CANNES, France (AP) 鈥� It took nearly until the end of the festival, but the has its first outright sensation.
Joachim Trier鈥檚 鈥淪entimental Value鈥� premiered Wednesday night to the kind of rapturous response that Cannes is fabled for. The film, starring Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsg氓rd and Elle Fanning, marked Trier's follow-up to his lauded
罢丑别谤别鈥檚 , which makes the timed applause reports an often inaccurate reflection of how movies are received at the festival. But the thunderous ovation for 鈥淪entimental Value,鈥� at 15 minutes, was the most rousing of any film in Cannes by a large margin.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 that Bu帽uel quote? 鈥業 make films for my friends?鈥欌�� Trier said, addressing the crowd. 鈥淚 feel you鈥檙e all my friends tonight.鈥�
Trier鈥檚 remark, while Fanning wiped away tears, was a poignant reference to 鈥淪entimental Value.鈥�
Reinsve, who starred in 鈥淭he Worst Person in the World,鈥� plays the actor daughter of a well-regarded filmmaker, Gustav (Skarsg氓rd), who has put moviemaking before parenting most of their lives. When he writes a script for her, she immediately refuses. Gustav instead casts a young Hollywood star (Fanning).
Much of the film is set around their old family home in Oslo, in which Gustav wants to make his film. As 鈥淪entimental Value鈥� proceeds, it gently unveils questions of family and home that have as much to do with artmaking as for fathers and daughters.
After Charli xcx concluded her Coachella set with a screen declaring, among others, a 鈥淛oachim Trier Summer,鈥� Fanning sported a shirt with that phrase Thursday in Cannes. But Trier may have coined a new slogan for shirts, himself: 鈥淭enderness is the new punk.鈥�
Trier explained to reporters how he and co-writer Eskil Vogt came from a punk background and were initially hesitant to make 鈥渟obby movies.鈥�
鈥淏ut we realized through the films we鈥檝e made that we鈥檝e grown older and the world is a tough place, and maybe we need to be vulnerable and show characters that are vulnerable,鈥� said the Norwegian director. 鈥淪o we kind of came to the conclusion that tenderness is the new punk. For me, it is. It鈥檚 what I need right now 鈥� I need to believe that we can see the other, that there is a sense of reconciliation, that polarization and machismo isn鈥檛 the only way forward.鈥�
The debut of 鈥淪entimental Value鈥� immediately made Trier鈥檚 film a contender, if not the clear favorite, for Cannes鈥� top award, the Palme d鈥橭r. Should 鈥淪entimental Value鈥� win on Saturday, when Cannes draws to a close, it would extend the indie distributor Neon鈥檚 unprecedented streak of Palme d鈥橭r wins. Neon has backed the last five Palme d鈥橭r winners in Cannes, including Oscar-winning 鈥淎nora.鈥� This year, it also acquired another film that could be in the mix, Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendon莽a Filho鈥檚 鈥淭he Secret Agent.鈥�
Should 鈥淪entimental Value鈥� win over the jury headed by Juliette Binoche, it would be the first Norwegian film to win the Palme d鈥橭r.
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Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
