They Called It “Diverse.” But Here's What They Didn't Say
Cannes has always been known for two things: prestige and predictability. Sure, we get the returning champions—Wes Anderson, the Dardennes, Julia Ducournau—but the 2025 Cannes Film Festival lineup isn't just another greatest-hits playlist. It's a coded message, and you don't need to be Robert Langdon to crack it.
This year's competition slate leans harder than ever into identity, dislocation, and retribution. While some viewers will cheer the return of known auteurs, the real story is the thematic throughline Cannes didn't shout from the rooftops: the existential loneliness that runs beneath many entries. That, and an unexpected spiritual undertone, from dystopian reflections to religious hauntings.
Let's break it down.
The Real Opening Statement Wasn't Tom Cruise
Yes, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning opens the fest out of competition. And no, it doesn't “set the tone” for the festival—it shields it. Like a glittering curtain hiding a brooding stage. Because just behind Cruise's million-dollar smile is Leave One Day (Partir un Jour) by debut director Amélie Bonnin, the real opener. A film so fresh and intimate, its very inclusion signals Cannes' hunger for new blood.
Think about it: what does it mean when a youthful female voice opens the show—on the same stage where titans like Panahi and Linklater are also screening?
Recurring Ghosts in the Competition Lineup
Let's not play coy. These are the heavyweight names Cannes craves. But it's what they're doing this time that counts.
- Julia Ducournau (Alpha): From the Palme-winning grotesque of Titane, she pivots toward sci-fi mythology with what early buzz describes as a “biomechanical Eden.”
- Wes Anderson (The Phoenician Scheme): The quirkiest American in France dials up the espionage. But under the vintage veneer? A cold war morality tale echoing today's political turbulence.
- Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value): The title alone is a dare. Critics expect his most intimate film yet—potentially a spiritual sequel to The Worst Person in the World.
And then there's Eddington by Ari Aster. You thought Midsommar was emotionally raw? Early rumors say this might be the filmmaker's most personal project yet.
Here's What You Missed: The Rise of Meta-Narratives
A sleeper entry—Nouvelle Vague by Richard Linklater—doesn't just nod to French New Wave. It hijacks it. The word is: Linklater's film blurs documentary and fiction, following a film professor unraveling the myth of Truffaut and Godard while facing his own irrelevance. It's The Fabelmans meets Waking Life.
Meanwhile, La Petite Dernière by Hafsia Herzi is being whispered about in feminist circles as “the anti-Amélie”—chronicling a last-born daughter's fight for space in a conservative French-Algerian family.
Out of Competition? More Like Out for Blood
Let's get one thing straight: putting Vie Privée (dir. Rebecca Zlotowski) “Out of Competition” doesn't mean it lacks teeth. In fact, this one may bite the hardest—an intimate dissection of celebrity and selfhood in the age of algorithmic identity.
And then there's The Richest Woman in the World (dir. Thierry Klifa). Glamorous, yes—but early screenings suggest a razor-sharp critique of capitalist excess wrapped in velvet gloves.
Scarlett Johansson as Director? Yep. And It Might Be Good
Eleanor the Great is Johansson's directorial debut, tucked inside the Un Certain Regard category. But don't let the modest placement fool you—this one's generating “Little Miss Sunshine with teeth” comparisons. A quirky, aging-woman-on-the-run story with surprising existential heft.
Did anyone expect Black Widow to turn into indie darling Greta Gerwig 2.0? Maybe not. But Cannes is betting big.
What's Missing Says As Much As What's Included
Spike Lee, Lynne Ramsay, and Terrence Malick were nowhere to be found this year. Coincidence? Maybe. But in the age of rapid politicization, their absence feels like the quiet before the storm.
And remember: Cannes always holds back a few cards. Expect last-minute additions from wildcards like Jim Jarmusch or Andrea Arnold. Because what's a film festival without a few curveballs?
Full Official Selection: Cannes 2025
COMPETITION (19 Films):
- Sentimental Value – Joachim Trier
- Sound of Falling – Mascha Schilinski
- Romeria – Carla Simon
- The Mastermind – Kelly Reichardt
- The Eagles of the Republic – Tarik Saleh
- Dossier 137 – Dominik Moll
- The Secret Agent – Kleber Mendonça Filho
- Fuori – Mario Martone
- Nouvelle Vague – Richard Linklater
- Two Prosecutors – Sergei Loznitsa
- La Petite Dernière – Hafsia Herzi
- A Simple Accident – Jafar Panahi
- The History of Sound – Oliver Hermanus
- Renoir – Chie Hayakawa
- Alpha – Julia Ducournau
- Sirat – Oliver Laxe
- Young Mothers – Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
- Eddington – Ari Aster
- The Phoenician Scheme – Wes Anderson
OPENING NIGHT:
- Leave One Day (Partir un Jour) – Amélie Bonnin
OUT OF COMPETITION:
- Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning – Christopher McQuarrie
- The Coming of the Future – Cedric Klapisch
- Vie Privée – Rebecca Zlotowski
- The Richest Woman in the World – Thierry Klifa
UN CERTAIN REGARD:
- The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo – Diego Céspedes
- My Father's Shadow – Akinola Davies Jr.
- Urchin – Harris Dickinson
- Meteors – Hubert Charuel
- A Pale View of Hills – Kei Ishikawa
- Eleanor the Great – Scarlett Johansson
- Pillion – Harry Lighton
- L'inconnue de la Grande Arche – Stephane Demoustier
- Aisha Can't Fly Away – Morad Mostafa
- Once Upon a Time in Gaza – Arab & Tarzan Nasser
- The Plague – Charlie Polinger
- Heads or Tails? – Alessio Rigo de Righi & Matteo Zoppis
- Homebound – Neeraj Ghaywan
- The Last One for the Road – Francesco Sossai
MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS:
- Songs of the Neon Night – Juno Mak
- Exit 8 – Genki Kawamura
SPECIAL SCREENINGS:
- Bono: Stories of Surrender – Andrew Dominik
- Tell Her That I Love Her – Claude Miller
- The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol – Sylvain Chomet
- Dolloway – Yann Gozlan
CANNES PREMIÈRE:
- Amrum – Fatih Akin
- Splitsville – Michael Angelo Covino
- Connemara – Alex Lutz
- The Disappearance of Josef Mengele – Kirill Serebrennikov
- Orwell – Raoul Peck
- The Wave – Sebastián Lelio
So, What Does It All Mean?
This year's Cannes lineup is a mirror—angled just enough to distort, but not deceive. It reflects a world in flux, an industry rediscovering its moral spine, and a generation of filmmakers unafraid to embrace the personal and political.
Would you risk missing it?
Tell me: which of these films are you dying to see? Comment below or shoot your hot take on X.
