Picture of the film TRALALA by Jean-Marie and Arnaud Larrieu © Jérôme Prébois / SBS Productions
Cannes 2021: The Musical
Over twelve days, the Festival de Cannes sang its heart out with several musical feature films and showcases of world-renowned artists. A quick look at the main films that got the red carpet swaying to the sound of the beat.
On Tuesday 6 July, the 74th edition of the Festival de Cannes opened to the sound of song, having chosen Annette, the musical by Leos Carax screened for the Opening Ceremony, to set the tone for an edition that had more rhythm than ever before. This brooding rock opera sees Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard come together in a film that is almost entirely sung, performed in English and buoyed by the baroque pop beats of Sparks, who composed the original soundtrack.
French film gave us the opportunity to continue on singing from the same hymn – or rap – sheet. Suprêmes was part of the Midnight Screenings, a fictional film in which filmmaker Audrey Estrougo draws music from hip-hop artists Joey Starr and Kool Shen into the limelight, in a story crafted to mirror their dizzying rise to success and designed to examine the key role played by NTM in bringing French rap to the mainstream public. Shot with a hand-held camera in a whirlwind blur of sequences, the film hovers close to the actors' bodies and faces as they capture the two rappers' expressions and body language over and above their dancing and singing.
The Official Selection's other star musical was Tralala from brothers Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu, this edition's tousled offering that sees Mathieu Amalric in the role of a hairy troubadour, inspired by eccentric musician and singer Philippe Katerine. This quirky, off-beat musical was showcased in a Midnight Screening, and features a star-studded line-up ranging from Étienne Daho to Dominique A and Jeanne Cherhal, in a film that unfurls in step with the narrative, elevated by a scattering of choreographed sequences.
Music also set the young Moroccan people in Haut et Fort (Casablanca Beats) alight. The feature film by Nabil Ayouch was presented in Competition, and follows a group of hip-hop-obsessed teens. Aline (Aline, The Voice of Love) by Valérie Lemercier is a biopic that looks back over Céline Dion's journey so far, and was another film that got us tapping our feet. The ballet of musicals we were treated to this year covered the length and breadth of the planet, as with The Velvet Underground, a documentary by Todd Haynes on the experimental New York band fronted by Lou Reed.
Bill Murray closed this 74th edition with a musical flourish in New Worlds: The Cradle of Civilization by Andrew Muscato, a film that captures a spectacular performance, structured around his love of literature and music. In this feature film, the actor recites passages from Hemingway and Whitman set to classical music by Vogler. The pair also offers up a fresh take on three show-stoppers from hit musical West Side Story. In Cannes, the steps come alive with the sound of music, as the notes drift up and away and the films remain.
