Film and Media

'Spectateurs', a tribute to the cinema of Arnaud Desplechin

24 May 2024

2' min read

After Leos Carax, it is Arnaud Desplechin's turn to talk about himself and his passion for the cinema: if Carax had thrilled with his 'C'est pas moi', Desplechin proposes a comparable operation, albeit formally very different, with 'Spectateurs', one of the most eagerly awaited films among the special screenings of this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Desplechin again chooses the character of Paul Dédalus - created for the 1996 film "Comment je me suis disputé... (ma vie sexuelle)" and then reprised in 2015 in "My Finest Days" - as his increasingly explicit alter ego. "Spectateurs" is a film centred on the director's and his Paul's passion for cinema, whose early experiences as a child in a cinema hall we follow through to the awareness gained over the years.

As in the two aforementioned films, Paul as an adult is played by Mathieu Amalric, a fetish actor for Desplechin and the interpreter of some of the most successful films of his career such as 'The Kings and the Queen' (2004) and the very powerful 'Christmas Story' (2008).

Mixing the language of documentary with that of fiction, without forgetting an extensive use of archive material, Desplechin signs a colourful and sincere (self)portrait, in which one feels all the personal and emotional drive that gave rise to this curious operation.

Quotations from the past

From Michael Cimino's 'The Deer Hunter' to François Truffaut's 'The 400 Blows', via Claude Lanzmann's documentary 'Shoah', which occupies a long fragment of the film and seems to have been truly unforgettable viewing for Desplechin, there are countless quotations and homages that the French director makes to (his!) film history.

The idea behind the film is simple and certainly already seen, but 'Spectateurs' is nonetheless a product capable of touching the right emotional chords and of thrilling the most cinephile audience.

The style is at times mannered, but the vision remains enjoyable, engaging and capable of giving rise to more than one reflection.

Anora

Also full of cinematic passion is 'Anora' by Sean Baker, an American director who has made his name with decidedly original films such as 'Starlet' and 'Tangerine'.

Three years after the swinging 'Red Rocket', Baker is back in competition at the Cannes Film Festival with a film that probably represents the peak of maturity of his entire career.

The protagonist is the Anora of the title, a girl who works as a stripper in a New York club. In the club she happens upon the son of a Russian oligarch who falls in love with her and ends up asking her to marry him.

In this film, which may be reminiscent of 'Pretty Woman', Baker displays a stylistic and narrative strength even more solid than in his previous works, managing to create a product that is both good entertainment and also capable of entertaining.

In the 138-minute running time not everything is perfect, but the overall design works, even in the alternation between light-hearted and much darker moments.

Remarkable performance by the cast, with a special mention for Yura Borisov, already appreciated in Juho Kuosmanen's 'Compartment No. 6'.

Because of its originality, 'Anora' could easily find a place in the final palmarès.