Cannes 2026: Orange-Flavoured Wedding
2026 Cannes Film Festival
Family can be exhausting. While a force of connection and support, family can also lead to plenty of headaches and mess. Screening as part of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, Christophe Honoré's Orange-Flavoured Wedding sees the Puig family on the wedding day of their youngest child: Jacques (Paul Kircher). The film chaotically follows the ups and downs of the day, tracking the experiences of those at the event through every screaming match, intimate moment of connection, and surprising twist.
Orange-Flavoured Wedding is a film defined by family. The feature takes a comprehensive look at the experience of the wedding, including flashes of before and after, making time for all ages and perspectives. From the kids at the wedding trying Tang for the first time to the adult drama throughout the day, the film fits a huge amount of characters, memories, and interpersonal relationships into its 115-minute runtime. With this large scope, the film is able to slowly build a more complex quilt of how this family operates and flows. The dynamics here feel incredibly real and authentic, with Honoré capturing both the conflict that can brew within a family and the ultimate shared love and connection felt between them.
Much of this plays as entertainment. Both from drama within the family and from the outside world, the wedding day is one of chaos that plays out with plenty of hilarity. Like a snowball rolling down a snowy mountain, things quickly spiral out of control, and the audience is left to feast on the absurdity of the situation. From famous musicians dying, causing some family members to break out in tears, to some getting too drunk and trying to fight others, just when the audience thinks the drama has reached its crescendo, the film finds a way to push even further.
However, between the moments of entertainment, there are conversations of more substance that get touched upon. While not as complex or poignant as some of Honoré's other features, Orange-Flavoured Wedding still teases out more serious conversations of domestic violence, PTSD from war, and national pride. Just because it is a wedding, doesn't mean that these forces stop existing or stop pressing on the family. While none of these conversations are fully played out, their impact is strong enough to give the film enough of a bite to rise above becoming just a work of dumb fun.
The filmmaking is electric. The film works to suck the audience into the world of this wedding as an active participant, employing strong cinematography from Jeanne Lapoirie that sweeps through the crowds of individuals with tight moments of intimacy with key relationships. A similar effect can be found in the film's sound design, perfectly controlling the energy of the feature as it transitions between the loud yelling and voices of a filled room to quiet moments of silence with characters sitting, isolated from the action.
Few films feel as lively and lived-in as Orange-Flavoured Wedding. Both the joy and conflict of family are on display here, creating an entertaining and moving viewing experience. It is hard to imagine anyone not seeing the reflection of their own family members in these characters, with the film giving each member a unique flavor and personality.
