Which film is winning the race for the coveted Palm d’Or? It remains a question of opinion, but here are a few of the contenders being talked about around Cannes:
Film title:“Linah de Passe”
Director : Walter Salles
Country: Brazil
Summary: Sao Paulo. 20 million inhabitants, 200 kilometers of traffic, 300,000 messengers on motorcycles.
At the heart of one of the toughest, most chaotic cities in the world, four brothers try to reinvent themselves in different ways.
With the backdrop of Brazil in a state of emergency, every single one is looking for a way out.
Film Title: “Leonera”
Director: Pablo Trapero
Country: Argentina, South Korea, and Brazil
Summary: Julia wakes up in her apartment, surrounded by the bloody bodies of Ramiro and Nahuel. Ramiro is still alive; Both have been, obscure and simultaneously, her lovers and one made Julia pregnant.
Julia is sent to a prison housing mothers and pregnant inmates. There she spends her first days absorbed and aloof. She hates to be a mother in this situation. The child is born, a baby boy. Bringing up a child in prison is difficult and annoying. This just happened against her will. But more and more, Julia feels this boy is her only valued one left. Julia visits Ramiro in the Men’s prison. The events of the night of the crime remain muddled for both, just as their feelings towards each other.
Film Title: “Un Conte de Noël”/“A Christmas Tale”Director: Arnaud DesplechinCountry: France
Summary: Abel and Junon had two children, Joseph and Elizabeth. Victim of a rare genetic condition, Joseph's only hope was a bone marrow transplant. As they and Elizabeth were incompatible, his parents conceived a third child in the hope of saving their son. But little Henri too was unable to help his brother, and Joseph died at the age of seven.
The Vuillard family has never recovered. Many years have passed, and family relationships are more strained than ever. In particular, those between Elizabeth, authoritarian head of the family and Henri, a cynical drop out who divides his time between women and drink. After a violent argument, Elizabeth banishes her feckless brother, cutting him off from his nephew, her son Paul - a tortured adolescent beset by serious mental problems.
Film Title: “Gomorra”/“Gomorrah”
Director: Matteo Garrone
Country: Italy
Summary: Power, money and blood: these are the "values" that the residents of the Province of Naples and Caserta, have to face every day. They hardly ever have a choice, and are almost always forced to obey the rules of the "system", the Camorra. Only a lucky few can even think of leading a "normal" life.