40 years after she came to the Croisette for the first time with André Techiné's Rendez-Vous, Juliette Binoche opened the evening glamorously in an Arabian-style gown as president of the jury. Guest of honour was 81-year-old Robert de Niro, who was awarded a Palme d'Or for his career. He had already received the Palme in 1975 for Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver. His acceptance speech, in which he expressed his political views in no uncertain terms, was the highlight of the evening It is worth quoting it in full.
“In my country, we’re fighting like hell for the democracy we once took for granted. And that affects all of us here because the arts are democratic. Art is inclusive. It brings people together, like tonight. Art looks for truth, art embraces diversity and that’s why art is a threat — that’s why we are a threat — to autocrats and fascists.”
For the first time, the Cannes Festival showed a debut film (out of competition) at the opening. Amélie Bonnin has expanded the story of her short Partir un jour (Leave One Day) to a feature film, swapping the roles of the protagonists in the process. While originally the man returns to the place of his youth, it is now the woman who reunites with her early love.
After the ambitious cook Cécile (Juliette Armanet) wins the TV show ‘Top Chef’, she decides to open a gourmet restaurant in Paris. Her father's heart attack brings her back to her parents, who run a simple restaurant for long-distance lorry drivers. This is where Cécile meets her childhood sweetheart Raphaël (Bastien Bouillon), a passionate motocross rider. Old feelings are revived.
At particularly emotional moments, the protagonists suddenly start singing. ‘It's not a musical,’ says the director, ’but a film with songs that reflect how our lives are shaped by music. Music that accompanies the decisive moments of our lives.’ Juliette Armanet is already known in France as a singer. The songs are - bien sûr - in French, ‘but it's about questions that we all ask ourselves,’ says Amélie Bonnin. ‘If I had taken a different path, what would my life be like?’
The title ‘Partir un jour’ quotes a popular French pop song from the 90s, and Amélie Bonnin's film intelligently explores nostalgic feelings and the passing of youth. She also talks about the rise from humble beginnings and the class difference between haute cuisine and cuisine populaire. Cannes has got off to an optimistic start with the likeable feel-good film Partir un jour.