Cannes Film Fest and a ‘ delightfully burlesque romantic comedy’

The Cannes Film Festival has begun its roll, and as it slowly picks up pace and opens its screen on May 12 by the shimmering blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea, it will be once again lights, movies and glamour. Held annually at Cannes on the French Riviera, the 12-day film gala, with thousands of men and women flocking to watch dozens of movies—almost all of them world premieres—is often called the Queen of All.

In what has been happening for 78 editions, the Festival has begun to slowly let us peek into its programme. The opening film will be Pierre Salvadori’s 1920s-set La Venus Electrique. The French director’s work will follow the opening ceremony hosted by actress Eye Haidara. It is 1928, and Paris is gay and debauched, and it is in this setting that we see a young painter, Antoine Balestro, struggling to put brush to canvas. The colours are eluding him, and he has been unable to paint since his wife died—much to the despair of the gallery owner, Armand.

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The plot synopsis, which came from the Festival on Wednesday, reads: “One drunken evening, Antoine tries to contact his wife through a psychic. Unbeknownst to him, he is actually speaking with Suzanne, a humble carnival worker who has sneaked into the trailer to steal food. Suzanne proves to be a gifted fraudster, and, soon aided by Armand, she stages one fake séance after another. “Little by little, Antoine regains his inspiration, but the situation gets complicated for Suzanne as she finds herself falling in love with the man she is manipulating.” The Festival has described Salvadori’s 11th feature as a “delightfully burlesque romantic comedy.”

It is the director’s “imaginings of the Roaring Twenties, marked by artistic effervescence, popular entertainment, and spiritualism,” which permeate the work. “Cannes celebrates everything I love about cinema,” said Salvadori, whose best-known works include Priceless (2006) and The Trouble with You (2018). “Direction, boldness, freedom, and filmmakers. Cannes discovers them, supports them, and celebrates them. In its own way, my movie embodies all the faith and love I have for my craft. I am so proud and happy that it’s kicking off the Festival!” His latest project, which will simultaneously screen across theatres in France as it opens Cannes, follows Leave One Day, Amélie Bonnin’s first feature, which opened the 78th edition. The 79th annual Cannes Film Festival will run from May 13 to 26.

(THE WRITER HAS BEEN COVERING THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL FOR MORE THAN THREE DECADES.)