The China Mail - The movies vying for the Cannes Film Festival's top prize

The award will be decided by a jury headed by South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook, which includes Hollywood star Demi Moore and Oscar-winning "Hamnet" and "Nomadland" director Chloe Zhao.

'Minotaur' by Andrey Zvyagintsev

The first film in nine years from the acclaimed and exiled Russian filmmaker is one of the frontrunners, with its intimate plot of an unhappy couple set against the ominous background of Russia's war against Ukraine.

'A Man of His Time' by Emmanuel Marre

The clear favourite with French critics, this story of an ambitious local official during the Nazi occupation features a memorable dance scene and a virtuoso performance by lead actor Swann Arlaud.

'The Black Ball' by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi

This big-budget, sprawling Spanish historical film exploring gay lives stars Penelope Cruz, and got a 20-minute standing ovation at its premiere, the longest this year.

'Paper Tiger' by James Gray

The American director of "The Yards" and "Little Odessa" returns to familiar territory, his Queens neighbourhood in New York, for this atmospheric crime drama about two brothers tangling with the Russian mafia, with Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller.

'Fatherland' by Pawel Pawlikowski

An arty critics' darling, the black-and-white movie from the Polish director features a searing performance from German actress Sandra Huller as the conflicted daughter of German writer Thomas Mann as they return to their war-shattered homeland in 1949.

'Fjord' by Cristian Mungiu

The Romanian winner of the 2007 Palme d'Or has made one of the most hotly debated films of the festival, casting a critical lens on well-meaning left-wingers and their prejudices through a story about a devout Christian family in Norway.

'The Beloved' by Rodrigo Sorogoyen

Hailed by some as Javier Bardem's best-ever performance, he plays a film director who tries to rekindle his relationship with his estranged actress daughter on a troubled shoot.

'All of a Sudden' by Ryusuke Hamaguchi

After the worldwide success of "Drive My Car", the Japanese filmmaker returns with a slow but touching film about a nursing home worker, played by Virginie Efira, who befriends a dying Japanese playwright.

'Hope' by Na Hong-jin

A wild ride for audiences, this relentless blood-splattered action thriller -- the most expensive movie in South Korean history -- features terrifying aliens, a lot of automatic gunfire and a surprising number of jokes.

'Moulin' by Laszlo Nemes

One of several historical dramas, Hungarian Oscar winner Nemes's film focuses on the final days of French Resistance hero Jean Moulin, who was tortured to death by Nazi interrogators, its chilling story revealing "the best and worst" of humanity.

'The Man I Love' by Ira Sachs

"Bohemian Rhapsody" star Rami Malek returns as another gay musician in this melancholy story about a performer in New York in the 1980s, based on the memories of director Sachs, who lived through the AIDS pandemic in the city.

'The Unknown' by Arthur Harari

It didn't convince everyone, but this tale of a man who wakes up in the body of a woman he has had sex with -- from the writer of the Oscar winner "Anatomy of a Fall" -- has one of the most ambitious and quirky plotlines in Cannes.

'Sheep in the Box' by Hirokazu Kore-eda

There were high hopes for this drama about a couple in mourning who welcome an AI-powered humanoid robot into their home, but the Japanese auteur -- who won the Palme d'Or in 2018 for "Shoplifters" -- got mixed reviews this time.

'A Woman's Life' by Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet

Lea Drucker -- one of France's most accomplished actresses -- drew praise for her portrayal of a stressed-out surgeon whose life is transformed by an encounter with a novelist in this tale about female desire in middle age.

'Coward' by Lukas Dhont

Another gay romance story from the highly-rated young Belgian director of "Girl" and "Close", it tells of two soldiers in the trenches of World War I who find passion and love amid the horror.

'Bitter Christmas' by Pedro Almodovar

The veteran Spanish director looks unlikely to win the Palme d'Or at his seventh attempt with this movie about a filmmaker who is out of ideas with such strong competition this year.

'Parallel Tales' by Asghar Farhadi

Directing a French-language movie for the first time, the Oscar-winning Iranian director assembled a stellar cast of local stars but lost many viewers with a convoluted plot about voyeurism and art in Paris.

'Another Day' ('Garance') by Jeanne Herry

Cannes favourite Adele Exarchopoulos plays a gifted but hard-partying actress in this French story about alcohol addiction that loses momentum for some viewers in its second half.

'Nagi Notes' by Koji Fukada

A gentle and slow-moving story -- too slow for many critics -- about an architect who visits a sculptor in the Japanese countryside, spotlights the difficulties for LGBTQ+ people in rural areas.

'Gentle Monster' by Marie Kreutzer

The Austrian director brings together French actors Lea Seydoux and Catherine Deneuve -- who feature in two films in competition -- in a story about child abuse allegations that tear a marriage apart.

'The Birthday Party' by Lea Mysius

A well-made but conventional thriller from a rising French director, featuring Italy's Monica Bellucci alongside French stars Bastien Bouillon and Hafsia Herzi.

'The Dreamed Adventure' by Valeska Grisebach

The German director of "Western" makes her main competition debut with the story of a woman in the border region between Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey who agrees to a deal to help a friend.

M.Chau--ThChM