The Cannes Film Festival is always the quintessence of glamor, politics and scandal, because in addition to stars who want to stand out from their colleagues with expensive and “naked” dresses, the event often becomes a place for political statements . But besides all this, it is in Cannes that avant-garde, documentary and artistic films created by famous directors and screenwriters are shown for the first time. Many of the films presented by them at the film festival cause conflicting emotions in the public.

“Sweet life”

1960 directed by Federico Fellini

In 1960, the film by the cult Italian filmmaker was presented at Cannes, and today it is considered the culminating point in Fellini’s career, the pinnacle of his skill. However, in that distant 60th, he faced a storm of criticism, especially from the church, which saw in the picture an inappropriate attitude towards religion. Conservative Catholics were especially offended by the film’s opening scene, where a helicopter carries a statue of Christ over Rome, causing awe and joy for audiences below. The film was banned from showing, despite the “Palme d’Or”.

The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano denounced the film in an article entitled La Schifosa Vita (“The Disgusting Life”). But such notoriety only increased the ratings of the picture and it became one of the most successful in the filmography of the director.

“Viridiana”

1961 directed by Luis Buñuel

In 1961, the picture of the Spanish-Mexican director received the Palme d’Or at Cannes, but also went down in history because of the disapproval of the church. At that time, Buñuel raised in his film the topics of incest, suicide, violence against women, sacrilege and the “Swedish family” that were forbidden for Francoist Spain.

The film was banned in Spain for 16 years, until the fall of the Francoist regime.

“Taxi driver”

1976 directed by Martin Scorsese

The main role in the film was played by a young actor at that time, Robert de Niro. He embodied the role of a sociopathic Vietnam War veteran who slowly goes insane while working as a taxi driver in New York and commits a series of murders.

The film provoked a protest from the chairman of the Cannes jury, playwright Tennessee Williams, who accused the filmmakers of glorifying violence, since the crimes of the protagonist in the film are not directly condemned, and the ending allows for different interpretations.

Also in the US they refused to let the film in because of the outrageous violence. To get a rental license, Scorsese had to translate one of the scenes into monochrome: in this version, the blood was not so conspicuous. After that, the premiere of the film did take place.

“irreversibility”

2002 Directed by Gaspar Noé

This is a heavy drama film, which simultaneously starred former spouses Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel. On the day of the premiere, about 200 people left the auditorium, and another 20 became ill. The audience could not stand the cruelty shown by the director and the plausible performance of Bellucci.

The story in the film is in reverse chronological order and tells how one man tries to get revenge on the man who raped his girlfriend.

“Fahrenheit 9/11”

2004 Directed by Michael Moore

For many years, the Cannes Film Festival has been frankly indifferent to documentaries, but in 2004 the Palme d’Or was won by American director Michael Moore, based on his book Where’s My Country, Dude?

The film caused a public outcry, as Moore argues that the causes of the Iraq War and the 9/11 tragedy are rooted in personal differences between Bush and bin Laden, and the US Army recruiting service uses dishonest methods to recruit young people as soldiers. Upon screening, the film received a 20-minute standing ovation, one of the longest in the festival’s history, but was criticized by the US presidential administration.

“Fahrenheit 9/11” enjoyed phenomenal success among moviegoers and became the most commercially successful documentary in history.

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