I just got back from the Cannes Film Festival—the place where you walk into films with no trailers, no reviews, sometimes not even a familiar name, and you hope to be genuinely awe-struck. I didn’t want to merely see “good” movies; I wanted the ones that take you somewhere new, that challenge what cinema can be. So instead of reviewing all 22 films I watched, I focus on the handful that lodged themselves in my mind while I was already moving on to the next screening. I start with Sound of Falling, a multi-generation tragedy that feels disorienting like Lynch, tactile like Béla Tarr, and poetic like Tarkovsky—haunting in a way that almost demands a second viewing. From there I talk about the visceral, darkly funny madness of Die My Love, and Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, which expands his canvas into a mesmerizing family mosaic that might even surpass The Worst Person in the World for me. I also highlight Splitsville as the most electrifying theater experience, Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague as a hang-out portrait of creative impulse, and a few striking debuts. Finally, I dive into Sirât—the one film that gave me those transcendental moments of pure cinematic ecstasy—before closing on two understated gems: The History of Sound and Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind. A lot of these titles were acquired by MUBI, which makes it easier to actually seek them out once the festival glow fades.