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Dumont’s Red Rocks Divides Cannes With Sunlit, Child‑Eye Drama

Praise for the film’s luminous Côte d’Azur cinematography coexists with criticism of its thin narrative, uneven formal choices and ethical concerns over using very young non‑professional actors.

Overview

  • Red Rocks premiered this week in Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival and opened reviews focused on its bold choice to center very young children in a feature‑length, docu‑style film.
  • Critics singled out Carlos Alfonso Corral’s cinematography for creating striking Mediterranean imagery that gives the film a radiant, child‑eye visual identity.
  • Reviewers also raised consistent objections to the screenplay and structure, calling the plot thin, occasionally padded and better suited to a short than a full feature.
  • Multiple critics pointed to uneven filmmaking choices, naming rough editing, conspicuous CGI in dangerous sequences and awkward formal shifts as distracting from the film’s authenticity.
  • The coverage frames Red Rocks as a tonal turn for Bruno Dumont that deepens questions about his long habit of casting non‑professional performers and what using very young children on camera means for ethics and audience reception.