Cannes Awards Predictions: As Rumors Swirl Over Which Film Teams Are Heading Back To The Palais, Deadline’s Critics Make Their Picks

The rumors are presently swirling astir which movie delegations person been called backmost to nan Cannes closing ceremonial this evening. The buzz is beardown that Minotaur, Fjord, The Dreamed Adventure, Fatherland, La Bola Negra and La Gradiva are among those that person been told to return to nan Palais.

Below, Deadline’s critics bespeak connected this year’s imaginable winners…

PETE HAMMOND

There are a number of ways nan assemblage tin go, and based connected past acquisition it is almost intolerable to foretell nan mood. We tin propose that, because Park Chan-Wook is starring nan jury, nan Palme d’Or mightiness spell to thing he would prefer, but that isn’t ever nan case. Remember, Steven Spielberg’s assemblage chose Blue is nan Warmest Color and that movie hardly reminded you of thing Spielberg had ever made. Critics this twelvemonth look highest connected Pawel Pawlikowski’s Fatherland and Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s All Of a Sudden. The achromatic and achromatic 82 infinitesimal Fatherland seems for illustration a fastener to get something. I’m not arsenic sure, contempt captious huzzahs, that nan Ryusuke movie will alert arsenic high, particularly since nan adjacent 220-minute movie is awfully talky and feels for illustration a speech overmuch of nan time. I’m not judge it will activity pinch this assemblage nan measurement it worked pinch astir critics (myself not included, though it had immoderate things to admire).

Then again I really liked Asghar Farhadi’s Parallel Tales — but critics didn’t, truthful possibly they will prevail connected that one. I would emotion to spot a astonishment there, but it’s astir apt not a bully bet. Gentle Monster, pinch Léa Seydoux, and The Beloved, pinch Javier Bardem, had those stars giving near-career-best performances, truthful they whitethorn beryllium difficult to hit successful nan overcrowded acting categories, but you ne'er know. There person been immoderate obscure picks successful nan past, and Rami Malek successful The Man I Love could beryllium besides successful nan mix, arsenic could immoderate number of women, including Scarlett Johansson successful Paper Tiger, a movie from James Gray that marks his sixth clip successful title truthful acold pinch not a azygous prize to nan man.

This week saw immoderate existent promising prospects bringing up nan rear and charging towards nan caput of nan pack, including erstwhile Palme d’Or victor Cristian Mungiu’s magnificent Fjord, and then, connected Thursday night, nan biggest ovations of nan fest went to back-to-back movies astir nan cheery experience: Spain’s epic La Bola Negra and Belgium’s friendly Coward. Both could good fig successful nan winning column. This is conscionable excessively difficult to predict, but I will anyway. Warning: Last twelvemonth I deliberation I went 2 for 7 truthful support that successful mind.

Pete Hammond’s Predictions

Palme d’Or: La Bola Negra, Javier Calvo & Javier Ambrossi
Grand Prize: Fjord Cristian Mungiu
Jury Prize: Fatherland Pawel Pawlikowski
Director: Lukas Dhont, Coward
Screenplay: Ira Sachs, The Man I Love
Actor: Javier Bardem , The Beloved
Actress: Lea Seydoux, Gentle Monster

DAMON WISE

As nan awarding hr draws closer, nan jungle drums statesman to deafen, but this twelvemonth is simply a very tricky twelvemonth to predict, overmuch arsenic it ever is. For 1 thing, critics are ne'er simpatico pinch nan jury, and nan 4th property is already building a ringing obstruction astir nan astir austere European offerings, those being Pawel Pawlikowski’s Fatherland and Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Minotaur. What nan awesome bores of Europe often forget, however, is that that juries don’t deliberation on nan aforesaid lines arsenic they do; indeed, show head Thierry Fremaux often time off a way of breadcrumbs for nan assemblage president, successful this lawsuit Park Chan-wook.

Thus Director Park will apt beryllium mulling complete nan sprawling monster sci-fi Hope, by his countryman Na Hong-Jin, and perchance Léa Mysius’s thriller-romp The Birthday Party, which contains a batch of Park’s trademark achromatic humor. But will nan assemblage beryllium emotion those films too? Like Pete, I deliberation La Bola Negra has an unfastened extremity here; it’s excessively long, and a spot messy, but it has a large bosom that has been missing from (most of) nan Competition. So excessively does Lukas Dhont’s Coward, but successful a show over-stuffed pinch writer-directors, Dhont’s grant could spell to either 1 of his 2 young leads (he doesn’t half cognize really to prime them).

This year’s stealth bomb, for maine astatine least, is Valeska Grisebach’s The Dreamed Adventure, which could easy return Director, Grand Prix and Best Actress. But nan taxable of nan show this twelvemonth appears to beryllium French politics, some successful and retired of Competition; if I had my druthers, I’d spell for Gilles Lellouche successful Moulin, but I deliberation nan French résistance movie to get down mightiness beryllium Emmanuel Marre’s A Man of His Time (but don’t show anyone, aliases opportunity it much than once). In a twelvemonth ray connected workplace fare, it seems very apt that nan character grant will spell to a French film, pinch Léa Seydoux (Gentle Monster) and Adèle Exarchopoulos (Garance) successful nan running. Personally, I’d for illustration it to spell to Ayase Haruka for Sheep successful nan Box.

How will nan heavyweights fare? James Gray’s Paper Tiger was a awesome subordinate successful this year’s announcement (was it successful aliases out?), pinch mixed reviews. Almodóvar doesn’t look apt to triumph pinch Bitter Christmas either, not that he’ll mind pinch his sanction each complete La Bola Negro. Returning Palme victor Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord, though, has plentifulness of admirers — but wherever will it land? As Pete says, Cannes is nan hardest of each nan awards to predict.

Damon Wise’s Predictions

Palme d’Or: La Bola Negra, Javier Calvo & Javier Ambrossi
Grand Prize: Minotaur, Andrey Zvyagintsev
Jury Prize: Fatherland, Pawel Pawlikowski
Director: The Dreamed Adventure, Valeska Grisebach
Screenplay: Notre Salut, Emmanuel Marre
Actor: Emmanuel Maccia, Coward
Actress: Ayase Haruka, Sheep successful nan Box