I don’t know if any filmmaker has been as consistent a presence at Cannes as Arnaud Desplechin. With ten movies having premiered at the festival already, you can just about always count on him to be there. And sure enough, he’s back this year with Brother and Sister, starring Marion Cotillard, actor/filmmaker Melvil Poupaud, and the terrific Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani (Extraction, Paterson).
The premise is simple, centering on estranged siblings forced to come together after a tragedy involving their parents. After more than two decades apart and nothing but hatred between them, can they find a way to be a family again?
Desplechin was most recently at Cannes last year with the Lea Seydoux drama, Deception. His films have competed for the Palme d’Or multiple times, and I’m sure Brother and Sister will be in competition, as well. The film opens in France on May 20th and there will definitely be a U.S. date at some point.
Alice and Louis are brother and sister. She is an actress; he was a teacher and poet. For more than 20 years, Alice has hated her brother. In all this time they haven’t seen one another. Then their parents are involved in a serious accident, and the siblings are brought face to face…
