Road Warriors Return: George Miller’s ‘Furiosa’ Takes Cannes by Storm
In the Grand Théâtre Lumière, as the final frames of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” faded to black, the crowd rose in thunderous applause. For director George Miller, witnessing his latest creation through the eyes of the Cannes Film Festival audience was a singular experience, one that capped a creative journey spanning nearly half a century.
“I was delighted by the screening and the response of people,” reflected Miller during the film’s press conference the following day. The 77th Cannes Film Festival marked a triumphant return for the Mad Max universe, with the fifth instalment receiving a rapturous reception that spoke to the enduring appeal of Miller’s post-apocalyptic vision.
An Australian Epic on the World Stage
While Marvel has its superheroes, and England has Harry Potter, Australia has Mad Max. As producer Doug Mitchell proudly declared during the press conference, “America has its Batman and Supermans, England has its Harry Potter, and Australia proudly has Mad Max.”
This national pride was palpable throughout the Cannes press event. Miller’s saga, which began with the original “Mad Max” in 1979, has evolved into a distinctly Australian contribution to global cinema. The director noted with satisfaction that unlike the first Mad Max film, which was infamously dubbed with American accents for its U.S. release, “Furiosa” proudly showcases Australian accents – including a remarkably convincing one from British actor Tom Burke.
“I thought, ‘Okay, Tom, let’s see you fail,'” Miller recounted with amusement. “And suddenly he’s speaking in this Australian accent. It blew me away.”
The Making of a Modern Saga
“Furiosa” represents a particular achievement for Australian cinema, with producer Mitchell revealing that the film employed 1,300 crew members and involved two units shooting thousands of kilometers apart over an eight-month period. The production stands as the most expensive in Australian history, a testament to both Miller’s vision and the substantial government support that made filming in Australia possible.
One sequence alone – dubbed “Stowaway to Nowhere” during production – took a staggering 79 days to shoot and involved nearly 200 stunt performers working daily. This commitment to practical action is emblematic of Miller’s approach, which star Anya Taylor-Joy praised for its surprising safety.
“It doesn’t make any sense how safe this film was,” Taylor-Joy emphasised. “The most important thing is, rather than it being an environment of aggression, it was ‘I love you, I believe in you, you can do this.'”
Furiosa’s Journey
For Taylor-Joy, who plays the titular character originated by Charlize Theron in “Mad Max: Fury Road,” the experience was transformative if occasionally isolating. With minimal dialogue – she mentioned going “months” without speaking a word on camera – the role demanded physical commitment and emotional presence.
The film spans nearly two decades in its protagonist’s life, with Alyla Browne playing the younger Furiosa. Advanced machine learning techniques were employed to create a seamless transition between the actresses, blending their facial features to convey the character’s growth from child to warrior.
This technological innovation reflects Miller’s continuing evolution as a filmmaker. “Cinema is always evolving and changing, particularly the technology,” Miller observed. “I started making films in the analog era with celluloid where it was quite different.”
A Villain’s Humanity
Chris Hemsworth‘s transformation into the film’s antagonist, Dementus, represents another significant achievement. The Australian actor, who had previously auditioned for the title role in “Fury Road” before finding fame as Marvel’s Thor, embraced the opportunity to step into what he described as “that typecast space of the muscly action guy and play a character with complications and darkness.”
For Hemsworth, discovering the humanity behind the villain was crucial. “It was very important for George and I… to find the humanity in the character and to sprinkle in moments of vulnerability and understand that he too was a product of the Wasteland,” he explained. “He too had suffered tremendously and had a traumatic past – not to excuse his horrific actions, but to understand that he was responding and trying to survive in a very brutal space.”
Cinema as Visual Music
Throughout the press conference, Miller repeatedly returned to his philosophy of filmmaking, particularly his approach to action cinema. When questioned about the perception of action films as mere entertainment, Miller passionately defended the genre as central to cinema’s identity.
“Cinema has been kinetic from the beginning,” he asserted. “The language of cinema was defined before sound by the silent filmmakers, and almost all of them – the key ones – were making what we’d call action movies. Buster Keaton in particular, Harold Lloyd, and so many others.”
For Miller, action sequences are “visual music” and “pure cinema,” capable of telling stories without words. This philosophy extends to every aspect of production – from costume design to vehicle aesthetics to location choices.
Taylor-Joy reinforced this point, noting that “every single one of the action sequences is an extension of a character’s want or need. None of them are superfluous… everything serves to make the world deeper and richer.”
The Future of the Wasteland
As “Furiosa” prepares for its global theatrical release, following its May 15 Cannes premiere, questions inevitably turn to the future of the franchise. When asked if he has more Mad Max stories to tell, Miller acknowledged the existence of additional material, including a story about Max Rockatansky set in the year before “Fury Road.”
“We know the Max story for the year before,” Miller revealed, “but I’ll definitely wait to see how this goes before we even think about this.”
For now, Miller and his team are focused on bringing “Furiosa” to worldwide audiences, extending the 45-year legacy of a franchise that has evolved from a low-budget Australian thriller to what Miller describes as an “intellectual, philosophical rock and roll opera.” The standing ovation at Cannes suggests that, four and a half decades after Mad Max first hit the road, George Miller’s wasteland continues to captivate global audiences with its unique blend of spectacle, emotion, and mythic storytelling.
The film is set for theatrical release in Australia on May 23, 2024, and in the United States the following day.
Editor in Chief of Ikon London Magazine, journalist, film producer and founder of The DAFTA Film Awards (The DAFTAs).
