Claire Denis's Stars at Noon: who knew the end of the world could feel so romantic?

"From a squad of young soldiers stationed in the middle of the Djiboutian desert to a stubborn plantation mistress refusing to abandon her estate amid a brewing civil war, Claire Denis's films have placed some of cinema's most alluring stars in some of the world's most volatile environments. Stemming from her memories growing up as a child throughout West Africa, the legendary French film-maker has possessed a career-long fascination with the everlasting ripples of colonial oppression and its lingering psychic effects on native communities."

"On paper, her 2022 film Stars at Noon seemed to be another one of these stories: a return to the material that launched the 79-year-old director to global acclaim more than three decades ago. But when the lights inside the Lumiere auditorium finally went up after the film's glitzy world premiere at Cannes, critics noted that the immediate reaction to Denis's movie was instead a confused and puzzling silence."

"A storm has just rolled through town when we're first introduced to Trish (Margaret Qualley), a disillusioned American journalist stranded in a Covid-stricken Nicaragua turning tricks in order to survive. Realising her goodwill with the local government is running thin thanks to her persistent coverage of brutal extrajudicial killings, she ignites a romance with Daniel (Joe Alwyn), a mysterious British petrochemical consultant she sidles up to one night"

An acclaimed French filmmaker repeatedly situates glamorous actors in unstable postcolonial settings, examining colonial oppression's enduring social and psychic effects rooted in West African memories. The 2022 film relocates a Sandinista-era narrative to Covid-era Nicaragua, following Trish, an American journalist surviving through sex work amid state violence. Trish's reporting on extrajudicial killings endangers her, leading her to pursue a romance with Daniel, a British petrochemical consultant who might offer escape. Pandemic-era health restrictions are woven into the film's atmosphere. The Cannes premiere produced an unusually puzzled silence from critics despite high-profile casting and a glitzy premiere.

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