By Travis Johnson
Rejoice! It’s actually happening! The Sydney Film Festival have just announced a slate of films direct from Cannes that will be screening at this year’s festival, and the big news is that Terry Gilliam’s much-delayed, nigh-mythical, litigation-mired, frequently-recast, minor-stroke-inducing The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is chief among them!
Well, perhaps not for some – other films announced include the latest offerings from cinema legend Jean-Luc Godard, ace provocateur Gaspar Noe, and Palme d’Or winner Kore-eda Hirokazu, so YMMV, but c’mon – Don Quixote!
So, newly added to the festival program we have:
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
Terry Gilliam’s long-awaited movie version, starring Adam Driver and Jonathon Price, of Cervantes’ legendary Don Quixote is hilarious, original, and a total joy to watch. Fresh from Closing Night at Cannes 2018.
The Image Book
Winner of the Cannes Special Palme d’Or for “an artist who takes cinema forward”, Jean-Luc Godard’s powerful essay film reflects on the state of the world.
Gaspar Noé’s (Irréversible, Enter the Void) street-dance-horror-hybrid, liberally laced with sex, drugs and music, won the Directors Fortnight Prize at Cannes.
Girl
The Cannes Camera d’Or winner is a striking debut about a teenage transgender girl training to be a ballerina whilst undergoing a taxing physical transformation.
Shoplifters
Winner of the 2018 Cannes Palme d’Or, Kore-eda Hirokazu’s (After Life, SFF 1999; Nobody Knows) new masterpiece is about a poor Japanese family committing petty crimes to survive.
Woman at War
Gloriously funny, this year’s Cannes Critics’ Week award-winner from Benedikt Erlingsson (Of Horses and Men, SFF 2014) is about a DIY Icelandic eco-warrior taking on heavy industry.
Burning
A love triangle mystery based on a Haruki Murakami short story, Korean great Lee Chang-dong’s (Secret Sunshine, Poetry) latest was hailed as the best-reviewed film at Cannes.
Cold War
Paweł Pawlikowski (Oscar-winner Ida) won the Best Director prize at Cannes for this passionate, music-filled love story set in Cold War-era Europe and based on the relationship of his own parents.
The Sydney Film Festival runs from June 6 – 17. 2018. Tickets are on sale now.
