Nabbing one of only four non-competition slots in this year’s Critics’ Week selections, French filmmaker Pierre Le Gall will be making his second trip to the Croisette — two years after showcasing his short Les belles cicatrices (2024). Flesh and Fuel (aka Du fioul dans les artères – which translates to Fuel in the Veins) is a queer melodrama set in the world of long-haul truck drivers. His cinema is rooted in themes of movement, masculinity, emotional restraint and working-class solitude, and Le Gall has mentioned that he was fascinated by passing traffic and the idea of the road as both escape and destiny – and here in his feature debut he explores emotionally isolated men searching for connection. In the sequence, as was always the case in the world of truck drivers, communication is a key way to fight isolation (back in the day it was mainly through use CB radios) and so we find an Alexis Manenti playfully riding towards a sort of apex with fellow driver — almost playing a game of chicken on a bridge. The world premiere of the Special Screening selection takes place Saturday on May 16th.
