Aarcflick

 The auteur's latest film in competition at Cannes is about a widowed entrepreneur who invents a device that allows him to monitor his deceased wife. Vincent Cassel plays a recently widowed tech mogul who invents a fabric device with a camera, sensor, and still image camera that allows mourners to observe their loved ones decomposing in the grave in David Cronenberg's final film, The Shrouds. Viewers don't even need to have read or heard the director explain how the film is partly inspired by his own grief for his deceased wife, because that authentic essence is palpable throughout. Sadly, in a reversal of the natural order of gem-making, that pearl of emotional truth ends up embedded in the rawness and muck of a less imaginative than usual narrative, tired (for Cronenberg) ideas, and bland performances. None of this will enhance the director's reputation at this stage of his career. Director: David Cronenberg Writer: David Cronenberg Stars: Vincent Cassel, Diane Kruger...