Cannes' 8 Sexiest Films

From Heath Ledger’s final (unfinished) role to Quentin Tarantino’s comeback, this year’s Cannes Festival favors big-time Hollywood star power—so big, they’re handing out 3-D glasses.

Welcome back, Pedro Almodovar, Ang Lee, Lars Von Trier! After last year’s emphasis on lesser-known filmmakers, the 62nd Cannes Film Festival is more stacked than ever with tried-and-true talent. In the words of festival director Thierry Fremaux, “It is not a year of discoveries.” We’ve picked eight to look out for, including two star-packed Hollywood gambles, a pair of name-brand Euro horror flicks, and the first-ever Cannes movie to come with 3-D glasses.

Inglourious Basterds

Two reasons Quentin Tarantino’s latest has raised eyebrows: It’s an irreverent Holocaust movie, and it got stuck with an August release date. Still, plenty of people are holding out hope that the director’s WWII action flick about a special unit out for Nazi revenge (think The Dirty Dozen meets spaghetti western) will put the director back on track after his Grindhouse misfire. Tarantino made a big push to finish it in time for Cannes, where he should have a receptive audience—he won the 1994 Palme d’Or for Pulp Fiction and served as jury president in 2004. Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Samuel L. Jackson, Mike Myers, Maggie Cheung, Hostel director Eli Roth, a bunch of actors who are better known in France and Germany, and Rod Taylor (remember him, from The Birds?) make up part of the film’s ginormous ensemble cast.

Broken Embraces

Penelope Cruz plays no fewer than three characters in Pedro Almodóvar's tale of tragedy and betrayal among a group of film-industry colleagues. Packed with movie references (ranging from Roberto Rossellini’s Voyage to Italy to Almodóvar’s own oeuvre) and heavily indebted to '40s and '50s film noir, this one marks a significant departure for the Spanish Oscar-winner. It’s also his longest and, at $14 million, most expensive film to date.

Up

Pixar has scored big-time kudos on the Continent this year: a raft of lifetime achievement awards at Venice, and the coveted opening-night spot (usually reserved for a French film) at Cannes—in 3-D, no less. (What’s next, a Légion d’Honneur for Shrek?) Written and directed by Pete Docter, who co-wrote Toy Story and Wall-E, the animated adventure-comedy follows an aging balloon salesman (voiced by Ed Asner) who floats his house over the South American rainforest, accompanied by an eager young explorer.