Vomit, fighter planes and donkeys: Cannes highs and lows
A protest on the red carpet ahead of a special screening of Ukrainian film 'Butterfly Vision'
No clear frontrunner has emerged in the race for the Palme d'Or, to be announced on Saturday, but the Cannes Film Festival has certainly delivered some memorable scenes in its 75th year.
- Projectile vomit -
The magisterial, near-balletic sequence of projectile vomiting, diarrhoea and overflowing toilets was too much for many people's stomachs, but it was also the only film to have the cinemas erupting with uncontrollable laughter.
Playing out of competition, "Top Gun: Maverick" brought an early dose of Hollywood razzmatazz with Tom Cruise's first trip to Cannes in 30 years.
One producer from Ukraine said she almost threw herself to the ground at the terrifying sound and burst into tears.
Some of South Korea's biggest stars hit Cannes this year. Lee Jung-jae, the star of "Squid Game", made his directorial debut with political thriller "Hunt", playing out of competition.
And a favourite to win the top prize is director Park Chan-wook, known for cult favourite "Oldboy", who returned to Cannes with detective story "Decision to Leave".
It was another rich year for music lovers, with a new documentary about David Bowie, "Moonage Daydream", receiving gushing reviews for its kaleidoscopic, ultra-immersive look at the rock artist.
And the red carpet was lit up by the world premiere of "Elvis", the new biopic from flamboyant Australian director Baz Luhrmann -- though it received mixed reviews, with one critic calling it "indecently entertaining" and another "deliriously awful".
The most radical piece of work in the main competition is "EO", a film told entirely from the point of view of a donkey.
It doesn't necessarily end well, though better than the donkey that gets beaten to death with a rock in "Triangle of Sadness".
The war in Ukraine was a constant backdrop to the festival.
The festival barred official Russian delegates, but controversy raged over the inclusion of a Russian movie in the main competition, Kirill Serebrennikov's "Tchaikovsky's Wife".
er/jh/imm
...