Chalk it up to Cannes’ unique position that you’re reading this review.
Which isn’t to say that Amélie Bonnin’s locally flavored jukebox musical “Leave One Day” is anything close to a wash — nor does this year’s Cannes opening film dishonor the (at best) checkered legacy of recent predecessors such as Michel Hazanavicius’ “Final Cut,” Quentin Dupieux’s “The Second Act,” and the botched Johnny Depp comeback “Jeanne du Barry.” Hell, by way of pleasure and ambition, this slight-but-winsome dramedy offers a step-up from recent vintages; by way of international resonance, however, this latest opener seems unlikely for a world tour.
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Taking a sturdy, mainstream premise — a big-city careerist reflecting on her life path during a trip back to the holler, in a setup that faintly echoes “Sweet Home Alabama,” among a hundred other rom-coms — and shading it with moral grays, natural light, and a more unvarnished turn from a well-known star, “Leave One Day” plays uncannily like a Gallic cover of a Sundance movie, gussied up and vaunted onto the international stage. Chalk it up to Cannes’ unique position for the whiplash that ensues.
World cinema’s premier showcase must also serve local interests, of course — with that first slot now firmly ceded to hometown distributors. For nigh on a generation, the festival opener has hit French theaters day-and-date, making international selections harder to land. Despite the notable exception of 2019’s “The Dead Don’t Die,” the slot almost always goes to local fare with just enough star-wattage to light the red carpet.
Curiously, “Leave One Day” also bucks that trend, heralding a director with only a few shorts to her name and a cast bereft of recognizable faces. Turn on French radio, however, and you’ll hear lead actress Juliette Armanet’s voice, as the singer-songwriter remains one of the country’s most beloved pop icons (in fact, odds are you already caught her belting out John Lennon’s “Imagine” on a boat, in the rain, down the Seine, at last year’s Olympic opening ceremony.) Even so, that dimmer wattage does little to dull a film that plays like cine-karaoke — and as any mic fiend can attest, the glory in those moments belongs not to the singer, but the song.
Bonnin sets up the game right out of the gate, following celebrity chef Cécile (Armanet) as she funnels the twin stresses of an unexpected positive pregnancy test and the news of her father’s (entirely expected) third heart attack into a testy back-and-forth with her business and life partner, Sofiane (Tewfik Jallab). The lovers bicker and banter — spurred on in equal parts by the looming opening of their flagship restaurant, not two weeks away — until their familiar repartee dissolves into the even more recognizable beat and lyrics of Stromae’s 2009 chart-topper “Alors on danse.”
Those who can’t immediately summon that song’s distinctive synth loop will find themselves in a similar bind throughout a jukebox musical that often plays on two frequencies. As orchestrated by filmmaker Amélie Bonnin, “Leave One Day” is a dopamine-delivery system built on the reflexive thrill of recognition — the kind of millennial mixtape that, naturally, builds toward a Céline Dion needle-drop. Only here, the song in question comes from her 1995 collaboration with Gallic rocker Jean-Jacques Goldman, and not, you know, the other work she was doing back then.
“Leave One Day,” in other words, plays to a local beat — while offering plenty of fun for anyone tuned to the same wavelength.
Before long, former Top Chef champ Cécile is back slinging meat-and-potatoes at her parents’ roadside truck stop and rekindling old flames with her country-boy ex, Raphaël (Bastien Bouillon). The story sticks to similarly well-worn terrain, charting the slow-burn flirtation between two mutual ones-that-got-away, just as Cécile’s personal and professional entanglements remind her that her life is now elsewhere. Working from a deft script and a sharp eye for detail, Bonnin gives this familiar setup a welcome authenticity, while actors Armanet and Bouillon supply the necessary charm and chemistry to keep things lively. A top chef can do much with meat and potatoes.
To stretch the metaphor further than strictly necessary, Bonnin isn’t just serving up easter eggs. Even without recognizing any (or every) tune, audiences from all cultural backgrounds can still tap into the throwback appeal of imagery textured and graded by DP David Cailley to evoke 1990s consumer film stock — or to that peculiar feeling, common to anyone returning home after building a life elsewhere, of coming unstuck in time. This is an expressly millennial nostalgia play — often endearingly so, if you ask this particular millennial — and one that, in key respects, pines for an already-globalized era. As in karaoke, you don’t need to know the song to appreciate the gusto.
Grade: B
“Leave One Day” world premiered as the Opening Night title at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.
