The plot couldn’t be too new: a film within a film. It begins with a long discussion between two close friends – Willy (Raphael Quenare) and David (Louis Garrel) – as they chat about Florence (Léa Seydoux, in another impressive performance here) in a quiet rural area. Let’s go. David wants Willie to meet him and perhaps begin an affair.

As the scene unfolds, we learn that the two men are not friends but actors acting in a film. Ditto with Florence and her father, Guillaume (Vincent Lindon). But midway through, they are not confident in the essay they are writing, and want to throw it away. A call from his agent saying that a major director wants to cast him in his latest work feels like a godsend to Guillaume.

The second act took me back to François Truffaut’s memorable classic, Day for Night – which is also a film within a film. In fact, the Cannes Opener plays like a raucous rendition of Day for Night, and Dupuis satirises in good humor the dreadfully inflated egos of some famous French actors. However, he also incorporated some other current points of view into his story, such as AI (which is used to cut costs), cancel culture, and the #MeToo movement in the French industry.

The second act has many more surprises or shocks for us as it delves into the ins and outs of some of the French stars on issues like panic attacks and the ego trips they go through. Seydoux plays a completely spoiled starlet who lacks confidence about her “talents”. Garrel’s character hides his arrogance behind his friendly demeanor. Linden may be playing the part of a seasoned veteran, but he’s extremely impatient with newcomers.

The second act may be Dupuis’s strongest and perhaps most controversial work to date. Due to the current controversies, Pandora’s box is sure to open on the festival.

In a recent meeting with the media, festival head Thierry Frémaux said, “Last year, as you know, and we had some controversies and we were aware of it, so this year we had a festival without any controversies. “Decided to organize.” It is certain that the main interest of all of us is cinema. So if there are other disputes, they have nothing to do with us.

He did not elaborate on what he would do if pro-Palestinian demonstrations occurred. Asked about the possibility of more media reports about sexual abuse in the French film industry, he said: “Our selection work is driven by artistic criteria, not by concerns about #MeToo or other scandals. It’s about the films and whether or not they deserve to be there from an aesthetic or artistic point of view. There is no ideology that guides the selection committee.

The debate follows weeks of rumors about the possibility that a media outlet would soon publish a major investigation into sexual abuse in France’s audiovisual sector.

Last week, in a statement from Paris Match, the festival’s president, Iris Knobloch, said the allegations would be “studied on a case-by-case basis” when they emerge. Le Figaro warned that the festival has hired a public relations firm to provide advice if the storm hits.

We’re certainly in for some very exciting times before the festival ends on May 25th.