French movie Mon Roi screened at Cannes for Palme d'Or

As the 68th Festival de Cannes (Cannes Film Festival) entered its 5th day, French director Maiwenn's Mon Roi was screened Sunday to compete for the top prize Palme d'Or.

This movie is about the passionate and destructive love between a couple in their forties during a 10-year period.

Tony, played by Emmanuelle Bercot, is admitted to a rehabilitation center after a serious ski accident. Dependent on the medical staff and pain relievers, she takes time to look back on a turbulent relationship she experienced with Georgio. Why did they love each other? Who is this man that she loved so deeply? How did she allow herself to submit to this suffocating and destructive passion? For Tony, a difficult process of healing is in front of her.

Maiwenne said this film can be interpreted in many different ways depending on people's points of view.

"From Tony's point of view, she is re-constructing herself rather than telling a story that a couple breaking up," explained Maiwenn.

"I don't think this kind of addiction (to love) concerns only women, I think men have a very different way of managing it, and they are equally addicted," said Maiwenn, adding that she was just trying to develop a film over the differences between a couple.

Bercot, whose movie La Tete Haute (Standing Tall) was screened on May 13 as the opening film of the festival, said she was afraid at the beginning that she could not portray well this heavy role as Tony.

Asked about how she prepared for the role in the movie, Bercot said: "I like Maiwenn to give me guidelines and suggest answers."

French actor Vincent Cassel, who plays the role of Georgio, husband of Tony in the movie, said he could never thank Maiwenne enough for giving him so much freedom to his acting.

"I worked on the film with Maiwenne and Emmanuelle, and we ended up going into a new territory with a total liberty," said Cassel, who also stars in another movie up for competition Il Racconto Dei Racconti (Tale of Tales).

Maiwenn is a well-known French actress, screenwriter and director. Her movie Polisse won the Jury Prize of Festival de Cannes in 2011.

A total of 19 films were selected to compete for the top prize Palme d'Or. The 68th Festival de Cannes runs from May 13 to 24.