James Gray’s highly personal and intimate family narrative Armageddon Time — set in the 1980s and incorporating Trump family members as characters — got a passionate six-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday night.
Gray and several of the film’s actors, including Anne Hathaway, were in tears at the end of the applause.
As Gray said, “I’ve been to Cannes now five times, I’ve never spoken before. I can only tell you my deepest gratitude to all of you for coming here. It’s very emotional for me; it’s my story in a way,” added, “We finished the film last Saturday in a complete panic and flew this thing here so you are the very first people on planet Earth to see it. I’m grateful to each and every one of you and I can’t thank you enough for coming. I love you all.”
The film’s young leads, Banks Repeta and Jaylin Webb, received the most ovation, with special attention devoted to actors Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong.
Gray wrote and directed the Focus Features film, which is based on his background in Queens, New York. A young, middle-class Jewish kid (Repeta) transitions from public to private school with the support of his strict but loving grandfather in this coming-of-age narrative (Anthony Hopkins). He leaves a friend (Webb) behind during the changeover and confronts a moral dilemma.
It included actors portraying members of Donald Trump’s family, including Fred Trump Sr., Donald’s father, and Mary Anne Trump, Donald’s sister, in a scathing attack of conservative politics at the time. Mary Anne, played by Jessica Chastain, gives a powerful lecture about self-reliance inside a private school auditorium in one scene. Tovah Feldshuh also makes an appearance.
At this year’s 75th edition of the festival, 21 films are competing for the Palme d’Or. On the third day, it premiered in front of a sold-out 2,000-seat theatre. Julia Roberts and Chopard’s artistic director and co-president Caroline Scheufele made a splash on the red carpet. Khaby Lame, the TikTok star, and actress Deepika Padukone were among the guests.
Gray has returned. He acknowledged to rushing to finish Armageddon Time in time for this year’s event, but he’s already planning a sequel, “I hope I come back here sometime because it’s the castle of cinema, it’s the church of cinema.”
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