Cannes Day 3: Jury President Juliette Binoche Calls Out Hollywood’s ‘Silence’ on Gaza

The third day of Cannes was noticeably sleepier, but what could compete with Tom Cruise and the cast and crew of “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” storming the Croisette?

Broken silence

On the first day of the Cannes Film Festival, a letter was published condemning the silence of the Hollywood film industry over Israel’s military action in Gaza. Now, more A-listers have added their names to the list, including Joaquin Phoenix (whose “Eddington” premieres at the festival Friday), jury president Juliette Binoche, Riz Ahmed, Jim Jarmusch, Michael Moore and Guillermo del Toro, whose long-awaited take on “Frankenstein” opens later this year.

“Since the terrible massacres of 7 October 2023, no foreign journalist has been authorised to enter the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army is targeting civilians. More than 200 journalists have been deliberately killed. Writers, filmmakers and artists are being brutally murdered,” the letter stated.

What spurred the letter, specifically, was the death of Palestinian photojournalist Fatma Hassona, whose life is the subject of a Cannes-bound documentary “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk.” The Sepideh Farsi-directed film, which is playing as part of the festival’s ACID section, was killed by Israeli forces the day after the Cannes selection was announced.

The letter also notes Oscar-winning “No Other Land” filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, who was attacked in March and taken into custody by Israeli soldiers. After public outcry, he was released. The Academy released an apology after it was criticized for not speaking out when he was first captured.

Original signatories earlier this week included Mark Ruffalo, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Susan Sarandon, Viggo Mortensen, Guy Pearce, Brian Cox, Pedro Almodóvar, Melissa Barrera and David Cronenberg. Rooney Mara, Omar Sy, “Conclave” writer Peter Straughan, Boots Riley and others.

Oftentimes, the Cannes Film Festival directly reflects – and sometimes intersects – with real-life politics. And this call for increased visibility certainly reflects that.

More reviews

There are actually, you know, movies being screened at Cannes too!

Yesterday, we detailed how actor Théo Navarro-Mussy was banned from Cannes following some sexual assault allegations. His movie, “Dossier 137” (or “Case 137”) had its premiere yesterday and our review was … muted.

“Modest in scale and ambition, this factually inspired, ‘just the facts, ma’am’ drama finds an internal affairs officer investigating a case of police brutality, with both the film and its lead cop hitting the ground with an uncommon degree of tenacity,” TheWrap’s review read. In fact, according to critic Ben Croll, the movie isn’t all that different from a “very special” episode of “Law and Order.” And this is before you think about the very troubling allegations against Navarro-Mussy. Proceed with caution.

Fatih Akin’s “Amrum” also premiered and left our own Executive Awards Editor Steve Pond somewhat befuddled. The Turkish-German director, whose previous films include “The Edge of Heaven” and “The Fade,” tells the story of a child who is a member of the Hitler Youth and who looks to garner the love and appreciation of his Hitler-adoring mother.

“Is it still heartwarming, or at the very least heartbreaking? Quietly and gracefully, ‘Amrum’ asks us to consider those questions; it’s not as austere and deliberately unsentimental as Jonathan Glazer’s Cannes hit and Oscar winner ‘The Zone of Interest’ was two years ago, but in a way it, too, is a family drama set against the horrors of World War II and the Nazi regime,” Pond wrote. It left our reviewer “shaken.” “Akin has fashioned a rare film that relies on the power of simplicity to tell a story that is anything but simple.”

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