Cannes 2025: “Love that remains” is a perfect breakdown film
by Alex Billington
May 23, 2025
“From the start, have a good end.” “A good start is a good end.” – an Icelandic proverb. Icelandic filmmaker Hlynur Pálmason I quickly became one of my favorite filmmakers working today. Since he fell hard for Godland As one of the best films of 2022 (my criticism), I enjoyed rediscovering his previous films and anticipating his new work. His latest feature is entitled The love that remainsFirst at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in the Premier Cannes section. A bit like with GodlandI believe that these two films deserved instead to project instead in the prestigious main competition of the festival. One day, he will win the Palme d’Or, I am sure. Pálmason is an extraordinary filmmaker who has not only an exceptional eye for a perfectly framing and capturing dramatic scenes on Iceland, but also a master storyteller. His sense of visual narration is distinct and refined, and it allows cinematography to tell the story instead of simply making his characters speak of everything that is happening. I fell in love with The love that remains as much as GodlandEven if it’s a story in two people who fall out love.
Written and directed by Hlynur Pálmason, The love that remains (Or The remaining love In Icelandic) illustrates a year in the life of a family while parents sail in their separation. With many playful and sincere moments, the film portrays the gentleness essence of faded love and shared memories in the midst of changing seasons. This instantly joins the ranks with Wedding story as one of the best breakup films NEVER do. For real. Each time is shiny. The score, the lightness of all this, humor, honesty, children, the dog, everything is pure happiness. He may not reach the same heights as Godland (which is an irrefutable masterpiece) But it’s always incredible. And always pleasant from start to finish. Only slows down in the middle, but that’s it. I completely love this film and I will talk about the rest of the year and beyond. It is particularly remarkable to see how he can make a film on a subject as sad and depressing while making him so edifying and entertaining. I got out of this happier film than when it started-how did he do that? Maybe that’s exactly what he tells us about breaks? From the opening photo of a roof being torn from its foundation, at the end with Magnús deriving alone in the water, this film has SO Much to say about life.
Panda the dog deserves each price! She is the best. I am so happy to see Hlynur give this dog her own credit at the beginning. The whole cast is wonderful – History Garðarsdóttir Like Anna, Sverrir Gudnason Like Magnús and the own children of Pálmason. Although now I wonder-does he go through his own break in real life and made this film to face it? Or did he just make a breakup film and he still? Because he puts his own children and his own dog in this film, I almost believe that we are looking at a real break between the actors Saga & Sverrir. But they have to film so many scenes together and play for the camera that I don’t know if they would like to go through it just to make a film. However, credibility is outside the graphics. Which is the anchored foundation of this story. It is a work of cinema so perfectly designed, it does not even need a larger story. We don’t need to know anything else about the relationship before, or why they separate. These moments of moments are magical to live on the screen and allow them to hit you in all ways. Some of them are sad, but most of them are full full, aloud because that’s how life is sometimes. And what better way to deal with sadness than laughing?
I am a big fan of Hlynur Pálmason now – this man is a cinema. Love love loves everything he does. Everything he does. I love his style, I love his choices, I love the way he puts his children in his films and they are in fact perfect characters and improve the films. And just like Spike Lee, he has his time shots and each time they appear in a film, I become dizzy. No exception with it. Bravo, hlynur, bravo. I hope that making this film helped you overcome your breakup. Or everything you are going through. Please continue to make more films and continue to show us the unexpected sides of Iceland. I will be there every time.
Alex’s Cannes 2025 note: 9 out of 10
Follow Alex on Twitter – @Firsthowing / Or letterboxd – @firsshowing
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