To celebrate the upcoming 2023 edition of the Cannes Film Festival, MUBI, the film distributor, production company and global streaming service, presents a special series throughout May focusing on twelve critically acclaimed films from the past 20 years of the festival.
Included in the focus are four UK/IE MUBI exclusives: Maksym Nakonechnyi’s harrowing drama Butterfly Vision (2022), Kira Kovalenko’s poignant and daring Unclenching the Fists (2021) which won the Un Certain Regard Award at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, Verena Paravel & Lucien Castaing-Taylor‘s captivating documentary on the human body De Humani Corporis Fabrica (2022) and Radu Jude’s gripping drama The Potemkinist (2022).
Further films in the focus include Bruno Dumont’s captivating Joan of Arc (2016), Denis Villeneuve’s nail-biting Sicario (2015), Jane Campion’s drama An Exercise in Discipline – Peel (1986), Lars von Trier’s beatifully shot horror Antichrist (2009) Alain Guiraudie’s tale of passion Stranger By The Lake (2013), Valeska Grisebach’s poignant drama Western (2017), Marco Bellocchio’s exploration into grief Marx Can Wait (2017) and Darren Aronofsky’s Oscar-nominated cult film Requiem for a Dream (2000).
Joan of Arc (Bruno Dumont, 2019) – 16 May
In the 15th century, France and England stake a blood claim for the French throne. Believing that God had chosen her, Joan leads the army for France, but when she is captured, the Church sends her for trial. Refusing to accept the accusations, the graceful Joan of Arc will stay true to her mission
Butterfly Vision (Maksym Nakonechnyi, 2022) – 17 May | MUBI EXCLUSIVE
After spending months as a prisoner in Donbas, Ukrainian aerial reconnaissance expert Lilia returns home to her family. But the trauma of captivity continues to torment her in dreamlike ways. Something growing deep within Lilia will not allow her to forget, yet she will fight to liberate herself
An Exercise in Discipline – Peel (Jane Campion, 1986) – 18 May
A short film about a family of redheads who are also alike in character—extreme and stubborn. Their drive in the country becomes an intrigue of awesome belligerence.
Sicario (Denis Villeneuve, 2015) – 19 May
After rising through the ranks of her male-dominated profession, FBI agent Kate Macer receives a top assignment. She joins a task force for the escalating war against drugs, led by Alejandro, traveling back-and-forth across the U.S.-Mexican border to use one cartel boss to flush out a bigger one
Antichrist (Lars von Trier, 2009) – 20 May
Grieving for the loss of their infant son, a couple attempt to repair their troubled marriage by retreating to the solace of Eden, their remote woodland cabin. But when they arrive, nature itself turns against the couple. As they descend into madness, a violent battle of the sexes emerges.
Stranger By The Lake (Alain Guiraudie, 2013) – 21 May
Summertime. A cruising spot for men, tucked away on the shores of a lake. Franck falls in love with Michel. An attractive, potent and lethally dangerous man. Franck knows this, but wants to live out his passion anyway.
De Humani Corporis Fabrica (Verena Paravel & Lucien Castaing-Taylor, 2022) – 22 May | MUBI EXCLUSIVE
Five centuries ago, anatomist André Vésale opened up the human body to science for the first time in history. Today, De Humani Corporis Fabrica opens the human body to the cinema. It reveals that human flesh is an extraordinary landscape that exists only through the gaze and attention of others.
Western (Valeska Grisebach, 2017) – 23 May
A group of German construction workers start a tough job at a remote site in the Bulgarian countryside. The foreign land awakens the men’s sense of adventure, but they are also confronted with their own prejudice and mistrust due to the language barrier and cultural differences.
Marx Can Wait (Marco Bellocchio, 2017) – 24 May
1968 was the year Camillo died. Nearly 50 years after the death of his twin brother, Marco Bellocchio gathers his family to reconstruct Camillo’s disappearance. What begins as a family conversation morphs into an investigation of grief, guilt and responsibility, compassion, empathy and love.
The Potemkinists (Radu Jude, 2022) – 25 May | MUBI EXCLUSIVE
In 1905, the sailors on the battleship Potemkin are given political asylum in Romania – an act of defiance against Russia. In 2021, a sculptor wants to create an artwork inspired by the event.
Unclenching the Fists (Kira Kovalenko, 2021) – 26 May | MUBI EXCLUSIVE
Ada is stuck. Living in a dead-end industrial town in the North Ossetia section of Russia, she is caught in the tight grip of the men in her life. But when her older brother returns home and her domineering father suddenly falls ill, Ada finally sees a possible path to independence.
Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000) – 27 May
Harry and his girlfriend Marion dream of transcending their life of hustling and owning a store. While his mother is obsessed with TV and diet pills and envisions her chance to shine again on a game show. However, their dreams are shattered when their drug addictions begin spiraling out of control.
