Cate Blanchett receives standing ovation at Cannes for rumors

Cate Blanchett blew kisses to the Cannes Film Festival audience as her new film, “Rumours,” received a four-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday night.

The crowd welcomed the film’s dark humor, laughing throughout the night’s screening. While part of the room emptied as the credits rolled, the majority of moviegoers waited patiently to pay tribute to the stars of the film. Alicia Vikander, Blanchett’s co-star in “Rumours,” was notably not present.

The film’s trio of directors — Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson — seemed surprised by the relatively new Cannes tradition of giving a microphone to the filmmaker(s) for remarks after the screening. After the applause, they gave a speech together, thanking the audience and quoting from their own film saying “it’s better to burn out than to fade away.”

The dark comedy follows a group of world leaders who meet at the G7 – a political and economic meeting between Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – but get lost in the woods trying to write a joint statement.

In addition to Blanchett and Vikander, “Rumours” also stars Charles Dance, Roy Dupuis, Denis Ménochet, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rolando Ravello, Takehiro Hira and Zlatko Burić. It is screened out of competition at Cannes.

Co-director Madden is one of Canada’s most celebrated filmmakers and is best known for his experimental style. His previous films include “The Saddest Music in the World” (2003) and “My Winnipeg” (2007). With Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson, Maddin co-directed “The Green Fog” in 2017, which revisits Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” through found footage.

Blanchett was already present on the Croisette for “Carol” by Todd Hayne (2015), for which she was nominated for an Oscar for best actress. And, in 2018, Blanchett served as president of the festival jury. Vikander was last in Cannes for “Firebrand” by Karim Aïnouz, which competed for the Palme d’Or.

“Rumours” is produced by Square Peg, Buffalo Gal Pictures and Maze Pictures.