The Electric Kiss Falters at Cannes With 30-Centime Gags and Little Magic

5 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 12

Pierre Salvadori’s Cannes entry centers on Suzanne, a circus performer who charges 30 centimes for electrified kisses and is recruited to fake séances for a grief-stricken painter.
Armand, the artist’s calculating dealer, hopes the sham contact with Antoine’s dead lover Irène will restart his lucrative output, giving the belle époque comedy its main engine.
Anaïs Demoustier, Pio Marmaï and Gilles Lellouche keep the setup moving, but the review says the farce never fully ignites and its antique tone stays stubbornly flat.
Flashbacks to Irène—played by Vimala Pons—add secrets and emotional counterweight, yet the longer explanatory stretches bog down momentum instead of deepening the comedy.
The result is framed as a glossy but gooey Cannes opener: a film about art, grief and imposture that suggests Woody Allen or Blithe Spirit without matching their spark.

Why is the star-studded Cannes opening film being called a 'flat confection' by critics?

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