Which films and shows had the longest standing ovations at Cannes?

Sam Levinson and The Weeknd's 'The Idol,' starring Lily-Rose Depp, draws controversy and five-minute applause

Stars Insider

23/05/23 | StarsInsider

MOVIES Cannes film festival

As a prestigious and time-honored event, the famed Cannes film festival has a long history of overzealous applause. The celebrated actors and directors stand awkwardly for the entire duration, unsure of what to do with their hands, and it's weird but sweet.

Though not technically a film, Sam Levinson and The Weeknd's 'The Idol' was the first TV show to officially debut at Cannes, and the first two episodes received a five-minute standing ovation. The show stars Lily-Rose Depp as an oversexualized pop superstar who is taken under the wing of a modern-day cult leader played by Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd), and it was originally pitched as a satire on pop culture. Long before premiering, the show racked up a controversial reputation for being "sexual torture porn," as a bombshell Rolling Stone report put it, and some first reviews are along the same lines. "‘The Idol,’ or 50 SHADES OF TESFAYE: A P*rnhub-homepage odyssey starring Lily Rose Depp’s areolas and The Weeknd’s greasy rat tail," reporter Kyle Buchanan tweeted.  

Of course, a standing ovation always trumps being booed, for which the festival is also notorious, despite its elite crowds. Surprising films like 'Taxi Driver' (1976), 'L'Avventura' (1960), and Sofia Coppola's 'Marie Antoinette' (2006) were all booed by men and women in tuxedos and gowns.

Many surprising films have earned the longest standing ovations in Cannes history, with the longest recorded reaching an astounding 22 minutes! Click through to find out the films with the most physically demanding fanfare.

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