ARI FOLMAN'S THE CONGRESS DISAPPOINTS AT CANNES

After his Oscar-nominated animated documentary Waltz with Bashir wowed audiences and critics five years ago, Ari Folman's ambitious follow-up, The Congress, which stars Robin Wright in an especially unusual role, has not quite achieved the same level of acclaim with critics at Cannes, where the film opened the Directors' Fortnight section.

Variety's Peter Debruge recommends that fans of Waltz with Bashir 'adjust their expectations for this trippy cautionary tale', while The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy notedly prefers the live-action part of the part-animated film. At The Playlist, Jessica Kiang is both impressed and unimpressed, admiring Folman's boldness, but eventually only rating it a B-/C+. And, at The Guardian, Xan Brooks gives the film 3/5 stars, an average reaction to this unusual film, which will surely attract plenty of arthouse attention worldwide.