At the movies: Sweet East… Why should we see this crazy comedy spotted at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023?

Sean Price Williams’ first feature, Sweet East, deserves the prize for the most rock and roll film of the year. A true cinematic experience, with multiple references and stunning creativity, this harrowing journey offers an immersion into today’s America through the eyes of a teenager, Lillian (Talia Ryder).

While on a school trip with a classmate in Washington, D.C., a student gets lost and runs away. He still doesn’t know that his journey consists of encounters, each crazier than the last, with punks, a group of Nazis, terrorists and movie stars.

A modern retelling of Lewis Carroll’s fairy tale, Alice in WonderlandSweet East is primarily a satire of American society that spares no one, from conspiracy theorists to the connected upper echelon. All this, with politically incorrect humor that is distinct from today’s era.

During Filmmakers’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2023, AlloCiné caught up with lead actress Talia Ryder and actor Simon Rex, who plays a Nazi-sympathizing professor, to ask them a few questions about these cinematic aliens.

AlloCiné: The Sweet East is a totally crazy movie, very original. What was your reaction to reading the script?

Talia Ryder: I was a little lost to be honest, but it was good. As soon as I finished reading it, I found myself going back and re-reading parts to get a better understanding of Lillian because the character really intrigued me and I like what makes me think.

Simon Rex: I was really scared because my character is racist, homophobic and I’m not like that, but it’s fun to play something different. A lot of things in the script were also cut from the movie because the dialogues went too far, especially about America.

AlloCiné: Simon, you play an extreme character in every sense of the word. How did you work on this role?

Simon Rex: It wasn’t difficult because I live in America and here, but like France, I think we are surrounded by ignorance as much as intelligence. My character is an educated man but has no emotional intelligence.

I’m Jewish, so I don’t know much about Nazi gatherings. I went online and did a few searches to find out more, which as you can imagine was quite disturbing for me to read all of this.

It is up to the public to think, absorb this film and understand with its sensibility.

AlloCiné: When you see a movie, you imagine a crazy, very extreme shoot. was that so

Talia Ryder: He was crazy. We had a real rhythm. Sean, the director, and I had a real conversation on set. He was shouting lines during the shoot and it was really funny. He knows how to listen to everyone’s advice and tips. He knows how to listen to others, which allows him to create the best environment to make such a crazy movie.

Simon Rex: It was chaos, but controlled chaos. It’s a small independent film, so we didn’t have a lot of time. We don’t have much to do. You have to know your text like the back of your hand and that was a real challenge.

Sweet East is a very critical film about the United States. How do you think Americans will receive the film?

Simon Rex: Those who are part of the problem – the haters, the racists – may not be conscious enough to understand, but that’s okay. For others, the vast majority of Americans have many second degrees. I hope this movie can open some minds. It is up to the public to think, absorb this film and understand with its sensibility. It’s a good movie, isn’t it?

Talia Ryder: I hope some people are annoyed by this movie. This is the best. As Sean and Nick—Nick Pinkerton, screenwriter—often say, “We love haters!“

Commentary collected by Thomas Desroches, Cannes, May 2023.

sweet east It’s currently in theaters.