Last year, we greatly enjoyed telling you about our very first encounter with THE festival, the column is gradually becoming a formality: we therefore couldn’t possibly publish this edition without writing a few words about our experience in 2009. All in pictures... our biggest cinematic moments of the latest Cannes Film Festival.

KASI AZ GORBEHAYE IRANI KHABAR NADAREH (NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT PERSIAN CATS) by Bahman Ghobadi, with Hamed Behdad, Ashkan Koshanejad, Negar Shaghaghi – Official Selection – Un Certain Regard - Special Jury Prize Ex-Aequo

No One Knows About Persian Cats is a documentaryfiction portrait of the underground music scene in contemporary Iran. Recently released from prison, two young musicians - a man and a woman - decide to form a band. Together they trawl the underworld of contemporary Tehran searching for other players. Forbidden by the authorities to play in Iran, they plan to escape from their clandestine existence, and dream of performing in Europe. But with no money and no passports, it won't be easy...

Filmed in 17 days in the streets of Teheran and with no permission, the latest work of Ghobadi is undoubtedly one of the ‘grand crus’ of this year’s festival... and even more significantly today, on account of Iran’s recent political build-up. Investing a lot of his passion and energy, the Iranian director succeeds in realistically depicting a community of artists caught up in a troubled time. Propelled in a mad series of events across Tehran, we are rapidly absorbed by the courage displayed by all these characters encountered along the way. As much as our sense of sight is solicited, the film also offers a unique mix of sounds. At the bottom of soundproof cellars, on the rooftops of abandoned buildings or in the backcountry away from the urban chaos, the numerous musical extracts are explosive interludes which energise the flow of the narrative. A true celebration of the art and freedom of expression: a film to discover.

ANTICHRIST by Lars Von Trier, with Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg – Official Selection – Competition - Award for Best Actress - Charlotte Gainsbourg

A grieving couple retreat to ’Eden’, their isolated cabin in the woods, where they hope to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse...

Certainly the most controversial film of the selection. Genius’ work? Or simply provocative? No need to debate any further... all our concentration is focused on her. She, who portrays with such passion and strength, a young mother ravaged by guilt and gradually giving into her own madness. Charlotte Gainsbourg demonstrates her skills in this breathtaking performance: Pain, Insanity, Violence, Nudity, Sexuality. The young woman has completely devoted herself to the narrative, demonstrating an incredible trust for the director. A boldness one could only salute.

BRIGHT STAR by Jane Campion, with Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider, Kerry Fox – Official Selection – Competition

London 1818. A secret love affair begins between 23 yearold English poet, John Keats, and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne, an outspoken student of fashion.

Let’s head for a romantic delectation. Jane Campion makes a comeback this year with one little gem of a movie that should certainly bring back into the spotlight one of the greatest poets in British literature. The biographical reconstruction is handled with a lot of tact and moderation. An intimist and refined narrative skilfully played by a talented cast. And last but not least, the opportunity for us to relish on the screen the many gleams of a sublime and magnified nature, both witness and accomplice to the heart’s spurs.

LES BEAUX GOSSES by Riad Sattouf, avec Vincent Lacoste, Anthony Sonigo, Alice Tremolières, Noémie Lvovsky - Parallel Section - Drectors' Fortnight

14 year-old Hervé is an average teenager who lives alone with his mother and struggles to cope with his urges, unprepossessing physique and mediocre intellect. He just gets by at school, surrounded as he is by his best buddies. Going out with girls is his major preoccupation. Sadly, in this field, he keeps striking out. But he never says die. One day, without really knowing how, he finds himself in the good books of Aurore, one of the prettiest girls in class... Surrounded by a gallery of saucy, wild characters, Hervé tries to grow up in this little world in perpetual movement, this world of adolescence in which emotions must be dominated.

The review could not be complete without mentioning Vincent Lacoste and Anthony Sonigo, who deliver an incredible performance in Riad Sattouf’s first film. High school, puberty, first loves, the ‘secret world of boys’ is revealed! Humor and youthfulness are two ingredients that make the film a true refinement. A film that should easily win over spectators of all ages.…

Beatrice Grossi