One week into the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and the premiere of Woody Allen’s new film Cafe Society has been overshadowed by allegations of sexual assault, Julia Roberts scandalously walked barefoot on the red carpet, and George Clooney has taken every opportunity to denounce Donald Trump. In amongst all the scandal, politicking and fashion, there have been some great films on show too! Check out Indiewire’s excellent coverage of the Cannes Film Festival at www.indiewire.com. 

Here are my picks for the week. 

One week into the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and the premiere of Woody Allen’s new film Cafe Society has been overshadowed by allegations of sexual assault, Julia Roberts scandalously walked barefoot on the red carpet, and George Clooney has taken every opportunity to denounce Donald Trump. In amongst all the scandal, politicking and fashion, there have been some great films on show too! Check out Indiewire’s excellent coverage of the Cannes Film Festival at www.indiewire.com. 

Here are my picks for the week. 

Map to the Stars …Saturday 21^st May, 8.30pm
David Cronenberg takes us in to the heart of Hollywood in this biting black comedy that focuses on a group of self-obsessed and insecure individuals in the entertainment industry. Julianne Moore, John Cusack, Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinson, Olivia Williams and Evan Bird star as actors, personal assistants, and self help gurus – non of whom are particularly likable, but all are very watchable.

The Palme D’Or-nominated Maps To The Stars is probably one of Cronenberg’s most conventional comedies – well, as conventional as Cronenberg can be. Set in Los Angeles (and the first film Cronenberg has shot in the city), the film features an ensemble cast who gravitate around Moore’s character; an aging actress obsessed with staring in a remake of a film her abusive mother appeared in many years ago. Also at the center of this story is the Weiss family whose reputation within the Hollywood establishment is threatened when their schizophrenic daughter returns home. 

The product of a long-developing collaboration with Los Angeles novelist and screenwriter Bruce Wagner, it took ten years for Cronenberg to get funding for Map to the Stars. A film about aging, fame and the incestuous nature of Hollywood might not be a wholly original idea, but in the hands of the wonderfully perverse Cronenberg, it’s certainly one of the most startling.   

The Salvation… Wednesday 18^th May, 8.30pm
The Salvation is a Danish western. That doesn’t quite sound right, does it? But then this is a film by Kristian Levring, the director of The King is Alive, a story about a group of bus passengers stranded in the Namibian desert who decide to stage a performance of King Leah to pass the time.

The Salvation is a homage to the western genre and filled with stunning expanses of sky, vibrant colours, a stirring Ennio Morricone like soundtrack and a mix of morally corrupt and courageous characters. The film stars Mads Mikkelsen as Jon, a Danish ex-solider who seven years after leaving Denmark for America is reunited with his wife and son. Before they’ve made it to Jon’s ranch, his wife and son are brutally murdered, setting Jon on a path of revenge.

Everything is meticulous; the framing of shots, minimal dialogue and sweeping camera moves across desolate towns. Mikkelsen, who has made a name for himself playing cold hard criminals, goes from loving husband to merciless and violent cowboy with ease and while The Salvation doesn’t revolutionise the genre, there’s plenty here to satisfy wannabe cowboys. 

Mommy… Monday 16^th May, 8.30pm
27 year old French Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan has a long and loving relationship with the Cannes Film Festival. Last year the filmmaker sat on the jury, and five out of six of Dolan’s films have premiered at the Festival over the years including this year’s offering Juste la fin du monde (It’s Only the End of the World), staring Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard and Spectre star Lea Seydoux. 

Mommy premiered at Cannes in 2014 where it won the Grand Jury Prize, and is regarded as one of Dolan’s most accessible films. It examines the relationship between a working single mother Diane (Anne Dorval) and her volatile son Steve (Antoni-Olivier Pilon), who comes to live with her after a stint in juvenile hall. Together with the help from a neighbor Kyla (Suzanne Clément), Diane and Steve try and get their lives back on track, until they inevitably fall apart again. 

Raw emotion, an intimate shooting style and excellent performances all contribute to making this one of Dolan’s best films to date, but the prolific filmmaker is already working on his next film The Death and Life of John F. Donovan. It’s his English-language debut that reportedly stars Natalie Portman, Jessica Chastain, Susan Sarandon and Kit Harington - something tells me Dolan’s heading for the big time.