Cannes 2026: I Saw Buildings Fall Like Lightning, Diary of a Chambermaid, La Perra

Three films from different countries portray groups of people trying to mature or survive under pressures that limit change. A Birmingham friend group celebrates turning 30 while partying and drifting into a heavy, dreamlike awareness of demolition and social upheaval. A Romanian immigrant working in France faces constraints shaped by labor and displacement, with daily life shaped by forces beyond personal control. A rural woman diving for algae confronts harsh conditions that shape her choices and future. Across the works, characters attempt to move forward, but life is repeatedly redirected by external circumstances, freezing growth despite internal effort.

"You couldn't find three more different films than those in this dispatch, which examines a trio of works in the Director's Fortnight. Each hails from a different country (England, France, and Chile) and is about several different classes. Only one could be classified as a crowd-pleaser; the others defy definition. And yet, when taken together, these films about a friend group maturing into their 30s, a Romanian immigrant working in France, and a rural woman diving for algae-do show the many ways life can be arrested by outside forces, even when characters are trying their best to change from within."

"Adapted from Keiran Goddard's novel of the same name, Barnard's keen, modernist take on kitchen-sink realism concerns a close-knit group of friends from Birmingham, England. In the film's opening, these pals are celebrating the 30th birthday of the rambunctious Oli (Jay Lycurgo). At a club, they party by kicking back lagers, snorting coke, and nearly getting into bust-ups. As the house music thrums, Barnard slows the action down to the speed of a heavy dream."

"Barnard and her editor, Maya Maffioli, cut between Oli's blank, delightful visage and footage of the demolition of council flats, creating a striking visual distillation of how these working-class characters feel as though they're living through a moment that'll require all involved to remake themselves. See, they're all experiencing that moment when the person you hoped you'd become meets the reality of the person you are."

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