‘Broker’, ‘Close’, ‘Pacifiction’ land on Screen’s Cannes jury grid

Albert Serra’s Pacifiction and Lukas Dhont’s Close landed mid-pack on Screen’s Cannes jury grid, while Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Broker disappointed our jurors.

Serra’s Pacifiction averaged 2.6, it tells the story of a high commissioner on the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, navigating local concern about French nuclear testing. The film took five threes (good) and two ones (poor) from our jurors. Le Monde’s Mathieu Macheret awarded the Catalan filmmaker a four (excellent) whilst Positif’s Michel Ciment gave it a zero (bad). 

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Serra debuted at Cannes in 2006 with Directors’ Fortnight entry Quixotic/Honor De Cavalleria, he went on to present Special Screenings’ film The Death of Louis XIV in 2016 and won the Un Certain Regard special jury prize in 2019 with Freedom.

Kore-eda’s Broker lands near the bottom of the grid after it received a 1.9 average. It was allocated five twos (average) and three ones from our jury grid critics.  

The Japanese director’s Korean-language drama follows two men who have taken a child from a ‘baby box’, where parents leave infants they cannot raise, as well as a regretful mother and two police detectives.

Meduza’s Anton Dolin and Screen’s critics awarded the film its highest’s score of three. 

Kore-eda has premiered in Cannes’ Competition five times, with his Palme d’Or winning title Shoplifters in 2018 finishing second on the jury grid with a 3.2. 

Lastly, Dhont’s coming-of-age film Close, centred on the friendship between two 13-year-old boys, settles for sixth on the grid with a modal score of 2.4 (with one score still incoming).

The Belgian director earns two threes from The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw and LA Times’ Justin Chang. While Screen’s critics and The Telegraph’s Tim Robey and Robbie Collin awarded it a four. Two ones and three twos from the remaining jurors dragged down the avereage.

Close marks Dhont’s second time at Cannes after he debuted Girl in Un Certain Regard in 2018. The film was awarded the prize for best actor and the Camera d’Or. 

Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up and Léonor Serraille’s Mother And Son are the last two titles to appear on the next jury grid, where we will reveal Screen’s Cannes jury grid winner. Park Chan-wook’s Decision To Leave score of 3.2 is the one to beat. 

Unfortunately, one of our jurors, Korydor’s Nataliia Serebriakova had to withdraw from Screen’s Cannes jury grid due to personal circumstances, Screen is grateful for her early contributions.

• ‘Pacifiction’: Cannes Review