FFM26 - The Electric Venus

This year's opening film of the Cannes Film Festival is a lusty affair set in Paris in 1928. Here we meet Antoine Balestro (Pio Marmaï), a formerly famous painter who has lost his creative spark after the death of his wife. His gallerist, Armand (Gilles Lellouche), is desperate to get his protégé to paint again. One night, under the influence of spirits, Antoine tries to contact his late wife via a spiritualist medium, but Suzanne (Anaïs Demoustier) is in reality a gifted con artist who has performed in a funfair under the artist name Venus Electrificata. Suzanne teams up with Armand to stage advanced, fake séances for the grieving artist, who slowly rediscovers his artistic inspiration. But then complications arise, for Suzanne begins to fall in love with the man she is actively deceiving.

Directed by: Pierre Salvadori
Starring: Pio Marmaï, Anaïs Demoustier, Gilles Lellouche
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Running time: 122 min.
Original Title: The Electric Kiss