In the Palais des Festivals, on the terrace reserved for the press, Aldo Spiniello sips a glass of rosé.

A rare moment of respite, a few hours before its next screening, the film by Spanish director Albert Serra, “Peace”, presented in competition. 

For him, the closing ceremony of the 75th Cannes Film Festival, Saturday evening May 28, will mark the end of a long marathon.

“I watch an average of three movies a day.

At an event like Cannes, that's around 35 feature films," he explains. "I'm still missing a few films out of the 21 in competition, but I also chronicle those in the parallel sections".  

Aldo Spiniello is a film critic.

This is the eleventh time he has covered the Cannes Film Festival for the online magazine "Sentieri Selvaggi", the Italian name of John Ford's classic "The Prisoner of the Desert" (1956), which has its own film school in Rome. . 

"I write one or two reviews a day without ever taking notes during the films", he specifies. It's normal, but the feeling stays with him and that's what I want to convey in my reviews".  

To keep up the pace, the forty-year-old avoids the temptation of the many Cannes festivals, easily accessible to journalists.

"No parties, just a few beers", he says. "I sleep four or five hours a night. For me, this aspect is also part of the experience". 

Italian film critic Aldo Spiniello, on the press terrace of the Palais des Festivals, in Cannes.

© David Rich / France 24

Eclecticism and commitment 

With some 4,000 accredited journalists, Cannes claims to be the second most publicized event in the world after the Olympic Games.

Among them, film critics represent a minority but significant contingent from the four corners of the globe.  

After two years of absence due to health restrictions, Rafi Hossain, a Bangladeshi journalist, is relishing the moment.

“It's always good to be in Cannes.

I go to a lot of festivals, but Cannes remains the best.

It's really my kind of movies.

If I had to give a mark, it would be 99 out of 100” he says, looking cheerful.

This regular on the Croisette is a film critic for the English-language Bangladeshi daily The Daily Star.

“There are no films from Bangladesh this year, but we had our very first selection last year.

This week, I was very happy to see the first Pakistani film screened here” he underlines, welcoming “a new interest in Southeast Asia” on the part of the Festival.  

Bangladeshi journalist Rafi Hossain, during a meal organized for the press by the town hall of Cannes, as part of the 75th Cannes Film Festival.

© Benjamin Dodman / France 24

“I find that the overall level of the films is a little lower than usual” regrets for her part the Japanese journalist Yuma Matsukawa, present at Cannes for the 17th time.

“On the other hand, the films from the Middle East were very good.

We feel that things are changing, there are more films coming from long under-represented parts of the world like North Africa” she adds.  

For the media columnist "The Saitama Shinbu", the eclecticism of Cannes goes hand in hand with the Festival's desire for commitment, particularly visible this year alongside Ukraine.

“As President Zelensky said, cinema must be on the side of freedom, and Cannes has chosen its side,” she says. 

Japanese journalist Yuma Matsukawa, with her photographer, Kauko Wakayama.

© Benjamin Dodman / France 24

Which winners in 2022? 

As for the winners of this 75th edition, Yuma Matsukawa bets on “Triangle of Sadness” by Swedish director Ruben Östlund.

“He makes fun of bad taste in a very funny and ironic way” underlines the journalist.

This political satire, which follows a couple of models and influencers on a luxury cruise with multiple twists and turns, has divided the Croisette, with some critics criticizing it for a lack of depth. 

Another favorite of the journalist, “Tori and Lokita”, by the Dardenne brothers, “a beautiful film committed” on the migration issue, she boasts.

Rafi Hossain, the Bangladeshi journalist, also quotes these two films, to which he adds “Boy from Heaven”, the politico-religious thriller by Swedish director Tarik Saleh, which explores the power struggles within the largest Islamic university in 'Egypt. 

A “conventional” film in form but anchored “in a world that no one had dared to explore on screen until now”, reports, for its part, Variety, a reference newspaper in the field of cinema. 

For his part, the Italian critic Aldo Spiniello particularly appreciated “Armageddon Time”, by American director James Gray, to which he gave the maximum score of five stars.

"I'm a big fan of this filmmaker, he always manages to bring to light an important subject that people don't want to face" analyzes the journalist.  

“I also really like Mario Martone's 'Nostalgia', which I know personally, and the new David Cronenberg, 'Crimes of the Future'.

But for the palm, given that the jury is led by Vincent Lindon, I would rather go for a political film like that of Christian Mungiu” he concludes. 

Entitled "RMN", the new feature film by the Romanian director, winner of the Palme d'Or with "4 months, 3 weeks, 12 days" in 2007, exposes the ravages of xenophobia in a small village in Transylvania, upset by the arrival of foreign workers. 

“In the apparent neutrality of the shots, acts the shadow of a threatening off-screen, of something which suddenly bursts in and upsets the balance” analyzes Aldo Spiniello in his review, praising the complexity of the film. 

To find out which of the 21 films in competition will be awarded the precious Palme d'Or, film lovers will have to wait a few more hours.

Answer on Saturday May 28, from 8:30 p.m., with the announcement of the winners during the closing ceremony of the 75th Cannes Film Festival.  

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