Typical – you wait ages for a Sparks movie, and two come at one. You may already be aware of Edgar Wright’s upcoming rock-doc The Sparks Brothers, telling the 50-year story of, well, the brothers who make up the legendary cult band Sparks. But that’s not the only Sparks flick coming our way this year – the band is behind the music and story for Leos Carax’s new movie Annette, an original musical described as “a journey of passion, love and fame”. The stellar cast includes Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard – and you can get a glimpse of both of them, and hear some Sparksy snippets, in the first trailer here.
Phew – this one looks like a total ride. How many other trailers include Marion Cotillard flinging a baby around, Adam Driver intensely snipping an umbilical cord, and crowds of people singing? Driver plays a stand-up comedian and Cotillard is an opera singer – together they become a celebrity couple, and they welcome their daughter Annette, “a mysterious little girl with an exceptional destiny”. Carax’s film – his first since 2012’s Holy Motors – is preparing to make its debut at Cannes, and will be arriving later this year on Amazon Prime Video for the rest of us.
It’s a fascinating mix of people, and Driver is a gifted singer (remember that Sondheim sequence in Marriage Story?), so hopefully this’ll end up being another slice of 24-Carax gold. Either way, Sparks fans will have some new tunes to look forward to.