Rumours (2024 film)
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| Cinematography | Stefan Ciupek |
| Music by | Kristian Eidnes Andersen |
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Running time | 104 minutes[3] |
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| Language | English |
| Box office | $699,822[4][5] |
Rumours is a 2024 comedy horror film written and directed by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson. The film stars Cate Blanchett, Charles Dance, Roy Dupuis, Denis Ménochet, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rolando Ravello, Takehiro Hira, Zlatko Burić, and Alicia Vikander.
Rumours had its world premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on 18 May 2024. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.
Plot
World leaders meet at the G7 at a German hotel to compose a statement about an unspecified crisis, failing to take it seriously. The Canadian PM is upset that the British PM won't allow them to rekindle a past affair and ends up sleeping with the German one instead in the woods. After sunset the French PM returns to their outdoor gazebo where they had been working and dining to inform them of the presence of reanimated bog bodies they had seen excavated earlier in the day, and they also realize due to the absence of their servers all other people have mysteriously vanished. They venture out to find anyone they can but get lost in the woods beset by thick fog and puzzled by a giant brain only their Swedish-speaking intern whom none of them can understand says will be a game-changer for the world, but in her despair that they all don't seem to grasp the gravity of the situation, the intern sets herself and the brain on fire. Attempting to get a response on the emergency phone line, they reach only an artificial intelligence meant to entrap child predators but play along with it in an attempt to find their way back to their hotel. Once there they meet with the man operating the AI who similarly kills himself before they can get any meaningful information from him. As they go back outside and witness the world around them going up in flames and one bog body that convulses and explodes, the Canadian PM reads their grandiose and meaningless statement to an empty world while they wear space blankets as capes like they were heroes for their vain efforts.
Cast
- Cate Blanchett as Hilda Ortmann, the Chancellor of Germany
- Roy Dupuis as Maxime Laplace, the Prime Minister of Canada
- Denis Ménochet as Sylvain Broulez, the President of France
- Nikki Amuka-Bird as Cardosa Dewindt, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- Charles Dance as Edison Wolcott, the President of the United States
- Rolando Ravello as Antonio Lamorte, the Prime Minister of Italy
- Takehiro Hira as Tatsuro Iwasaki, the Prime Minister of Japan
- Zlatko Burić as Jonas Glob, the President of the European Council
- Alicia Vikander as Celestine Sproul, the President of the European Commission
Production
A German-Canadian production from Square Peg. Producers on the film are Liz Jarvis for Buffalo Gal Pictures, Philipp Kreuzer for Maze Pictures, and Lars Knudsen for Square Peg.[6] Cate Blanchett joined the cast in October 2023.[7] In January 2024, Alicia Vikander and Charles Dance joined the cast.[1] Principal photography took place in Hungary in October 2023.[8] Filming locations also included Winnipeg in Canada.
Release
The film was selected to be screened out of competition at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 18 May 2024.[9] It was also selected for the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024, where it screened under the World Cinema section.[10]
Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 75% based on 119 reviews, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The site consensus states "A brainy satire that has a ball turning the supposed adults in the room into helpless children, Rumours spins a one-joke premise into a sophisticated riot."[11] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 69 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[12]
The film was named as a finalist for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2024,[13] and Roy Dupuis was named as a finalist for Outstanding Performance in a Canadian Film.[14]
The film was named to TIFF's annual Canada's Top Ten list for 2024.[15]
References
- ^ a b c Grobar, Matt (January 11, 2024). "Alicia Vikander & More Join Cate Blanchett In Ensemble Comedy 'Rumours' As Guy Maddin Pic Lands At Bleecker Street". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ "Tanz der Titanen (2024)". Kino-Zeit. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
- ^ "Rumours (15)". BBFC. October 15, 2024. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- ^ "Rumours – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ "Rumours". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ Lopez, Kirsten (January 11, 2024). "Dark Comedy 'Rumours' Starring Cate Blanchett and Alicia Vikander Acquired by Bleecker Street". The Wrap. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ Vlessing, Etan (October 5, 2023). "Cate Blanchett Boards Guy Maddin's 'Rumors' Dramedy". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ Booth, Ned (October 5, 2023). "Rumors': Cate Blanchett To Star In Canadian Auteur Guy Maddin's Upcoming Drama, Shooting Stars Next Week". The Playlist. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ "The Screenings Guide of the 77th Festival de Cannes". Festival de Cannes. May 8, 2024. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
- ^ Deb, Deepshikha (September 30, 2024). "MAMI Mumbai Film Festival Unveils 2024 Official Lineup". High On Films. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ "Rumours". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
- ^ "Rumours". Metacritic. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
- ^ Nicholas Sokic, "TFCA unveils 2024 Canadian film nominees". Playback, December 16, 2024.
- ^ Neglia, Matt (December 16, 2024). "The 2024 Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) Winners". Next Best Picture. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
- ^ Carlos Diaz, "Canada’s Top Ten: TIFF Celebrates the Best in Cinema for 2024". That Shelf, January 8, 2025.