It’s the second day of the festival, and the wheels of Cannes keep rolling. As Thierry Fermaux, Cannes artistic director, says, what makes the festival so appealing is that despite the pandemic, the halls here are still crowded. This will likely be remembered as a miracle for years to come. In any case, Cannes has kept the lights of cinema on and viewers coming by curating an engaging program full of powerful stories.
Benedetta
One of the festival’s most anticipated films is Paul Verhoeven’s Benedetta, which screened on the second day. As has been known for some time, Verhoeven wrestles with a challenging and taboo subject in this film. This is the story of a nun who falls in love with another nun. Verhoeven has created memorable moments in this film with brilliant and extraordinary performances from the main character, which again shows Verhoeven’s miraculous talent. As a director, Verhoeven began his career in 1960. But he can still make challenging films that make the audience’s heart beat faster with the unexpected. Benedetta maintains its intensity throughout its multiple climaxes. The movie is full of brilliant and ironic handling of religion. We’re confronted here with a director who does not shy away from toying with and challenging sacred mythology. The only problem is that Verhoeven, at times, gets carried away with his critique of religion in a way that detracts from the organic unfolding of the main story. This tends to come off as a personal vendetta on the director’s part.
The Worst Person in the World
A Norwegian director, Joachim Trier, has had a more prominent presence at the Cannes Film Festival in recent years. This year, his film has a psychological subject and theme and deals with family and marital relations, the themes so dear to him. The actors have created many memorable moments, and the pacing is good throughout. The film is divided into twelve distinct episodes.
Throughout these, we follow a relationship from its first days to its last, as well as to the climax, where everything is supposed to end. Trier uses this film to voice his perspective on modern Norwegian society, as well as how relationships are formed and the persistent anxieties about infidelity, love, etc. This is one of the most brilliant films to be screened at Cannes this year. After the director’s less successful outing two years ago, The Worst Person in the World returns to form.
Rehana Maryam Noor
The first-ever Bangladeshi project at Cannes is a unique take on the Me Too movement. A brilliant story about a schoolteacher who is accused of sexual impropriety by one of his colleagues. Rehana is a fascinating and captivating film with great rhythm, brilliant acts and a camera following the main character. We weave in and out of the story’s labyrinth as it deals with various issues, including the Me Too movement and its critics. Here the film raises multiple questions about rape culture and acquaints the viewer with the challenges of a women victim of rape in a Muslim country. It is a thought-provoking and plausible piece of Bangladeshi cinema.
By constitution Bangladesh is not a Muslim country, It can be called as a Muslim majority country.