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Canadian filmmakers Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson lampoon the world's most powerful people in Rumours, a spooky and hilariously bonkers satire of the G7 (Group of Seven) - a political organization consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the non-enumerated European Union. The venerated cast, including Cate Blanchett, Alicia Vikander, Charles Dance, Roy Dupuis, and Denis Mnochet, portray the G7 leaders as inept bureaucrats lost in a German forest without any support. They're so embroiled in drafting a comical "provisional statement" that an apocalyptic scenario catches them completely by surprise.

Rumours Mocks Power and Politics, Not Specific Politicians

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Rumours is a comedy film directed by Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, and Guy Maddin. The film centers on seven leaders of rich democracies. While attempting to draft a global crisis statement, they become lost in the woods and struggle to find their way out.

This review was originally published during the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

Canadian directing trio Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson first partnered together with their 2017 experimental film, The Green Fog. Reuniting to present their latest film at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, the directors put together a star-studded cast for a ridiculous, surreal comedy about world leaders encountering a global crisis while getting lost in the woods. As absurd as it sounds, Rumours begins as a hilarious commentary about power on a global scale. However, as the film progresses, it loses its steam thanks to vague storytelling and less successful humor by the end.

Rumours

Director Galen Johnson, Evan Johnson, Guy MaddinRelease Date October 18, 2024Studio(s) Maze Pictures, Buffalo Gal Pictures, Square PegDistributor(s) Plaion Pictures, Elevation PicturesWriters Guy MaddinCast Tomi Kosynus, Ralph Berkin, Alexa Kennedy, Rolando Ravello, Roy Dupuis, Alicia Vikander, Cate Blanchett, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Takehiro Hira, Zlatko Buric,...

Rumours opens with a sarcastic "thank you" to the leaders of the G7 (Group of Seven) a political organization consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States (along with the non-enumerated European Union) for their help with the film. This is an opening broadside from Canadian filmmakers Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson before a dark, hilarious, and often bewildering evisceration of utter ineptitude and fecklessness. The damning point made is that the most powerful people in the world, who should be working together to solve critical problems, are flawed bureaucrats incapable of accomplishing anything.

G7 summits are held annually during the summer. The meetings rotate between member countries to not show any preference. In Rumours, the G7 leaders have gathered in rural Germany under the leadership of Chancellor Hilda Ortmann (Cate Blanchett), who smiles nonstop like the Cheshire cat. French President Sylvain...

Cate Blanchett returns to star in a new black comedy, and there are options for where to watch Rumours. Blanchett's year in movies did start as expected as Borderlands was a critical and financial disaster. Even though she was viewed as one of the film's best parts, it did not offer the type of performance and overall quality that viewers have grown accustomed to with movies that define Cate Blanchett's career. That changes with her second film of 2024, as the political satire plot of Rumours gives her a movie that can delight audiences.

Directed by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson, Rumours follows global leaders at a G7 meeting as they get lost in the woods while trying to solve a mysterious worldwide issue. Blanchett headlines the cast as the Chancellor of Germany, Hilda Ortmann. Other notable cast members include Charles Dance, who is the President of the United States,...