There’s one path in particular that the creators of “Arco,” a poignant animated film set to premiere in the Special Screenings section at Cannes 2025, hope to follow, whether they say so or not: the path of “Flow.”
That animated triumph premiered to great acclaim at Cannes in 2024 and gradually gained momentum until finally winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature earlier this year. Despite all that Cannes represents for world cinema, it has never been a particularly fertile ground for animation: the festival used to host spectacular premieres of blockbuster hits like “Shrek 2” and “Bee Movie,” not future Oscar winners.
Director: Ugo Bienvenu
Writers: Ugo Bienvenu, Félix de Givry
Stars: Margot Ringard Oldra, Oscar Tresanini, Nathanaël Perrot
This critic is no expert in Oscar predictions, but it seems unlikely that “Arco” will repeat that success. It's not that it isn't a worthwhile film—though not as worthwhile as the universal and wordless "Flow," which, at times, truly feels like a film never before seen—but the path that film took seems almost impossible to replicate.
On the one hand, "Arco," with its abundant French dialogue and unmistakable French sensibility (even if it is eventually dubbed into other languages), simply doesn't have universal resonance. On the other hand, it reveals its cinematic influences far too readily: a touch of "Peter Pan," "E.T.," Studio Ghibli, even "Star Trek." Given director Ugo Bienvenu's stated purpose of presenting a positive and hopeful vision of the future in "Arco," and the colorful palette with which he has brought it to life, Roddenberry Entertainment should seriously consider joining as a producing partner for the US release. It's that optimistic.
As Bienvenu's first feature film, "Arco" is undoubtedly a promising start for a budding author who has been working diligently on short films, music videos, graphic novels, and short animations for Hermès. One of his illustrations for the French luxury house became a popular scarf called "Wow!", adding a comic book touch to the equestrian imagery associated with the brand. His attention to detail is reminiscent of Studio Ghibli, as well as the great French artist Jean Giraud, known worldwide as Mœbius. But Bienvenu embraces an explosion of color that is unmistakably his own.
"Arco" introduces us to a 10- or 11-year-old boy living in the distant future where humanity resides among the clouds, on elevated platforms in the style of "The Jetsons." At some point, Earth's population realized the need for a "Great Fallow," for the planet's surface to rest. We meet Arco himself feeding the chickens and putting food in the pigs' trough. He may be part of an extremely advanced civilization, but he also represents a return to the essentials. And we soon discover that, upon turning twelve, people don a rainbow cape with a special diamond that refracts light and use this colorful garment to fly through the air and travel through time.
There is one journey in particular that the creators of "Arco," a moving animated film premiering in the Special Screenings section of Cannes 2025, hope to follow, whether they say so or not. The journey of "flow."
As in any story of this kind, Iris tries to help Arco return home, but at the same time, she doesn't want him to leave. However, Bienvenu crafts a poignant ending, so emotional that it almost erases the narrative obstacles that led us there. But undoubtedly, reaching that ending requires some effort to connect the dots; it's a genuinely moving experience that's somewhat undermined by a plot that simply moves from point A to point B.
Even so, much of the film is a genuine visual delight. Like Gints Zilbalodis, director of "Flow," Bienvenu built his studio with recent graduates from top animation schools, and there's a palpable youthful energy that points to new possibilities for the medium. Furthermore, he has a unique idea that animates his entire vision: Why do visions of the future have to be uniformly bleak? Can't they be filled with wonder? That said, it's also important to maintain a realistic perspective on how things are. Like Gene Roddenberry, Bienvenu imagines a hopeful distant future and a rather bleak near future that is a continuation of our miserable present (yes, the creator of "Star Trek" predicted that the 21st century would be difficult).
The road ahead may be fraught with peril, but hope may still await us on the other side of the rainbow. And Bienvenu certainly gives us hope that animation can continue to be a vehicle for epic visions and intimate reflections, and one of the most deeply personal forms of cinematic expression. The artistic intentions couldn't be better.
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