Photo: Oscilloscope Laboratories
This review was originally published on May 23, 2024 out of the Cannes Film Festival. We are recirculating it now that Universal Language is in theaters.
One of the perils of big festivals with big titles is the ongoing fear that you’re going to miss the real gems: the films from lesser-known directors that play far from competition, in other programs. At Cannes, this fear is particularly pronounced, because even as the main festival’s Official Selection goes on (that’s the one with all the red carpets and the 12-minute standing ovations and the security goons that yell at you if you’re not wearing heels or a black bow tie or whatever), there exist multiple side festivals, each with its own full slate of…
