With one week to go before the official selection is announced on Thursday, April 9, the Cannes Film Festival—which will take place from May 12 to 23—has just unveiled its opening film: La Vénus électrique by Pierre Salvadori. Screened out of competition, it follows Amélie Bonnin’s Partir un jour!, which was presented in competition for the Palme d’Or last year. This marks Salvadori’s second appearance on the Croisette, following En Liberté!, winner of the SACD Prize at the Directors’ Fortnight in 2018.
Four years after La Petite Bande, Pierre Salvadori returns to comedy but this time ventures into more ambitious territory: that of the period film, a setting that suggests a higher budget than for his previous films.
The cast lives up to this ambition. It features, notably, Gilles Lellouche, a household name, as well as Anaïs Demoustier, who is always at ease in period costumes and settings, as was the case in The Count of Monte Cristo, which, as a reminder, is one of the most-watched French films in history with over 9 million admissions at the box office. These two names alone already confirm the project’s commercial potential. Joining this duo is Pio Marmaï, Salvadori’s longtime collaborator, whom the director reunites with here once again, marking over a decade of continuous and uninterrupted collaboration since Dans la cour in 2014.
At this time, no trailer has been released. Only a few rare photos have leaked, along with a synopsis that hints at a complicated romance, without yet specifying how the historical setting will influence the plot. The story follows a game of deception and fake séances between a popular painter and a modest fairground worker, set against the backdrop of a relationship that becomes complicated when feelings get involved.
See you on May 12 to find out more and attend the opening of the 79th Cannes Film Festival.
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