Los Angeles, May 18 (IANS): The Emma Stone-starrer film ‘Kinds of Kindness’, directed by Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, rocked the Cannes Film Festival with an anthology of stories about sex cults, cannibalism, and general debauchery.

The absurdist anthology film is a follow-up to ‘Poor Things’, which earned an Academy Award for Best Actress for Emma Stone, reports ‘Variety’.

‘Kinds of Kindness’ received a 4.5-minute standing ovation, with the director and his cast, including Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, and Joe Alwyn, leaving while the applause was still going.

As per ‘Variety’, the film tells three distinctive stories, with cast members playing different roles in each. There were a few walkouts during the Cannes premiere, most of them coming after the film’s gorier, second chapter. Lanthimos abruptly left the screening and didn’t speak to audience members once the clapping stopped.

The film, like many of Lanthimos’ avant-garde offerings, overflows with outre plot twists as well as some outrageous moments like Chau licking sweat off her followers as part of a cult ritual, a man who becomes convinced his wife is a pod person, some group sex, and of course, Stone’s epic breakdance moves and positively reckless driving.

There are also culinary delights that aren’t for the faint of stomach, as well as a sprinkle of mutilations and graphic violence that might upset the squeamish. Intermixed throughout is Lanthimos’ absurdist humour, much of which the Cannes crowd seemed to enjoy.