The 2015 Cannes Film Festival jury shocked everyone when they awarded Jacques Audiard the Palme d’Or for his social realist drama turned hyper-violent thriller, Dheepan. This decision was met with very mixed reactions on social media. People seemed to be confused about why a film that didn’t receive much buzz when it premiered during the festival was taking the top prize. Others were just surprisingly pleased. I fall into the latter category, as Dheepan is an extraordinary achievement on a number of levels: its concentration on the frightening reality of escaping one war zone for another, as well as its simultaneous micro-level commentary on French poverty and macro-level commentary on civil war in Sri Lanka (or simply civil war, in general).

Dheepan tells the story of its titular character and his attempt to rebuild his life after his wife and children were killed in Sri Lanka. He, a woman he meets at random, and an abandoned nine-year-old girl they found come together as a faux family in an attempt to escape the Sri Lankan civil war for a better life in France. Unfortunately, the area of France that they move into is dominated by gangs who use the territory for distribution of narcotics and other illegal activities. Dheepan is forced to sit back and watch as the environment he has brought his makeshift family unit into becomes more and more dangerous, and eventually he reaches his breaking point.

Although there are hints of Audiard’s fascination with international politics in his 2008 film, Un Prophete, Dheepan doesn’t feel like anything the director has done before. The biggest reason for this his choice to portray Sri Lankans in a French environment, rather than the French themselves as Audiard has primarily done in the past.

If one is going to discuss Dheepan, it’s difficult to do so without commenting on its explosive ending. The film retains great suspense throughout, as it implies the family’s eventually going to get mixed up in some sort of intense or violent encounter, but it’s hard to predict the final fifteen minutes. Those who have seen Un Prophete know that Audiard is capable of executing abrupt and graphic acts of violence in truly shocking ways, but he takes this idea to its extreme in Dheepan. No other film that I saw at Cannes this year affected me in such a visceral way.

That being said, it’s difficult to make up one’s mind on an ethical level about the penultimate sequence. In war there is often no clear “good” side, and knowing who to cheer for can be difficult. But somehow, Audiard convinces us to love the main character even when he is delusional or violent or straddling the line between protagonist and anti-hero. It’s a complex ending and one that will take repeat viewings to fully understand. But it’s not a perfect film. Dheepan nearly forgets about one of its characters in the third act and the ending feels a bit out-of-place despite being refreshing and uplifting. However, the minor flaws are completely overshadowed by everything that it does right. Dheepan fully deserves the enormous accolade it received and is sure to continue receiving as the rest of the world is exposed to it.

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start to summer, with cookouts and camping trips feeling like a celebratory coming of good weather and good times. It also used to be the opening weekend for some of the biggest films of the year – Return of the Jedi, three Indiana Jones films, sequels in the Pirates of the Caribbean, Fast & Furious, X-Men, The Hangover series, even the ill-fated Godzilla all made their debuts at the end of May. But as the Hollywood blockbuster season has pushed sooner each year, some of the weekend’s cultural significance may be lost. With a rather slow 2015 Memorial Day box office, here’s hoping that you opted to spend the time with friends and family, outdoors for a chance. And while you’re re-remembering the difference between Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day, check out the news you may have missed last week.

Cannes 2015 Ends with Surprise Award Winners, Lots of Sales

To the apparent surprise of many, Jacques Audiard’s Dheepan walked away with the highest prize of Cannes, the Palme d’or, while the Grand Jury Prize went to Holocaust drama Son of Saul. Other winners included Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Lobster, Hou Hsiao-hsien for Best Director, and a split on Best Actress between Rooney Mara and Emmanuelle Bercot. For the full list of winners and our own analysis on the Dheepan victory, check out our post from this weekend. On the market side of things, Alchemy purchased two of the most talked about films of the fest, 3-D Porno Love and The Lobster. Sony Pictures Classics, always active at Cannes, picked up Son of Saul and Dan Rather biopic starring Robert Redford Truth. Check out The Dissolve for a complete list of Cannes purchases.

Watch the Final Film Ever Shot on Fuji Filmstock

We’ve heard for the past few years that physical film was a dying product, with much of the industry choosing to shoot on easier-access and economical digital sources, and now the product of this concept has been realized. Over at Indiewire, you can watch the very last short film ever shot using Fuji film, which was discontinued in 2013. “Amends” is a story of two lovers whose relationship falters because of a digital technology. It is a poetic and ironic swansong for the near-obsolete medium.

