Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: LE ROI SOLEIL [Cannes Film Festival 2025 - Cannes, France]
The essence of life unlived especially in the case of greed is marked by the context of the people who lived it. In the case of "Le Roi Soleil" (No One Will Know) [Midnight], it all begins with a lottery ticket won and people who are witnesses. The reality is what will seemingly desperate people do when fate forces their hand? The owner of the bar, two off duty cops, a shyster coming off a coke high and an unwanted landlord set the scene. The reality of it works because the perspective shifts of what could be and may be is a plausible explanation. The two cops are initially the ones who would take advantage but the criminal element thinks more primally. What is interesting is that this small bar location in Versailles has catacombs that go way underneath so there is this labyrinth setting beyond what the eyes can see which is undeniably interesting across the board.
The most recognizable of the cast for international audiences is Maria de Madeiros who many know from her turn in "Pulp Fiction" which also played Cannnes 30 years ago. She has aged with grace and there is a litheness when she comes on the screen. The other actors are playing the tension of the scene but she is playing the dance. Her words cut even when she is playing nce which is the whole point. Everyone has something to lose becaause everyone is looking for a leg up. The lottery ticket is just the spark. They just don't know quite how to play it because no one and every one is at fault. Only the waitress has an idea of what exactly might transpire but even with her intelligence there is the X factor which will almost always rear its head. "Le Roi Soleil" wants to play with time and does so adequately but never quite so much to make it rise above its material. B-
By Tim Wassberg
