2014 Cannes Critics’ Panel Day 8: Loach Breaks out in Dance for “Jimmy’s Hall” & Dolan’s “Mommy” Receives Excellent Ratio Among Critics

May 22nd – Rainy Thursday in Cannes.

It appears that both the oldest, and the youngest filmmakers in the Main Comp happen to be those responsible for breathing an air of vitality into this year’s fest. Yesterday, Jean-Luc Godard’s latest (second 3D project) once again divided critics, and depending on who you speak to, Goodbye to Language is among the filmmaker’s best works (and we’re talking about six decades worth of films) or simply does not work.

Today, Xavier Dolan (his film received the early bird 7:00p.m. screening on Wednesday) receives it’s red carpet debut tonite (prediction: the filmmaker will not fall on the red steps) and is among the hot buzz titles in contention for some trophyware. After several generations worth of Quebecois father-son rapport relationship dynamics (Père manquant fils manqué phenomenon which in essence saw generations of labor force men from the province blamed for being non-demonstrative with affection towards their sons)  Mommy sees Dolan swing that paradigm to the monoparental, mother-son relationship (wonderfully explored in his debut film Directors’ Fortnight selected I Killed My Mother) and in full display here but with a more off the hinges reverse-reflection template. This is Dolan’s fourth film in Cannes with Les Amours Imaginaires and Laurence Anyways both being featured in the Un Certain Regard section.

Having screened in the 8:30 slot for press this morning, Ken Loach returns for (it’s not his last folks) 17th return trip. In turns out that on the Ireland’s history timeline, that the events that take place in Jimmy’s Hall are a decade after the events that shaped the narrative in his 2006 Palme d’Or winner: The Wind That Shakes the Barley. So far, critics are liking the output from the United Kingdom (Mike Leigh). Here’s the day 8 chart with further updates to come. Click on the grid below.