Debut Date Set for The Wire Creator’s Next HBO Series

First reported by Variety, upcoming HBO miniseries Show Me a Hero, created by David Simon and directed by Paul Haggis, will premiere on Sunday, August 16. The series stars Oscar Isaac as a young mayor of Yonkers, New York, who is pressured to build low-income housing units in predominantly white communities during the tumultuous 1960s. Given the talent behind the camera, Show Me a Hero is sure to be a complete (if even a bit didactic) look at the intersection between race and politics. The six-part series will also star Winona Ryder, Catherine Keener and Alfred Molina.

Alicia Vikander’s Star on the Rise, In Talks for Bourne Sequel and Assassin’s Creed

Another of Ex Machina‘s stars is also set for more high-profile projects, as Alicia Vikander is now in talks for roles in two blockbusters. Reported first by Deadline, Vikander may be trading in James Ponsoldt’s The Circle for featured supporting roles in Paul Greengrass’s return to the Bourne franchise and hotly anticipated video game adaptation Assassin’s Creed, which already touts Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard. Not much is known about her potential role in the films, but they would potentially be a mainstream break for the young actress. Starring in a video game adaptation wouldn’t normally be newsworthy, but the game’s complicated world and historical period settings make it highly adaptable, with some wondering whether it’ll be the first successful crossover to the big screen.

Indie Box Office Update

In an underwhelming holiday weekend at the box office, Disney’s Tomorrowland led with a disappointing 33 million dollar opening, with decent sophomore returns for Pitch Perfect 2 (30.8 mil) and Mad Max: Fury Road (24.8 mil). The strongest per screen averages came from Blythe Danner vehicle I’ll See You in My Dreams ($97,050 per its 3 screens) and French drama In the Name of My Daughter ($20,069 per its 4 screens), both in their second weeks of limited release. The highest per screen average opening went to Japanese animated drama When Marnie Was There, with a $13,000 average among its two screens. The strangest result of the weekend, however, goes to The Age of Adaline, which made a strong $15 mil. in the 5th week of its release – nearly half of its $40 mil. gross to date. This isn’t always a surprising trend for smaller films, as they typically show up in more theaters across the country during their run, but considering that The Age of Adaline showed in nearly half of the theaters compared to its opening weekend, it’s a very strange anomaly.

Trailer of the Week: Knock Knock

Following his career resurgence in John Wick, Keanu Reeves is turning to the home invasion genre, though with a twist. Knock Knock co-stars Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas as a pair of women who work their way into Reeves’s house only to torment him in sexy and violent ways. This is also a bit of a comeback for director Eli Roth, whose last film The Green Inferno never got a theatrical release. Besides that, he hasn’t directed a film since Hostel: Part II in 2007, focusing more as the producer of films like The Sacrament and The Last Exorcism in recent years. Knock Knock premiered at Sundance and will (hopefully) be released in theaters later this year. Check out the trailer for this thriller below!

It’s been a tumultuous year at Cannes, and today’s surprising awards ceremony certainly made for a fitting ending to this year’s festivities. Festival head Thierry Fremaux got lots of criticism thrown at him for his picks this year, which went heavy on French films, but this year’s festival jury—headed by Joel and Ethan Coen—had lots of love for the French selections. Best Actor went to Vincent Lindon for The Measure Of a Man, and Emmanuelle Bercot got a shared Best Actress prize for her turn in Maiwenn’s Mon Roi.

But the biggest surprise came when Jacques Audiard’s Dheepan was announced as the winner of the Palme D’Or. Audiard is a fine director (many of us here are fans of A Prophet, which got him the Grand Prix back in 2009), but critics were mostly sour on Dheepan, criticizing it for a startling turn in the final act that didn’t work for most people. And people were shocked that the two critically adored films in this year’s competition, Todd Haynes’ Carol and Hou Hsaio-hsien’s The Assassin, didn’t wind up taking home the big prizes; Hsaio-hsien won Best Director (considering how much of the film was praised for its gorgeous visuals, this sounds pretty deserving), and Carol got a Best Actress prize for Rooney Mara. But with Carol receiving a nice, Oscar-friendly release date in December from Harvey Weinstein, and The Assassin already bought up for US distribution, this certainly won’t be the last we’ll hear of these two films.

