Megalopolis Teaser / Rasoulof Escapes from Iran / New
Bikeriders Trailer for the U.K. / Critics from Cannes
MEGALOPOLIS TEASER
As Francis Ford Coppola nears premiering his latest and self-financed epic at Cannes, he released a teaser trailer on Tuesday. It looks impressive. Here it is from YouTube:
RASOULOF ESCAPES FROM IRAN
We've been following the latest travails of Iranian film maker Mohammad Rasoulof for the past few weeks. Rasoulof has a number of films screen at Telluride (Manuscripts Don't Burn, A Man of Integrity) and has another film set to bow at Cannes on May 24th that could well be a TFF #51 possibility.
We reported recently that Rasoulof had been sentenced to an eight year prison term as well as other punishments as the Iranian regime seeks to silence him and stifle the release of his films.
Now comes word from multiple sources that Rasoulof has managed to get out of Iran and is in hiding somewhere in Europe.
Rasoulof did release a statement regarding the escape:
"I arrived in Europe a few days ago after a long and complicated journey.
About a month ago, my lawyers informed me that my eight-year prison sentence was confirmed in the court of appeal and would be implemented on short notice. Knowing that the news of my new film would be revealed very soon, I knew that without a doubt, a new sentence would be added to these eight years. I didn’t have much time to make a decision. I had to choose between prison and leaving Iran. With a heavy heart, I chose exile. The Islamic Republic confiscated my passport in September 2017. Therefore, I had to leave Iran secretly."
At this point it is not known whether Rasoulof will attempt to make a live appearance for the premiere of his Cannes competition film The Seed of the Sacred Fig.
NEW BIKERIDERS TRAILER FOR THE U.K.
Late last week Universal and Focus Features released a third trailer for Jeff Nichols The Bikeriders for consumption in the U.K. Here it is from YouTube:
The Bikeriders opens in the U.S. on June 21st.
CRITICS FROM CANNES
Now that the 77th Cannes Film Festival is underway you can expect to see MTFB's usual compilation of critical responses coming your way beginning with Monday's post. I'll be following multiple collections of critical response in order to get a sense of what films are capturing the moment in Cannes and as a way to assess TFF potential. One of those sources will be, again, the massive critical collection from Reini Urban. Last year TFF films that appeared at Cannes first had these ratings from Urban's list using a ten point scale:
The Zone of Interest 8.16
Perfect Days 7.91
Anatomy of a Fall 7.90
La Chimera 7.46
Fallen Leaves 7.46
The Taste of Things 7.01
Occupied City 6.97
Anselm 6.41
Little Girl Blue 6.21
Room 999 also played Cannes then Telluride last year but is nowhere to be found on Urban's list.
EMAIL: mpgort@gmail.com
X (TWITTER): @TheMTFB OR @Gort2
BLUE SKY: https://bsky.app/profile/gort2.bsky.social
MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays
90