Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga received a six-minute standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival, reportedly leaving the cast and director George Miller emotional.
The film, which is set for wide release on May 23, stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth and serves as a prequel to 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road starring Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron and Zoë Kravitz.
In the prequel, Taylor-Joy stars as a younger version of Theron’s character, who is snatched by the sadistic warlord Dementus (Hemsworth). Forced to ride through the Wastelands with a great biker horde, Furiosa must fight to find her way home while Dementus and fellow tyrant Immortal Joe battle for dominance in the desert.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga debuted at Cannes yesterday (May 15), and was met with a lengthy standing ovation, as is tradition at the French film festival.
Variety reported that Hemsworth grew emotional during the applause, while the actor was also filmed kissing director George Miller on the head. You can watch the footage below.
“We worked very hard on this film, and it’ll be very interesting to see what you make of it,” Miller said ahead of the screening. “Thank you for having us.”
Furiosa has been heavily praised by critics in early reviews. In a five-star write-up, NME described it as “another mighty, petrol-soaked masterpiece” and an “extraordinary blockbuster juggernaut that in some sequences somehow excels even its predecessor, arresting viewers with its booming, utterly immersive world of grease, dust, motorbikes and carnage.”
The review adds: “Some may argue that Taylor-Joy’s lack of dialogue – she has just 30 spoken lines – matters but acting is not just talking. Taylor-Joy’s expressive face and, crucially, eyes, do much of the heavy lifting here… while an underplayed conclusion after such tremendous noise and fire gives the whole piece an added, thoughtful dimension. Brilliant and unmissable.”