The Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes Film Festival began this week with Maïwenn’s “Jeanne du Barry,” starring Johnny Depp as Louis XV, and ends on May 27 with a new Pixar film, “Elemental.” In between, there will be many screenings, many awkward standing ovations, many awards bestowed. This is the first year I (kind of) understand the difference between an “Official Selection” and “Un Certain Regard” and all the other golden palm-leaf designations I’ll see on marketing materials for Cannes-affiliated films in the coming months, so I’m paying close attention to the goings-on.

Of all the films in competition this year, I’m most excited about Todd Haynes’s “May December.” Julianne Moore and Charles Melton play a couple whose marriage is tested when an actress starring in a movie about them arrives to research her role. Wes Anderson also has a new one, “Asteroid City,” about a junior stargazing convention. It features many members of the Andersonian repertory — Jason Schwartzman, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody and others. It looks quirky, like it will inspire a million TikToks.

In “Firebrand,” from the Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz, Alicia Vikander plays Catherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII, who’s played by Jude Law. Hirokazu Kore-eda, whose film “Shoplifters” won the Palme d’Or in 2018, has a new film, “Monster.” It stars Sakura Ando from “Shoplifters,” and the composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, who died last month, did the score.

Out of competition, the category that tends to feature big commercial films, we have James Mangold’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” the first Indy movie to be directed by someone other than Steven Spielberg. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is in it, which is a draw for me, a person who saw “Raiders of the Lost Ark” as a child and hasn’t paid much attention to the franchise since. The trailer has me begrudgingly excited.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro star in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” about the murders of members of the Osage tribe in the 1920s. I have high hopes that it’ll be as gripping as the David Grann book on which it’s based.

Also of interest: Steve McQueen’s documentary “Occupied City,” about the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam, clocks in at over four hours. Wim Wenders has two films at the festival: “Anselm,” a 3-D documentary about the artist Anselm Kiefer, and “Perfect Days,” about a Japanese toilet cleaner, which he described to Deadline as “an ode to a spirit of service and to ‘nowness’: to live your life in the present tense.” Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” is based on the Martin Amis novel about a Nazi officer who falls in love with the Auschwitz commandant’s wife. And Cate Blanchett plays a nun in “The New Boy,” by the Australian filmmaker Warwick Thornton.

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THE WEEK IN CULTURE

• President Biden said he would allow Ukraine’s pilots to be trained on F-16 fighter jets, which would be a major upgrade of its military.

• Both parties are trying to blame the other for the debt limit crisis, but some politicians acknowledge that they would share responsibility for a default.

• American diplomats destroyed Sudanese passports on security grounds as violence broke out, trapping people in a war zone.

• As Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida jetted around the country preparing to run for president, a nonprofit group paid the bills and hid the donors.

• Jim Brown, one of football’s greatest players and a civil rights activist whose image was tarnished by accusations of abuse against women, died at 87.

• NASA awarded a $3.4 billion contract to Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, to make a lander for a 2029 moon mission.

CULTURE CALENDAR

📚 “Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World” (out now): Yes, anyone who has ever experienced the very specific stress of driving around city streets looking for a spot to cram a car into will find a point of connection in this book by the Slate journalist Henry Grabar. But really, anyone with a car, regardless of where that person lives, might be interested, says the Times critic Jennifer Szalai, who called the book “wry and revelatory.”

🎬 “Jason Isbell: Running With Our Eyes Closed” (out now): Before the release of the new Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit album on June 9, it’s worth checking out this documentary, available on HBO Max, about the recording of his last album. He made it alongside his wife, the musician Amanda Shires. It’s an impressive movie about creating art, about marriage, about recovery, about Covid — all in less than two hours.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Strawberry Drop Biscuits

After a monthlong delay because of unprecedented rainy weather, California strawberries — in all their red-blushed glory — are once again abundant across the United States. Which means now is the time to bake Jerrelle Guy’s strawberry drop biscuits. They’re as easy as muffins to throw together but have a crunchy, craggy exterior and are light and fluffy inside. Serve them warm from the oven, or let them cool and bring them out for a snack with your afternoon tea. And when strawberry season wanes, make the recipe with other berries or diced stone fruit. You’ll want to put this simple, stunning recipe on repeat.

REAL ESTATE

What you get for $325,000: A Victorian home in Waynesboro, Ga.; a rowhouse in Baltimore; or a cottage in Little Rock, Ark.

The hunt: They wanted four bedrooms for $275,000 in upstate New York. Which home did they pick? Play our game.

Food pilgrimage: Plan a trip to Mexico around chilies.

Sad songs: We listen to them to feel connected to others.

Birding: Help scientists and The Times observe birds in your area.

Seasonal allergies: They may play a role in mood disorders.

ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER

Make moving less miserable

Spring is the beginning of peak moving season, and if you’re among those relocating between now and September, you know what’s coming: The process requires meticulous planning, organization, time and money. Wirecutter experts put together everything you need, including the right gear (you should use uniformly sized boxes) and suggestions to avoid (no, wine glasses should not go in socks; yes, use shrink wrap — but strategically). Check out Wirecutter’s ultimate moving guide here. — Christine Cyr Clisset

Las Vegas Aces vs. Seattle Storm, W.N.B.A.: This will be the season of the superteams. The New York Liberty have assembled a roster of all-stars, and the Aces — who won the title last year — added the great Candace Parker to a squad that already included last season’s M.V.P., A’ja Wilson. “The easiest decision in my rankings was placing the Aces at the top,” The Athletic’s Sabreena Merchant wrote in her preseason W.N.B.A. breakdown. “Anything short of the best record in league during the regular season would be a surprise, if not a disappointment.” 3 p.m. Eastern today on ABC.

For more

• How did the Liberty attract two former M.V.P.s during the off-season? The Times’s Kurt Streeter went behind the scenes.

• After nearly a year in Russian captivity, Brittney Griner is back on the court.

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