Ryusuke Hamaguchi 11-minute ovation

Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden” arrived at Cannes with the kind of reception that immediately changes the conversation around a competition title. Multiple outlets, including Deadline, reported that the film received an 11-minute standing ovation after its premiere, while festival materials show the film screened in Competition on May 15 and remained on the Cannes schedule on May 16. The response matters in Cannes partly because the festival’s nightly premieres often produce an informal scoreboard of applause times, however imprecise that ritual can be. Trade and entertainment outlets tracking the 2026 edition said Hamaguchi’s film had the longest ovation of the festival so far, placing it at the center of early Palme d’Or talk, though any awards reading remains speculative until the jury announces its decisions on May 23. (deadline.com) ### Why did this screening stand out so quickly? Deadline reported the ovation at 11 minutes after the premiere, while Variety reported a seven-minute ovation for the same film on May 15, underscoring how Cannes applause timings can vary by outlet and by when a stopwatch starts or stops. What is consistent across coverage is that the film drew one of the strongest audience responses of the festival’s first week. (deadline.com) Festival coverage places “Soudain” — the French title of “All of a Sudden” — squarely in the main Competition lineup. Cannes listed the film as a 196-minute feature directed by Hamaguchi, making it one of the longer entries in this year’s field. ### What is “All of a Sudden” actually about? Cannes describes the film as the story of Marie-Lou, the director of a home for elderly people, and Mari, a Japanese theater director who is living with cancer. (deadline.com) Their meeting develops into a close friendship, and the film follows questions of care, dignity and end-of-life experience. Festival materials say the film is loosely adapted from a nonfiction correspondence co-written by Maoko Miyano and Maho Isono. (festival-cannes.com) Hamaguchi told Cannes that he shifted that relationship into the setting of a care facility in the Paris suburbs, where the production spent an extended period shooting and living alongside residents and staff. ### Who made it, and why is this Cannes return notable? Hamaguchi is making his third appearance in Cannes Competition after “Asako I & II” in 2018 and “Drive My Car” in 2021. Cannes records show “Drive My Car” won the festival’s screenplay prize in 2021, before the film later won the Academy Award for best international feature. This film also marks a shift in Hamaguchi’s working context. (festival-cannes.com) Cannes says it is a French-German-Belgian-Japanese co-production, partly shot in France, and his first film led by Belgian actor Virginie Efira, opposite Tao Okamoto. Variety described it as his first French-language film and his first feature primarily set outside Japan. ### Which cast and creative details are drawing attention? (festival-cannes.com) Virginie Efira plays Marie-Lou and Tao Okamoto plays Mari, according to the festival’s Competition page. Cannes also credits Léa Le Dimna as co-writer on the screenplay and Alan Guichaoua as cinematographer. Festival notes say the film engages with “Humanitude,” a French care philosophy centered on empathy and the dignity of patients. (festival-cannes.com) Hamaguchi told Cannes that the production’s long stay at the shooting location led some residents and staff members to appear in the film. ### What happens next at Cannes? The 79th Cannes Film Festival runs from May 12 to May 23, according to the festival. “All of a Sudden” remains one of the Competition titles under review by the main jury, which will announce this year’s prizes, including the Palme d’Or, at the close of the festival on May 23. (festival-cannes.com 1) (festival-cannes.com 2) (festival-cannes.com 3)