The Eight Best Movies We Saw at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival

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While this year’s Cannes Film Festival wasn’t the most spectacular in recent memory, it still offered plenty of interesting films. Despite a smaller turnout of major Hollywood stars, the festival was notably inclusive and celebrated LGBTQ+ themes, with standouts like Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma and The Black Ball. Here’s a closer look at these two films, plus six others we particularly enjoyed.

Fjord

Sebastian Stan surprises audiences with his role as a strict, religious father in the new film by Cristian Mungiu, known for directing 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. It’s a departure for him, not only because he performs much of the role in Romanian, but because he fully embodies the character’s harsh and unlikeable personality. Fjord is a tense drama about a couple, played by Stan and Renate Reinsve, who move from Romania to Norway with their five children to be near Reinsve’s mother. Their lives are complicated when a teacher notices bruises on one of the children, bringing the attention of child protective services. Mungiu, a master at showing how frustrating and unfair systems can be, delivers a film that is deliberately and powerfully unsettling.

Fatherland

Amongst many lengthy films this year, Paweł Pawlikowski’s black-and-white drama is striking for its brevity – it runs just 82 minutes – and its near-flawless execution. The film centers on a remarkable performance by Sandra Hüller as Erika Mann, who travels with her renowned father, Thomas (Hanns Zischler), through a newly divided Germany. They are there to accept the Goethe Award from both West and East Germany. This focused story offers a unique perspective on a pivotal moment in history, as Germany grappled with its past – whether to deny its collaboration with the Nazis or to completely reject the past in hopes of a new future that was already beginning to fall apart.

Minotaur

This suspenseful drama is a remake of a 1969 French film, the same one that inspired Adrian Lyne’s Unfaithful. It marks a strong return for Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev, who faced a life-threatening reaction to the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine and spent nearly a year in the hospital recovering. Known for his criticism of corruption and power abuses in Russia, Zvyagintsev filmed Minotaur in Latvia, but set the story in a small Russian city where Gleb (Dmitriy Mazurov) is a prominent figure. While it’s not shocking to learn that Gleb’s beautiful wife, Galina (Iris Lebedeva), is having an affair, the film’s brilliance lies in how Zvyagintsev adapts the original story to reflect Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine, subtly shifting the tone from a tragedy to a darkly comedic one.

Club Kid

Jordan Firstman’s first film as director caused a major stir at Cannes, with several companies competing to buy it before A24 won. While it’s clear Firstman is naturally funny – he stars as a chaotic party promoter forced to grow up when he unexpectedly becomes a father – the film’s real strength lies in its ability to create a broadly appealing story about personal growth and learning responsibility. Club Kid skillfully avoids predictable tropes, offering a surprisingly fresh and enjoyable take on familiar themes.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma

Similar to Jane Schoenbrun’s previous films, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma explores themes of nostalgia, how our childhood influences us, and what we can learn about ourselves through the media we grew up with. Like those other films, it’s also boldly queer. The story centers on a young, up-and-coming director (Hannah Einbinder) who travels to the woods hoping to convince a former scream queen (Gillian Anderson) to star in a modern, updated version of her classic 80s slasher film. What begins as a professional meeting evolves into something unexpected for both of them—and for the film itself, which transforms into a raw, bloody, funny, and sensual love story.

Paper Tiger

In his new film, Paper Tiger, James Gray explores familiar ground – the bonds of brotherhood, 1980s New York City, and the loss of innocence – while drawing on personal experiences. Miles Teller plays Irwin Pearl, a seemingly content engineer and family man living in Queens with his wife, Hester (Scarlett Johansson), and their two sons. His older brother, Gary (Adam Driver), a former police officer with considerable wealth, entangles Irwin in a shady government project to clean up the Gowanus Canal. This decision leads both brothers into dangerous territory, attracting the attention of the Russian mafia. Gray skillfully builds tension and expertly portrays the growing guilt and rage of both Irwin and Gary as the situation escalates, ultimately impacting the entire family, including Hester, who is grappling with her own hidden truths.

La Bola Negra

I caught La Bola Negra near the end of this year’s festival, and everyone seemed to be calling it a masterpiece! I thought it was really good, but maybe not quite perfect – I’d describe it as a passionate, flawed tribute to the poet Federico García Lorca. The movie, from the directing duo known as “Los Javis,” jumps between three different time periods – 1932, 1937, and 2017 – and follows the lives of several gay men, some openly out and some keeping it hidden, and even features Lorca himself for a bit. The whole thing revolves around an unfinished play by Lorca, which is also called La Bola Negra. The story follows Alberto, played by Carlos González, who inherits a strange script from his grandfather, Sebastián. We also see Sebastián as a young soldier during the Spanish Civil War, brought to life by the musician Guitarricadelafuente. The three timelines all connect and explore themes of repression, shame, loss, art, and love – it’s both beautifully poetic and heartbreaking.

The Man I Love

Rami Malek delivers a standout performance in The Man I Love, portraying Jimmy George as a captivating yet troubled artist. The film follows Jimmy, a performance artist in 1980s New York, as he battles AIDS while passionately pursuing his art—specifically, starring in a local remake of a 1970s French-Canadian film. We see him struggle with his lines, effortlessly charm those around him, and navigate complex relationships with both his long-term partner, Dennis (Tom Sturridge), and a new neighbor, Vincent (Luther Ford), who becomes fixated on him. The Man I Love is a deeply affecting exploration of a charismatic individual and a painful chapter in LGBTQ+ history, immersing the viewer in its unique atmosphere and emotional currents.

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2026-05-26 15:55