2024 Cannes Dispatch 3: Well-Received Indies and Films by Respected Auteurs Dominate the Day

Most movies that screen at the Cannes Film Festival do so within the confines of what's referred to as The Palais. An all-encompassing and towering building filled with multiple theaters and press conference rooms, The Palais is the go-to spot for everything from gala red carpet events to press screenings of films that premiered earlier in the week. However, not all movies are shown within The Palais, which was my experience with the first film on the festival's fourth day.

I started my day by rushing across town to an IMAX theater called The Cineum, tucked away along the beaches in a state-of-the-art building...the first I encountered that actually served popcorn to Cannes moviegoers. I was there at 8:30 a.m. to watch "Bird," the latest independent film from British writer and director Andrea Arnold ("American Honey"). "Bird" had its world premiere in Berlin and its Cannes premiere the previous night, but I got the chance to see this heartwarming and touching movie on the biggest screen imaginable. Starring Barry Keoghan, Franz Rogowski, and Nykiya Adams, the film plays with magical realism while attempting to remain grounded in a dysfunctional family drama.

Adams stars as Bailey, a self-determined young girl looking for more out of life than caring for her younger siblings and striving to do what suits her family. The daughter of Keoghan's drug dealing Bug, who announces his engagement to a woman he's only known for three months, Bailey is often pulled apart by her father's ill-equipped parenting style and her single mother's terrible taste in men. The young Bailey looks up to her older half-brother and his desire to join a gang, which she desperately wants to be part of.

In between her father's schemes to raise a toad for its hallucinogenic purposes and going through typical coming-of-age scenarios like getting her period for the first time at the worst possible moment, Bailey needs a proper adult figure in her life. She meets Bird (Rogowski), an odd duck of a man on a mission to find his parents despite not knowing who he is or where he comes from. Bird spends his days stalking the people of the small British town by standing on the roof of his old childhood apartment building while Bailey looks on in fascination.

The man and preteen strike up a friendship, a situation that others in Bailey's life don't know about until she decides to help Bird find his long-lost parents. Bird represents the only stability in Bailey's life, though he isn't exactly the most stable human being. In sequences that recall the 2014 Oscar winner "Birdman," the character of Bird and his heroic actions in Bailey's life are viewed in magical senses, giving Bird feathers and the ability to fly.

"Bird" is an awkward family drama that takes shape under the charisma of Keoghan's trashy father character, Rigowski's utilization of bird movements to give his character depth, and Adams' vulnerability as a performer. The movie isn't a stellar exhibit for highlighting the pitfalls of a particular type of family dynamic. Still, it evolves into a meaningful display of reality for a young girl in Bailey's position. All three actors are great in a movie that feels a bit disjointed yet still grounded in the reality it's created for itself.

Next on my list for the day was the latest offering for director-of-the-moment Yorgos Lanthimos. "Kinds of Kindness" is a wild anthology film that costars many of Lanthimos' muses and frequent collaborators from recent films, including Emma Stone, Margaret Qualley, Joe Alwyn, and Willem Dafoe. Hot off of their Oscar-winning movie from last year, "Poor Things," Lanthimos and Stone reunite in typical offbeat fashion set to the tune of the Eurythmics classic, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)."

"Kinds of Kindness" takes its actors, including Jesse Plemons, Hong Chau, Hunter Schafer, and Mamoudou Athie, on a nearly 3-hour ride through three very different stories, separated by chapters and varying premises. The first premise follows Plemons as a man seeking another future after being controlled by his manipulative boss (Dafoe) – everything from what he eats to when he's allowed to have sex. The second story in this anthology shows Plemons again, this time as a spouse whose wife (Stone) has gone missing, only to have her found, and he insists she's an imposter. The final chapter depicts Stone and Plemons as cult members tasked with finding a chosen one with a supernatural ability to resurrect the dead.

An ensemble film like nothing Yorgos Lanthimos has attempted before, "Kinds of Kindness" veers into feral directions. It is a showcase for Plemons, an actor desperately needing a lead role like this to demonstrate the range of his talent. Stone is fantastic as always, seemingly solidifying the collaboration with Lanthimos that's so far earned her an Academy Award for "Poor Things" and possibly a nomination for this film as well. The rest of the cast is fantastic in their respective roles, though this film will not be for everyone. Themes of sexual dynamics, power, influence, and misunderstandings emerge.

It is a complicated watch in some areas, especially when Lantihmos goes full throttle into the horniness and sexual spaces he's become famous for in many of his movies. This is not the director's best of his filmography, but it's quintessential Lanthimos and his outlandish sense of humor and drive. Though it's not as funny as "Poor Things" or as demented as "The Lobster," "Kinds of Kindness" has an appeal to it mainly due to the varying characters within the anthology, giving every actor their own unique moments to shine.

For me, the final film of the day was an extra special one: "Oh, Canada." I was invited to the gala premiere of the new Paul Schrader film that debuted in the Grand Théâtre Lumière. Walking the red carpet alongside stars Richard Gere and Uma Thurman, I thought I was in a dream scenario where I got to wear a tuxedo and feel fancy for an evening. The 95-minute movie about a Vietnam War draft dodger who confesses the sins of his past during a filmed interview was one of the best ways to spend a night at the Cannes Film Festival.

Gere portrays fictional documentarian Leonard Fife, who is interviewed about his filmography, career, and personal troubles before he dies of cancer. Half of the film takes place in 2023, as Fife is near death, while the other half takes place in 1968, where a younger Fife (Jacob Elordi) strolls through life as a womanizer and creative photographer. "Oh, Canada" jerks between the two periods as Fife's inner monologue takes over the film's narration.

Paul Schrader is known for helping give Richard Gere an acting career as a movie star, having directed him over 40 years ago in "American Gigolo," Gere's breakout role. This second collaboration provides Gere enough room to come back into the fold as a bonafide movie star again, this time as an aging man regretful of his life choices and how he's ended up where he is upon his deathbed. Thurman plays Fife's wife with precision and confidence. Seeing them on screen together in meaty roles is also a pleasant surprise.

However, "Oh, Canada" isn't as compelling as the premise suggests, even with solid performances from Gere, Thurman, and Elordi. Fife's story is difficult to process, but the constant confusion propelled by inconsistent time jumps left me feeling like he isn't a reliable figure to tell his story. It's uncertain what is true within the film and what Fife keeps hidden, which amounts to an ending that doesn't resonate as much as it should.