2024 Film Challenge

It is really great. Congrats on finishing the category!

So I've hit a wall a bit with watching 10 films that won at Cannes. Everything I'm able to find is just so . . . depressing. I'm like, "Do I want to watch the movie about the woman who has been devastated by terrible things in her life, the movie about a town slowly turning on each other in the aftermath of a war, or the movie about children who are sold by their indifferent parents?"

Any suggestions for Cannes winners that are joyful/uplifting? I've watched 3 so far, so I do need quite a few more to finish the category.

I know I'd have more luck with not-sad stuff if I just punt and switch to the Oscars, but I'm hoping there are half dozen Cannes winners out there that don't evoke the words "devastating", "harrowing", or "tragic".

Because I watch every category in the order they are listed, I've been stuck for about two weeks at this point. Halp!

So I've hit a wall a bit with watching 10 films that won at Cannes. Everything I'm able to find is just so . . . depressing. I'm like, "Do I want to watch the movie about the woman who has been devastated by terrible things in her life, the movie about a town slowly turning on each other in the aftermath of a war, or the movie about children who are sold by their indifferent parents?"

Any suggestions for Cannes winners that are joyful/uplifting? I've watched 3 so far, so I do need quite a few more to finish the category.

I know I'd have more luck with not-sad stuff if I just punt and switch to the Oscars, but I'm hoping there are half dozen Cannes winners out there that don't evoke the words "devastating", "harrowing", or "tragic".

Because I watch every category in the order they are listed, I've been stuck for about two weeks at this point. Halp!

Something like Madness of King George, perhaps?

The Piano, Underground, The Mission, WHen Father Was Away on Business, All That Jazz, The Working Class Goes to Heaven, and Union Pacific.

Little Shop of Horrors (1960) isn't based on a play. The play was based on that movie, and then the 1980's movie was based on the play version.


How many times has that happened? Where a movie was adapted into a play, and then another movie was made to specifically remake the play version? The only other one I can think of is the Producers.

A. The Human Condition


1. Blackmail
Clue (1985)

2. Infidelity
The Long Goodbye (1973)

3. Theft
Criss Cross (1949)
4. Murder
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

B. Good old terra firma!

1. Desert
Dune, pt 2 (2024)
2. Jungle
Anaconda (1997)
3. Open Sea
Shallows, The (2016)
4. Snowland
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005)

C. Sophomore’s Choice


1. Slasher Horror or Screwball Comedy
Cocoanuts (1929)
2. Steampunk Sci-Fi or Medieval Fantasy
Flesh and Blood (1985)
3. Film Noir or Young Adult Romance
Strangers on a Train (1951)
4. Historical Drama or Hand-drawn Animation
Ponyo (2008)
5. Martial Arts or Spaghetti Western
Raid: Redemption (2011)

D. I coulda been a contender:

1. Cannes Film Festival
Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
2. Academy Award
Suspicion (1941)
3. Sundance Film Festival
Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)
4. Toronto International Film Festival
Boy and the Heron, The (2023)

E. I have always depended on the lists of strangers:

1. Roger Ebert’s Great Films
Big Heat, The (1953)
2. IMDb Top 250 (2023 edition)
Oppenheimer (2023)
3. Criterion Collection

Blowout (1981)

4. BFI Top 100 British films
Get Carter (1971)
5. MoFo Hall of Fame
Nightcrawler (2013)

F. I see dead people:

1. George Cukor
My Fair Lady (1964)
2. Federico Fellini
8 and 1/2 (1963)
3. Angela Lansbury
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
4. Anthony Quinn
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
5. Leon Shamroy

12 o'clock High (1949)



G. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

1. Journalist
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
2. Lawyer
My Cousin Vinny (1992)
3. Police Officer
Basic Instinct (1992)
4. Teacher or Professor
Class of 1984 (1982)

H. Michael Jackson in Disneyland


1. Remember the Time: a time-travelling film
Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel (2009)
2. Smooth Criminal: a Gentleman Thief film
Pickup on Southstreet (1953)
3. Black or White: a black & white film released between 1958-2009
Persona (1966)
4. Beat it: a martial arts film

Boy Kills World (2024)

5. Bad: a film with an IMDb score below 5.0
Howard the Duck (1986) 4.7/10

I. The Golden Age Part 1: The Dirty 30s

1. a film that won an Academy Award
Captain's Courageous (1937)
2. a Universal Horror (or other monster) film
Island of Lost Souls (1932)
3. a traditional Western
Zorro Rides Again (1937)

4. a film directed by Frank Capra
Lost Horizon (1937)
5. a film starring Bela Lugosi
Phantom Creeps (1939)

J. There’s no place like home

1. a road film
Deadpool and Wolverine (2024)
2. a stranger-in-a-foreign-place film
Rich Crazy Asians (2018)
3. a film taking place in a confined space

My Bloody Valentine (2009)

4. a film that is an homage to a city
Drive (2011) Los Angeles

K. I need a hero

1. Human vs Nature
Aguirre the Wrath of God (1972)
2. Human vs Society
The Trial (1962)
3. Human vs Technology
Scream and Scream Again (1970)

L. Are we there yet?

1. a biographical film
Ray (2004)
2. a film from a country you’ve visited or live in

Men in Black(1997) Copout answer. I've only ever been In USA.

3. a film with more than 300k votes on IMDb
Spiderman Across the Spiderverse (2023)

4. a film in theaters
Wonka (2023)