Phuong Mai Nguyen’s Cannes debut “In Waves” blends a graphic novel’s teen romance with cancer grief, using animation to turn loss into waves.
A Cannes debut with a built-in guarantee: by the time “In Waves” has you laughing at its awkward-teen energy, it’s already setting up the kind of heartbreak that doesn’t let go.
Vietnamese director and graphic artist Phuong Mai Nguyen’s first film. “In Waves. ” launched the independent International Critics’ Week section at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday morning.. But alongside its arrival in a prestigious lineup. the movie also signals what may become a festival thread this year: feature films that take a creative spin on biographies and autobiographies.
Nguyen’s timing is notable.. “In Waves” lands first in a lineup of approaches to real-life storytelling that other filmmakers are expected to explore throughout the festival. including directors such as Pedro Almodóvar and James Gray. along with Bruno Santamaria Razo.. The mix also includes documentaries from Ron Howard and Steven Soderbergh. suggesting Cannes is inviting audiences to reconsider how personal histories can be turned into cinema.
For Nguyen, that personal-history concept starts on the page.. The film is based on graphic novelist AJ Dungo’s work. which draws from his own teen and early adult years as an aspiring artist.. In that book. Dungo’s memories are also shaped by a direct creative mission: paying tribute to a girlfriend who asked him to tell their story after she was diagnosed with cancer.
Although that origin could have made the film feel distant, Nguyen’s approach seems to bridge the gap.. The report indicated that she absorbs Dungo’s style when it helps convey his perspective. then steps back when the story needs her own visual identity.. The result is a sense of shared authorship even when the storytelling refracts through different artistic lenses.
Even with its layered viewpoints, “In Waves” connects emotionally rather than feeling scattered.. Drawing on Dungo’s line drawings as a core element of its visual language. the movie moves beyond the easy comfort of teen-romance jokes and familiar tropes.. Instead. it centers less on Kristen—the girl whose story inspired the project and to whom it is dedicated—and more on how young artist AJ arrives at the point where he can document her life.
The film opens with AJ at the center of its universe. voiced in the English version by Will Sharpe and in the French version by Rio Vega.. AJ is described as an avid skateboarder and a gifted young artist who fills his skateboard decks with vivid illustrations. yet he’s also shy and timid—especially around girls and around the ocean in Southern California. where he lives.
That set-up matters because Kristen doesn’t appear to be “his type” at first glance.. She’s a passionate surfer. and the film frames her confidence and presence as something that leaves AJ tongue-tied and fumble-fingered.. In the English version, Kristen is played by Stephanie Hsu, while the French version stars Lyna Khoudri.
Their story begins with a meeting that feels like fate rather than design: AJ knocks Kristen over at a dance that a friend dragged him to.. Then. when AJ goes home and checks her Facebook profile. the film cues the significance of the moment through music by Oklou and Rob. signaling that what begins as casual curiosity is quickly becoming something much bigger.
Kristen insists AJ join her in surfing. and the film ties that push into heritage through her devotion to pioneering Hawaiian surfer Duke Kahanamoku.. From there. the romance escalates—into late-night rendezvous. a first kiss. and a rush of movement where AJ. riding deliriously through rain on the way home. is compared to Gene Kelly’s classic movie energy.
But “In Waves” refuses to treat early happiness as harmless.. In this kind of story, even small pains and sudden symptoms aren’t just atmosphere; they’re warning signs.. Soon after AJ and Kristen give themselves over to mad young love. Kristen is diagnosed with cancer. and the narrative shifts into an extended stretch of ups and downs—personal. professional. and emotional—built around the lessons that arrive when joy meets grief.
The movie’s central idea about loss is delivered gently but firmly: grief comes in waves, too.. The report described this as something that must be ridden. and it’s reflected in how the film repeatedly turns emotion into motion. using the ocean not only as a setting but as a metaphor for what’s hardest to control.
Romance isn’t the only story moving through the film.. Black-and-white sequences cut into the narrative to detail how early Christian missionaries in Hawaii tried to stop surfing—but were thwarted.. Those moments also connect back to the character’s artistic process: at Kristen’s urging. the film describes how this history becomes part of AJ’s thesis in art school.
As AJ’s world deepens, the boundaries between the creative universes of Dungo and Nguyen blur.. The report noted that the director/animator’s style changes and morphs as the story goes on. using Dungo’s drawings while also transforming everyday objects—like waves becoming bedsheets—and even turning a hospital bed into a setting for fantasy.. Those shifts emphasize that the film is not only telling a true-feeling story, but also actively translating it into animation.
For all its virtuoso hand-drawn craft, “In Waves” remains anchored as an emotional film first.. It’s positioned as a major tearjerker rom-dram. an indie imagination that springs from a graphic novel while still evoking the cadence of coming-of-age cinema.. The report specifically compared it to “The Fault in Our Stars. ” crediting Dungo’s drawings as the origin point. while pointing to AJ and Kristen’s joy and pain as the reason it ultimately lands with force.
And for viewers arriving at Cannes with expectations of how heartbreak is supposed to be shown. the film’s most persuasive argument may be its insistence on feeling lived-in.. “In Waves” takes its inspiration from real memory and then reshapes it—line by line. wave by wave—until the tragedy doesn’t just happen on screen. it reverberates like something you can’t quite outrun.
Cannes Animated Tearjerker In Waves Phuong Mai Nguyen graphic novel adaptation teen tragedy romance International Critics’ Week AJ Dungo