The Cannes Film Festival is in full swing, and with it comes the event’s most famous barometer for film quality – the length of its often ridiculously long standing ovations.
Both Variety and Deadline track the ovation lengths in minutes but seem to count the start and ends differently, resulting in the former generally running about 20-35% shorter than the latter’s estimates.
Across nearly a dozen titles so far, the pair only agreed on length one time – the Javier Bardem-led “The Beloved” which both agree got a 7-minute ovation. That follows a legendary director who offers his estranged daughter (Victoria Luengo) a role in his latest film as the pair try and heal old wounds.
Where available, I will list both ovation times below with Variety’s first.
So far, the best response has been for two movies, starting with James Gray’s “Paper Tiger” at 7 minutes/10 minutes. The filmmaker, along with actors Miles Teller and Adam Driver, were on hand for the screening. The pair play brothers who run afoul of the Russian mob in the tragic crime thriller. Co-star Scarlett Johansson wasn’t on hand and failed to pick up a FaceTime call.
The other film drawing the same response is “All of a Sudden” at 7 minutes/11 minutes. Japanese auteur Hamaguchi Ryusuke‘s first French-language film is a three-hour-plus drama about two women brought together by terminal illness.
Also faring well was the Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder-led lesbian slasher film “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” which got a 6 minute/9 minute ovation and reportedly proved polarising with some people walking out right away, while others vigorously applauded.
Jordan Firstman’s “Club Kid” landed a 6 minute/7 minute ovation and follows a washed-up thirtysomething gay New York City party promoter who is forced to grow up fast when he becomes custodian of a 9-year-old son he didn’t know he had.
Asghar Farhadi’s new film “Parallel Tales” pulled in a 5.5 minute/7 minute ovation for its story of several nosy neighbours whose lives intertwine. Isabelle Huppert, Catherine Deneuve and Virginie Efira lead the csst.
