SCREEN ON SCREEN: CANNES 2016: DAY SIX - AQUARIUS, JULIETA, MA' ROSA

Seen before, but will they be seen again? The films of day seven of Cannes 2016 included a couple of high profile titles that had already been reviewed by major outlets. Chief among them was Pedro Almodovar's Julieta: the festival mainstay's latest has fared poorly on general release in his native Spain, but did better with the critics at Cannes, if not by much. Similarly underwhelming was Kleber Mendonca Filho's Aquarius, which likewise impressed some, and bested Almodovar's film by outright disappointing virtually none, but hasn't attracted the kind of praise lavished upon his last film Neighbouring Sounds. Closing the day out, and with more reviews likely to emerge over the coming night and day, was Brillante Mendoza's Ma' Rosa. One considers to question Thierry Fremaux's persistent championing of Mendoza and/or the critics' mass indifference to his work; little was expected of Ma' Rosa compared to its competition today, and reports are that it delivers on what little was expected, and little more.

The leaders of the Palme Poll won't be especially troubled by today's offerings, which seem destined for wins in other categories at the very most.

Another previously-reviewed film to debut today was Matt Ross' Captain Fantastic. The American indie made its debut earlier in the year at Sundance; those journos catching it for the first time here in Un Certain Regard seem to share the mild enthusiasm expressed by journos there. And that's about as good as it gets on what was likely the fest's weakest day thus far. Critics' Week's penultimate premiere was Vatche Boulghourjian's Tramontane, and Directors' Fortnight offered up Fiore by Claudio Giovannesi and The Together Project by the late Solveig Anspach. None of those three broke out exactly, with some (only some) particularly unkind notices for Fiore, though there was notable appreciation for Tramontane. New reviews for all four films (that I could find) in these lower strands of the festivals were pretty scarce, however, so the very light consensus on them is liable to change in the coming days.

And again, the polls for Un Certain Regard, Critics' Week and Directors' Fortnight remain unchanged yet again at the top. Nothing much to report, alas.

Official Competition

Aquarius (Kleber Mendonca Filho)

Screen Daily / The Hollywood Reporter / The Guardian / Variety / The Wrap / The Telegraph / The Film Stage / RogerEbert.com

Julieta (Pedro Almodovar)