“The Apprentice,” a film about Trump’s business dealings, premieres to applause and controversy at the Cannes Film Festival

(CNN) — “The Apprentice,” a new film about former President Donald Trump’s real estate business in New York in the 1980s, premiered to rapturous applause at the Cannes Film Festival and criticism from his campaign.

The film about the likely 2024 Republican presidential nominee arrives five months before the presidential election.

Starring Sebastian Stan as a young Trump, the film is “an exploration of strength and ambition in a world of corruption and deceit,” according to the official synopsis.

“Succession” star Jeremy Strong plays Roy Cohn, the lawyer whom Trump considered a mentor early in his career.

“It’s a story of a mentor and disciple that traces the origins of an American lineage. Filled with larger-than-life characters, it reveals the moral and human cost of a culture defined by winners and losers,” the synopsis read.

“The Apprentice,” which, despite its title, does not refer to the real-life series starring Trump, includes a warning that some parts of the story are slightly fictional. It is written by biographer and political journalist Gabriel Sherman, and directed by Iranian-Danish director Ali Abbasi.

“In times of turmoil, there is a tendency to look inward, to bury your head in the sand and look inward hoping for the best, hoping that the storm will pass,” Abbasi told the audience during the film’s premiere on Monday. the pictures Published on the Internet.

“But the storm will not go away,” Abbasi added. “In fact, the storm is coming. The worst times are yet to come.”

The director went on to say that he chose to make a film “about the world” through a story about Trump, because “there is no nice metaphorical way to confront the rising tide of fascism.”

He said, “There is only the uncontrolled method, there is only the vulgar method. There is only a way to confront this wave on its own land and at its level.” “It won’t be pretty, but I think the problem with the world is that good people have been silent for too long.”

Gabrielle Sherman, from left, Maria Bakalova, director Ali Abbasi, Sebastian Stan, and Martin Donovan pose for photographers at Monday’s premiere. (Credit: AP)

The film includes a depiction of Trump’s relationship with his first wife, Ivana, and their divorce. According to The Hollywood Reporter. The newspaper reported that the scene of the former president undergoing liposuction sparked audible gasps from the audience.

“We are filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false claims of these so-called filmmakers,” Trump campaign spokesman Stephen Cheung said in a statement to CNN. “This garbage is pure fiction that raises lies that have long been debunked.” . This “movie” is pure malicious slander, should not see the light of day, and does not even deserve a place in the streaming-to-DVD section of the bargain bin of a soon-to-be-shuttered discount movie store, it belongs in the “in the trash.”

Maria Bakalova plays the late Ivana Trump, who died in 2022. Martin Donovan, Katherine McNally and Charlie Carrick, among others, round out the cast.

The release date of the film has not been announced yet. “The Apprentice” does not yet have a distributor in the United States, according to IMDb.