James Gray's 'Paper Tiger' Stands Out at Cannes as 40,000 Attend a Disappointing Festival
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 22
James Gray's 'Paper Tiger' Stands Out at Cannes as 40,000 Attend a Disappointing Festival
6 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 22
With only days left in Cannes, James Gray’s “Paper Tiger” has emerged as one of the festival’s strongest entries in a lineup many critics see as underwhelming.
The New York-set 1980s drama follows a family confronting Russian mobsters, with Adam Driver and Miles Teller as brothers and Scarlett Johansson as Teller’s wife.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden” and Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Fatherland” are also among the standout titles, but few films have generated the usual Cannes frenzy or critical superlatives.
The softer reception comes after a notably stronger 2025 edition, even though about 40,000 industry attendees from 140 countries still turned out and awards-season prospects remain for “Paper Tiger,” which Neon will release in the U.S.
Beyond the 'disappointment' narrative, does this festival signal a stronger future for international cinema without Hollywood's shadow?
With one distributor backing nearly every major film, is Cannes now a curated showroom instead of a discovery platform?
As Cannes bans AI-authored films, is it defending artistic integrity or risking future irrelevance in the film industry?