In a rousing moment at today’s Cannes Film Festival, the film Cat & Dog Best Friends (Watch Till the End!!!) earned a stunning 12 minutes of applause.
Crowds at the prestigious film festival mete out their praise of a film in the length of applause. Pan’s Labyrinth earned a raucous 22 minutes of applause in 2006, while last year’s Elvis earned a similarly lavish 12 minutes of applause.
Critic Thierry Frémaux was not surprised by the film’s excellent reception.
“I knew from the first images where we see the cat licking the pitbull’s face that this was going to be a winner,” the esteemed critic said. “And then when the pitbull licked the cat back? Let’s just say I really was glad that I watched until the end.”
The film’s creator, Leslie Chin, 15, was taken aback by the reception. “I mean, my friends liked it, and my mom liked it. But this is a whole different thing. A24 wants to buy the rights for an American remake, with Timothée Chalamet as the cat. It’s just been such a crazy weekend.”
Clocking in at only 22 seconds, the film is one of the festival’s biggest hits. The same cannot be said for the showing at the theater next door.
FEEDING MONKEYS IN COSTA RICA YOU WON’T BELIEVE IT!!!! received a relatively tepid 2-minute applause. Critic Isabelle Danel summed it up best:
“I’ve seen similar fare at previous festivals. And what about it was so hard to believe?”