I am here to today tell you of another almost shoo-in and that’s Terrence Malick’s “Radegund.” The Independent ran a story last fall that we could expect Terrence Malick’s “Radegund” to premiere either at Toronto or Venice. That didn’t happen. Neither did Berlin this past February. Is Cannes going to be the place where we finally see Malick’s latest opus? I have been told by two separate French sources that Malick has shown “footage” of “Radegund” and that the plan is to, indeed, premiere it at Cannes this coming May. However, as of the publishing of this article, the whole film has NOT been shown to Cannes head Thierry Fremaux and company. Who knows if Malick will get cold feet and decide to further edit the film and wait until Venice or even next year? That is the fear most of the Cannes committee has at the moment, because the footage shown has supposedly “blown people away” and Fremaux very much wants this movie to be in competition. According to another source close to production, Malick’s power over the film and its future has faded and is now in the hands of the film’s investors and that Malick “might use the next few months until the theatrical release for another cut,” “Radegund” follows the real-life story of Austrian Franz Jägerstätter, who famously was a conscientious objector and refused to fight for the Nazis during World War II.Your liking of Malick, of late at least, will depend very much on whether you liked the last three films of his “Texas nouveau-riche“ trilogy: “Song to Song,” “To The Wonder,” and “Knight of Cups.” It’s the same idea, same style, same love triangles, same “wonderment” at nature, and same self-congratulatory flattery. I personally didn’t respond to those films. I thought they were Malick jerk-off sessions. However, the biggest problem with these films was the fact that he was casting a who’s who of Hollywood A-listers, which rendered them inauthentic in their attempt to attain romantic naturalism. These films featured some of the biggest names in the business: Ben Affleck, Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Rooney Mara, Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Rachel McAdams etc. Having star wattage, and well known faces, did a disservice to what Malick was trying to achieve. You don’t buy the romantic yearning these star actors are performing on-screen. Maybe having unknown actors would have benefited the story a little more. Then again, the films also felt like Malick trying to do Malick — a sense of self-caricaturing was apparent throughout. Most importantly, these last three films barely used a script, which is why, despite cautiousness, I am very much looking forward to his next film, “Radegund,” which has the man actually using a script. It was shot with German actors, but I was told it is in English. It has been over two years since shooting wrapped, but Malick gave a rare, in-depth Q&A following a screening of “Voyage of Time” at Washington D.C.’s Air and Space Museum last September: Competition | Cannes 2019 RADEGUND | Terrence MalickPAIN AND GLORY | Pedro AlmodóvarPARASITE | Bong Joon-hoEMA  | Pablo LarraínFRANKIE | Ira SachsONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD | Quentin TarantinoAHMED | Jean-Pierre & Luc DardenneAD ASTRA | James GrayTHE DEAD DON´T DIE | Jim JarmuschOH MERCY | Arnaud DesplechinABOUT ENDLESSNESS | Roy Andersson BACURAU | Kleber Mendonça Filho & Juliano DornellesPORTRAIT DE LA JEUNE FILLE EN FEU | Céline SciammaSIBYL | Justine TrietWILD GOOSE LAKE | Diao Yi’nanIL TRADITORE | Marco BellocchioSORRY WE MISSED YOU | Ken LoachIT MUST BE HEAVEN | Elia SuleimanONE SECOND | Zhang YimouMANOR HOUSE | Cristi PuiuMATTHIAS & MAXIME | Xavier DolanUNE FILLE FACILE | Rebecca Zlotowski THE WHISTLERS | Corneliu Porumbuiu Possibilites: JEANNE | Bruno DumontTHE BEANPOLE | Kantemir BalagovWAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS | Ciro Guerra PERSONALIEN | Albert Serra GLORIA MUNDI | Robert Guédiguian LA CORDILLÈRE DES SONGES | Patricio Guzmán WICKED GAMES | Ulrich Seidl MIENTRAS DURE LA GUERRA | Alejandro AmenabarWENDY | Benh ZeitlinFIRST COW | Kelly ReichardtTHE LIGHTHOUSE| Robert EggersWAVES | Trey Edward Shults2019 | Lav DiazRADIOACTIVE | Marjane SatrapiCOOK, FUCK, KILL | Mira FornayGUEST OF HONOR | Atom EgoyanETRE VIVANT ET LE SAVOIR | Alain CavalierC’EST EXTRA | Guillaume Nicloux LE DAIM | Quentin DupieuxTHE THOUSAND MILES | Sylvain Chomet Contribute Hire me

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