkovskaya, the film doubles as a fond farewell to a friend and a deeply affecting portrayal of depression and addiction amid the steadily darkening backdrop of life in 21st-century Russia.
OK, time for one last hurrah before heading home: Aftersun , another avowedly personal work from first-time director Charlotte Wells, tells the story of a young girl on holiday with her beloved father in Turkey at the end of the 90s. All package-holiday details from the era are present and hilariously on-point, from the Macarena-dancing dads to the arcade-game encounters with other kids, and both father and daughter are beautifully portrayed by Normal People star Paul Mescal and newcomer Frankie Corro.
It culminates in a fantastically realised β and unbearably sad β dance between the two that reduces the whole audience to tears. Cue a standing ovation for the visibly emotional director and cast, who have created something very special here, and a welcome reminder of the best thing about film festivals: the chance to witness first-hand the heart and soul that go into films by the people that make them.
What a way to say goodbye. Dazed media sites. Our guide to what was popping during the first week of the French film industry extravaganza, back in bacchanalian full swing after a low-key May 23, Text Alex Denney. I would like to receive the AnOther newsletter.
