La Presse at the 76th Cannes Film Festival | Seen on the Croisette

Each day, The Press presents films seen on the Croisette.

Dead leavesby Aki Kaurismäki: a funny and tender look

Casually, you have to go back to 2011 to find the last time Aki Kaurismäki was in the running for the Palme d’Or (it was with Le Havre). The veteran Finnish filmmaker, whose most awarded work at Cannes remains The man without a past (Grand Prix du jury in 2002), is this time back true to itself, that is to say with a charming melancholic comedy, which is imbued with that very distinct humor, specific to those whose laughter is the politeness of despair. Punctuated by standards of the song, sometimes interpreted in Finnish (this is the case of the immortal by Prévert and Kosma which gives the feature film its French title), the story, set in Helsinki, unfolds to the sound of the developments of the war in Ukraine that we hear on the radio, when the city of Mariupol is bombarded by Russian troops. In this end-of-the-world atmosphere, two beings who have never known love meet and convince themselves that they are made for each other, without asking too many questions. But the man, who raises his elbow more often than not, loses the paper on which is written the telephone number of the lady who, she, realizes that she knows nothing of the one for whom she has felt a sort of thunderbolt. Will they meet again? If so, is there hope for a real relationship? Fans of Kaurismäki’s cinema will find here the inimitable style of a filmmaker who knows how to take a funny and tender look at the invisibles of society. It is good to find him.

Club Zeroby Jessica Hausner: a denunciation of blind faith

Jessica Hausner’s previous feature, Little Joe, earned its lead actress, Emily Beecham, the Best Actress Award. Four years later, the Austrian filmmaker is back with Club Zero, a thriller orchestrated around the issue of eating disorders. The spectator is also warned from the outset – it’s a wink – that people sensitive to this problem risk being disturbed by certain sequences. In an unidentified town, where there is a private school attended by teenagers from wealthy families, a new teacher (Mia Wasikowska) arrives. The young woman, recruited through video clips on the internet, is hired to give young people a nutrition course with an innovative concept, which consists of considerably reducing the quantities and, above all, becoming aware of each bite by chewing very slowly. . However, it appears that this “concept” will quickly take on all the characteristics of a sect, to the chagrin of parents who no longer know how to bring their children back to a healthier approach to food. With a real concern about the direct link between our way of eating and the survival of the planet, Jessica Hausner pushes the idea to the extreme and offers a reflection on social issues that will be talked about more and more. , thanks to the younger generations. Establishing an anxiety-provoking climate from the start, the director stays the course throughout a film denouncing blind faith in a cause. It’s quite striking.