Eddington 2025
Ari Aster's COVID-set 2020 drama, the movie Sean most wishes he were at Cannes for. The teaser paired buffalo going over a cliff with the tagline '2020 is hindsight.'
The Big Picture · Discussion · Interview
The 10 Most Intriguing Movies at the Cannes Film Festival. Plus: ‘Warfare’ Is Hell, With Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza.
April 11, 2025/ 102 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins · Chris Ryan
Sean and Amanda run through the 2025 Cannes lineup: what they're intrigued by, what surprises they expect, and who didn't make the cut. Then Sean and Chris Ryan dig into Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza's 'Warfare,' followed by Sean's interview with the two directors.
15 films across 3 segments.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
The Cannes Film Festival lineupwith Amanda Dobbins
The History of Sound 2025
Oliver Hermanus's queer historical romance with Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor, from a Ben Shattuck short story. Amanda's pick if forced to bet on one film from the lineup; Sean has heard mixed reports.
The Mastermind 2025
The new Kelly Reichardt, also with Josh O'Connor. Sean loves her but won't predict a Best Picture run.
Sentimental Value 2025
Joachim Trier reuniting with Renate Reinsve after 'The Worst Person in the World'; distributed by Mubi, who also has 'The History of Sound.'
The Secret Agent 2025
Kleber Mendonça Filho ('Bacurau'). Sean knows little about it beyond the title, which is enough to sell him.
Alpha 2025
Julia Ducournau's follow-up to 'Titane,' from the former Palme d'Or winner behind 'Raw.'
Eleanor the Great 2025
Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut, starring June Squibb, in Un Certain Regard.
Urchin 2025
Harris Dickinson's directorial debut, another entry in the year of the internet boyfriend.
Highest 2 Lowest 2025
Spike Lee's Apple/A24 remake of Kurosawa's 'High and Low,' playing out of competition, which Sean and Amanda found a strange call for a Cannes staple.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning 2025
Out of competition, but Tom Cruise on the Croisette, his third time at Cannes after 'Top Gun: Maverick.' The kind of Hollywood event movie that tends to open the festival.
It Was Just an Accident 2025
The Jafar Panahi film people will watch closely (referred to on air as 'The Simple Accident').
Romería 2025
Carla Simón's new one, from the director of the 2022 'Alcarràs' Sean liked.
‘Warfare’with Chris Ryan
Warfare 2025
Garland and Mendoza's SEAL-team combat drama, built entirely from the participants' memories of a 2006 Iraq surveillance mission gone wrong. No lead, no political context, shot in London in five weeks with a class-picture cast of young actors. Chris calls it about as upsetting a war movie as he's seen, effectively a horror movie, and doubts you'd ever need to make another war film after it. Seen at the veteran-run American Legion Theater in LA.
Civil War 2024
Garland's prior film, which Mendoza also worked on; Amanda's favorite of 2024. Sean and Chris read 'Warfare' as its twin, another study of truth sought through skewed, fragmentary perspective.
In conversation
Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza on
Warfare 2025
The directors on total-fidelity filmmaking, cross-examining conflicting memories 'forensically,' casting experienced actors over unknowns for a fast five-week shoot, and the anti-war question. Garland thinks any accurate account of war is inevitably anti-war; Mendoza says he wasn't concerned with the why, only the what.
Also mentioned raised along the way
Notable absences from the lineup Die My LoveFather Mother Sister BrotherNo Other ChoiceResurrectionThe Chronology of Water
Cannes past & comparison points TitaneAnoraEmilia PérezThe SubstanceThe ApprenticeThe Worst Person in the WorldRawLivingIkiruHigh and LowShe's Gotta Have ItDo the Right ThingMegalopolisHorizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1Top Gun: MaverickAlcarràsBacurauThelmaThe Wild RobotMay DecemberHard Truths
The Q1 doldrums and the August slate, in passing The AmateurSinnersA Working ManBlack BagMickey 17A Minecraft MovieNobody 2EdenLurkerCaught StealingThe RosesThe War of the RosesThe Naked GunWeaponsThe Handmaiden
War movies in the conversation Black Hawk DownSaving Private RyanPlatoonBorn on the Fourth of JulyThe Hurt LockerZero Dark ThirtyAmerican SniperGreen ZoneRestrepoStop-LossJarheadDunkirkInglourious Basterds1917Paths of GloryCome and See
Background & last-great-things Act of ValorLone SurvivorCommandoThe King of ComedyAll That JazzThe Brutalist
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV Reservation DogsTrue Detective: Night CountryThe StudioSeveranceAdolescenceSpecial Ops: Lioness
Games MinecraftCall of Duty
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