Cannes 2010: The Hipsters Come to Town

After a slow start, Cannes has finally been livened up by a flurry of young (or young at heart) talent.

Gregg Araki provided a welcome blast of irreverence with his hilarious trashy student thriller Kaboom. Think Buffy The Vampire Slayer with heaps of drugs, sex and beautiful people and you're somewhere in the right territory. With its complete disregard for traditional notions of plot and believability, it's a wild and silly ride that has so much energy you can't help but walk away on a high. It's destined to be snapped up as the perfect midnight movie. Whilst you wait for it to reach UK screens, it might be worth hunting down Araki's earlier work with which Kaboom has many similarities.

Also filled with beautiful hipsters is Heartbeats, Xavier Dolan's second feature. The French-Canadian director is not even 21 yet returns to Cannes having attracted attention last year with I Killed My Mother, which showed in the Director's Fortnight. Heartbeats is a more mature effort: where I Killed My Mother tended towards self-consciousness, Heartbeats introduces some welcomed humour. The film begins with individuals telling their tales of unrequited love, and these vignettes intersperse the film's main storyline which concentrates on two friends, Francis and Marie, both falling in love with the same guy. There are numerous Godard influences: the use of coloured light during the sex scenes (a la Le Mepris), plenty of jump cuts and handsome protagonists smoking against colourful backdrops. It also captures the pain of young love in torturous detail. Watch out too for a cameo from French heart-throb Louis Garrel.

A new talent has also been touted in the form of Alistair Banks Griffin whose debut feature, Two Gates of Sleep, has become one of the most talked about films of the festival. Drawing comparisons with Steve McQueen's Hunger, it tells the story of two boys from a remote area of Mississippi who make a journey through the forest to bury their mother. It's an atmospheric and chilling look at death, nature and humanity which is beautifully shot in muted tones of green and grey.

Last but not least, away from the new blood and to a Cannes regular, Mike Leigh's Another Day is currently being held up as a strong contender for the Palme D'Or. Leigh's latest film is typical of the director's work and has him do what he does best: capturing with acute observation the details of everyday life. Another Day shows the lives of a family and their friends over the course of one year and reveals the loneliness of some and the happiness of others. It's accomplished and often poignant; just don't expect a departure from Leigh's previously well-trodden subject matter and style.