Until Next Year, Cannes: A Cinephile’s Tribute to the Palme d’Or

Several Months ago I applied to attend the Cannes Film Festival as a cinephile, after attending on accident back in 2023 while backpacking across Europe with my dear friend Kate I figured it was fate and I had to attend again sometime in the near future. Due to a polite rejection letter from the festival, that time is not now unfortunately, but hopefully next year or in the years to follow. As I wrote in my motivation letter, “cinema not only produces gorgeous cinematography and memorable lines of dialogue, it conjures emotions from audiences that transcends language or cultural differences.”

In honor of the Cannes Film Festival coming to a close I’d like to share some of my favorite films to have won the P’alme D’Or. The P’alme D’Or, or The Golden Palm is is the highest honor a film can receive at Cannes. It's awarded to the director of the best film in the official competition. The Palme d'Or is widely considered one of the most prestigious film awards in the world. Without further adieu, and in no particular order, here at my favorite recipients of the P’alme D’Or. Cin Cin!

“The backbone of any society is its community and everlasting culture keeping it upright. With cinema, we offer a glance into those societies through their communities; whether they are based on true events or entirely fictional. Not every film is made for every person and I value the subjectivity of art and cinema’s allowance for individuals to have their own unique voice and interests. I've noticed a steady decline in attention to individuality and an incline in actor conformity, especially in the United States. I fell in love with movies for the escapism they offered: the evocative score, elaborate and significant costume design, the fascinating world behind the scenes, and the performers and players on and off screen. Along the way I fell deeper in love with the universal language of cinema that connects people regardless of language. Cinema not only produces gorgeous cinematography and memorable lines of dialogue, it conjures emotions from audiences that transcends language or cultural differences.”

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• Titane (2021) dir. Julia Ducournau

A woman with a metal plate in her head from a childhood car accident embarks on a bizarre journey, bringing her into contact with a firefighter who’s reunited with his missing son after 10 years.

Body horror doesn’t even begin to describe this ridiculous ride that I never wanted to get off. I was such a fan of Raw that I couldn’t wait to see this film after hearing it’s praise from Cannes in 2021. Stunning visuals, chaotic stunts and action, and a visceral ending that I think about far too often.

• The Piano (1993 tie with Farewell My Concubine) dir. Jane Campion

When an arranged marriage brings Ada and her spirited daughter to the wilderness of nineteenth-century New Zealand, she finds herself locked in a battle of wills with both her controlling husband and a rugged frontiersman to whom she develops a forbidden attraction.

When I watched this in my world cinema class I sobbed silently in the back corner of the screening room, similarly to how I did during Thelma & Louise in a screenwriting class. A devastating depiction of the effects of trauma, colonization, romance. Truly worth its acclaim, and Anna Paquin, My Sookie, is phenomenal.

• Pulp Fiction (1994) dir. Quentin Tarentino

  
  

  

  
  

A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster’s moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time.

Whatever expectations you have for this film based on the film bro phenomena that surrounds it, forget them. I remember seeing this movie for the first time and feeling astonished at the abandonment of traditional story structure, it’s brilliant and insane at the same time. I love it and there’s a reason so many others do too.

• Paris, Texas (1984)

  
  

  

  
  

A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier.

There is a Movies I Watched this Week video where talk about this film at length and it’s beauty and striking use of color to push emotions forward. I think this is a masterclass in cinematography and the use of surroundings to establish solitude in different environments. Not what I originally expected and I couldn’t be happier.

• The Conversation (1974)

  
  

  

  
  

A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.

Forced to watch this in a sound design course I fell in love with the experimental approach and detail within the soundscape. Similarly to Apocalypse Now in the way they both have such layered scores and use of folly, overall a great mystery.

• Taste of Cherry (1997)

  
  

  

  
  

A middle-aged Tehranian man, Mr. Badii is intent on killing himself and seeks someone to bury him after his demise. Driving around the city, the seemingly well-to-do Badii meets with numerous people, including a Muslim student, asking them to take on the job, but initially he has little luck. Eventually, Badii finds a man who is up for the task because he needs the money, but his new associate soon tries to talk him out of committing suicide.

This is one of the saddest movies I have ever seen while at the same time being the most beautiful and heart-warming. With the most vivid scenes and landscapes held together by the Mr.Badii’s natural connection to the other players in the film. It is a fantastic story of human connection and mental illness encompassed with the striking backdrop of Iran.

• Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)

  
  

  

  
  

Suffering from acute kidney failure, Boonmee has chosen to spend his final days surrounded by his loved ones in the countryside. Surprisingly, the ghost of his deceased wife appears to care for him, and his long lost son returns home in a non-human form. Contemplating the reasons for his illness, Boonmee treks through the jungle with his family to a mysterious hilltop cave—the birthplace of his first life.

Another world cinema staple, the final sequence of this film has stuck with me for years. I have to say, had I never watched this in school I probably never would have at all and for that I am grateful. What an interesting and thoughtful approach to a universal question? What is our life’s purpose. Boonmee takes you on that journey in a unfamiliar way that graces the screen and leaves you almost speechless.

• Triangle of Sadness (2022)

  
  

  

  
  

A celebrity model couple are invited on a luxury cruise for the uber-rich, helmed by an unhinged, alcoholic captain. What first appears Instagrammable ends catastrophically, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island in a struggle of hierarchy.

If you liked The Menu or any film that pokes fun at the absurd, out-of-touch nature of the wealthy, here you go. Not only is this movie hilarious the writing is phenomenal and the ensemble cast blends together so well to capture this ridiculous chain of events that put life into perspective, as so many of these films do.

• Taxi Driver (1976)

  
  

  

  
  

A mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran works as a night-time taxi driver in New York City where the perceived decadence and sleaze feed his urge for violent action.

Jodi Foster steals the show in this, sorry De Niro. Love it, it’s a classic so I’m sure you’ve heard but not just in a “film bro.” I have an affinity for films and television shows based in New York because it almost feels like Oz, where the impossible is possible. Films from the 70s in New York just really do something for me and Taxi Driver is no exception.

• Anatomy of the Fall (2023)

  
  

  

  
  

A woman is suspected of her husband’s murder, and their blind son faces a moral dilemma as the sole witness.

If you had to watch one film from this list have it be Anatomy of the Fall. From performance and theatrical blocking, to the richest of cinematography and moral dilemmas depicted on screen- I absolutely love this film and it’s approach to a crime thriller.

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Here is the Full List of Winners of the P’alme d’Or if you are interested.

I encourage you to watch any of these films, at least one if you haven’t, but all if you’re ambitious. Storytelling has no bounds and often we are limited to the stories we see on tv and the big screen in America. Afford yourself the pleasure of experiencing the world through a different set of eyes, expand your horizons on what films your willing to look for.

Being exposed to new cinema on accident or on purpose is always a gift, any movie is worth seeing in some capacity so I hope at least one of these sparked interest with you. It’s been a dream of mine to go to the Cannes Film Festival and see the magic of global cinema and one day I will. No act is too small. No dream is too big.

Till next time stay flirty, stay thirsty, and stay tuned. Watch more movies together. Make more movies together.

See you soon,

Paige B.