This year’s Cannes Film Festival will May 17-28 and it will be a physical event. The official line-up of films has been announced and there are some major titles from Asia. Quite interestingly, the festival will open with the French remake of One Cut of the Dead. Trailer below.
On to the Asian films!
There is a mix of big Hollywood titles like Tom Cruise with his Top Gun movie and Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis with European films like Olivier Assayas’ remake of Irma Vep and Claire Denis with Stars at Noon.
Similarly, the Asian titles extend to big hitters competing for the Palme d’Or in the Official Competition section with a budding talent in the Un Certain Regard category, a section designed to recognise more unusual styles and film and recognise young talents. There is even a newbie directing (not acting) talent in the Midnight Screening section. Attendees will also get the chance to watch Naomi Kawase’s Tokyo 2022 Olympics documentary.
Following last year’s success of Drive My Car, will we see the next big Asian title here?
Main Competition
Broker 
브로커 「Beurokeo」
ベイビー・ブローカー 「Beibi- Buro-ka-」
Release Date: June 08th, 2022 (Korea), June 24 (Japan)
Duration: N/A mins.
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Writer: Hirokazu Kore-eda (Script),
Starring: Song Kang-ho, Gang Dong-won, Bae Doo-na, IU, Lee Joo-young,
Kore-eda continues working outside of the Japanese film industry with this film shot in Korea and starring a Korean cast. He reunites with Bae Doo-na, a veteran of Japanese films like Kore-eda’s own Air Doll (2009). She has had an incredible career in… Korea and is working alongside another top talent in Song Kang-ho, her co-star in Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) and The Host (2006). Also on the roster is Lee Joo-young (Maggie) and Gang Dong-won (Duelist).
Synopsis: Sang-Hyun (Song Kang-Ho) is a baby broker who finds new parents for children left in baby boxes. He works alongside Dong-Soo (Gang Dong-Won) and things go smoothly until So-Young (IU) comes to retrieve her child and detective Soo-Jin (Bae Doo-Na) and Detective Lee (Lee Joo-Young) start investigating Sang-Hyun and Dong-Soo.
Decision to Leave 
헤어질 결심 「Heeojil Gyeolsim」
Release Date: June 08th, 2022 (Korea),
Duration: N/A mins.
Director: Park Chan-wook
Writer: Park Chan-wook, Seo-kyeong Jeong (Script),
Starring: Tang Wei, Park Hae-il, Lee Jung-hyun, Ko Gyung-pyo, Park Yong-woo, Jung Yi-seo,
Park Chan-wook is a familiar face at Cannes with Grand Prix winner Oldboy (2003), Thirst (2009), and The Handmaiden (2016) all received their world-premieres at the event. This one is a neo-noir starring Tang Wei (Lust, Caution) and Park Hae-il (War of the Arrows).
Synopsis: Detective Hae-Joon (Park Hae-Il) investigates the case of a man falling from a mountain peak to his death. The man’s wife, Seo-Rae (Tang Wei), becomes a suspect.
Un Certain Regard
Plan75 
Release Date: June 17th, 2022 (Japan)
Duration: N/A mins.
Director: Chie Hayakawa
Writer: Chie Hayakawa, Jason Gray (Script),
Starring: Chieko Baisho, Hayato Isomura, Taka Takao, Yumi Kawai, Stefanie Arianne
Chie Hayakawa graduates from award-winning shorts to making her feature debut with Plan 75, an expansion of her story in the anthology film Ten Years Japan. The film is led by veteran actress Chieko Baisho (Tora-san’s sister in the long-running Tora-san series) and rising star Hayato Isomura (Tokyo Revengers).
Synopsis: In a future Japan where the birthrate has continued to decline and the number of older people is bigger than ever, the government has created a programme called Plan 75. This system gives senior citizens the chance to be voluntarily euthanised from the age of 75. Despite initial controversy, it has been accepted by the public. Michi Kakutani (Chieko Baisho), a 78-year-old woman who has been living alone since the death of her husband, is struggling to survive but when she is laid off from her job as a hotel cleaner, she begins to consider applying for “Plan 75. Meanwhile, Hiromu (Hayato Isomura), a city official responsible for handling Plan 75 cases, and Yoko (Yumi Kawai), a call centre operator who supports elderly people who have chosen to die until their day comes, begin to question the nature of the “Plan 75” system.
Midnight Screening
Hunt 
헌트 「Namsun」
Release Date: 2022
Duration: N/A mins.
Director: Lee Jung-Jae
Writer: Lee Jung-Jae (Script),
Starring: Lee Jung-Jae, Jung Woo-sung, Jeon Hye-jin, Heo Sung-tae, Go Yoon-jung, Jung Man-sik,
Lee Jung-Jae, famous for Il Mare, The Thieves, and Deliver Us From Evil, shot to fame in America thanks to Netflix screening Squid Game, and he won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series, among other major American acting awards. Hunt is Lees directorial debut and it is based on a screenplay he co-wrote. He takes the lead alongside fellow Korean star Jung Woo-sung (The Good, The Bad, The Weird, Beasts Clawing at Straws).
Synopsis: It is the 1980s and the dictatorship is still in effect in South Korea. two special agents in the Korean National Intelligence Service, Pyung-ho (Lee Jung-jae) of the International Dept. and Jung-do (Jung Woo-sung) of the domestic department, are independently tasked with finding a North Korean mole within the agency. Their investigations turn up a horrible truth but they have their duty to perform…
Here’s past coverage of the film festival:
Round-up – Like Someone in Love
Round-up – 11.25 The Day He Chose His Own Fate
Round-up – Blade of the Immortal