The only predictable outcome this year was Son of Saul winning the Grand Prix, which people assumed would be taking home a prize after it screened to a strong reception. It’s an impressive win, considering this is director Laszlo Nemes’ first feature, and it should have a nice tour around the festival circuit for the rest of the year. Another slight shocker was Michel Franco winning Best Screenplay for Chronic, but that might only come as a shock to anyone who’s seen his previous films; he’s a filmmaker known more for his directorial skills, and it sounds like critics were baffled by his win.

Read on below for the full list of winners, and expect to see a good chunk of these films get some sort of release throughout 2015 and 2016. While we only got the chance to see a few films this year, including Jury Prize winner The Lobster, we’re eager to check all these winners out once they play closer to home. Until then, all we can do is wait until we do it all over again next May.

2015 Cannes Winners

Camera D’Or (Best First Feature): La Tierra Y La Sombra

Best Screenplay: Chronic

Best Actress: Rooney Mara, Carol; Emmanuelle Bercot, Mon Roi

Jury Prize: The Lobster

Best Actor: Vincent London, The Measure Of A Man

Best Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien, The Assassin

Grand Jury Prize: Son Of Saul

Palme D’Or: Dheepan

Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux and president Pierre Lescure announced this morning the films that will play at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. This comes just days after announcing the opening film Emmanuelle Bercot‘s La Tete Haute. Premiering at the festival this year will be Paolo Sorrentino‘s The Early Years, Todd Haynes‘ 1950’s romantic drama Carol (starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara), Woody Allen‘s Irrational Man, and Yorgos Lanthimos‘ highly anticipated follow-up to Dogtooth called The Lobster. Also playing will be Pixar’s animated film Inside Out, Gus Van Sant‘s Sea of Trees (starring Matthew McConaughey and Naomi Watts) and a special screening of Natalie Portman‘s A Tale of Love and Darkness.

While the bulk of competition and out-of-competition titles were announced, a few more films are expected be added to the lineup over the next few weeks. The Cannes Film Festival this year runs from May 13th – May 24th.

Opening Film

Standing Tall (La Tete Haute), Emmanuelle Bercot

Competition

Carol, Todd Haynes
Macbeth, Justin Kurzel
Dheepan, Jacques Audiard
La Loi du March, Stephane Brize
Marguerite and Julien, Valerie Donzelli
The Tale of Tales, Matteo Garrone
The Assassin, Hou Hsiao Hsien
Mountains May Depart, Jia Zhangke
Our Little Sister, Hirokazu Koreeda
The Lobster, Yorgos Lanthimos
Mon roie, Maiwenn
Mia Madre, Nanni Moretti
Son of Saul, Laszlo Nemes
Youth, Paulo Sorrentino
Louder Than Bombs, Joachim Trier
Sea of Trees, Gus Van Sant
Sicario, Denis Villeneuve

Out of Competition

Mad Max: Fury Road, George Miller
Inside Out, Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen
Irrational Man, Woody Allen
The Little Prince, Mark Osborne

Special Screenings

A Tale of Love and Darkness, Natalie Portman
Asphalte, Samuel Benchetrit
Panama, Pavle Vuckovic
Amnesia, Barbet Schroeder
Hayored Lema’Ala, Elad Keidan
Oka, Souleymane Cisse

Midnight Screenings

Amy, Asif Kapadia
Office, Hong Won-Chan

Un Certain Regard

Madonna, Shin Suwon
Maryland, Anna Winocour
The Fourth Direction, Gurvinder Singh
Masaan (Fly Away Solo), Neeraj Ghaywan
Hruter (Rams), Grimur Hakonarson
Kishibe No Tabi (Journey to the Shore), Kiyoshi
Je Suis Un Soldat (I Am a Soldier), Laurent Larivere
Zvizdan (The High Sun), Dalibor Matanic
The Other Side, Roberto Minervini
One Floor Below, Radu Muntean
Shameless, Oh Seung-Uk
The Chosen Ones, David Pablos
Nahid, Ida Panahandeh
The Treasure, Corneliu Porumboiu