I Want Cannesdy
Cannes. Last year I posted some trailers for films - not the incredibly, ridiculously obvious ones - that were playing at the Festival that I wanted to see. That I thought other people, people who read this blog, might want to see. A year later, some of those films have yet to be released in the UK. Some have, and have been excellent ("Tyson", "Il Divo"). But there is no sign of "Maradona" by Kusturica, or "The Headless Girl" by Martel. This is the torment of Cannes. But its a kind of masochistic thing, because I'm back for more, of course, again hopefully skipping the most obvious stuff (so no Tarantino, Almodovar, Gilliam, Campion, Pixar, Ang Lee, etc).
"A Prophet" by Jacques Audiard:
"Mother" by Bong Joon-Ho:
"Vengeance" by Jonnie To:
"Polytechnique" by Denis Villeneuve:
"Enter the Void" by Gaspar Noe
"Visage" by Tsai Ming Liang
"Agora" by Alejandro Amenabar
posted by David N at 9:38 pm
4 Comments:
Someone needs to take that idea further and do a Zidane-style movie about Laetitia Casta that follows her round for ninety minutes. With music by Stelvio Cipriani.
Stelvio Cipriani...he could've been a contender. Instead he now just scores Italian films I've never heard of.
Cannes this year was incredible for Classic French beauties - it also featured that Marceau/Bellucci film (they were on the cover of Paris Match together) and Virginie Ledoyen starred in a WW2 resistance Drama, too.
I feel like I should end this comment with something like "Ooh la la". So there you go.
I'm not entirely drawn in by the story of someone going to prison and making waves inside, but Read My Lips and Beat were great, so. Though I don't know if beat would have worked as well with a different lead.
I'm not sure I want to enter Noe's void. I've just plucked up the courage to borrow a copy of Irreversible, may watch it today. Seeing as it's sunny out.
I'm not sure what the best situation to see it in would be...
I've not seen anything by Villeneuve, what makes Polytechnique stand out? I didn't think that the arthouse school/college massacre film had a lot more to say.
I'm there for Mother, hopefully it'll make this year and won't be confined to the LFF.
Johnnie To and Johnny Hallyday? Strange mix, and while the bones are for yet another thriller, I'm sure To can pull it off admirably.
Not confident about a release, though, seeing as Sparrow is only playing tonight at the Prince Charles as part of the Terracota film festival.
Laetitia Casta? Yes, but Visage looks mental in a messy way.
I didn't just base these picks on the trailers or the pedigree of the creative talent, but on reviews I've read and the general reception these films got so far. Altough "Visage" has been torn apart. It still looks beautiful.
Prison movies are always good. Its a seriously underappreciated genre. And all of Audiard's films have been quality - well written, intense, beautifully directed, intelligent and cinematic. Hes a major director, for me.
Villenueve made a film called Maelstrom about a decade ago, which is worth a look. Though it seems sort of world Cinema by numbers in my memory, I was impressed at the time.
Noe's formal command of the medium makes everything he does essential, however unpleasant it may be. And Into the Void sounds amazing from what I've read. POV shots from inside a vagina during sex?
Vengeance and Mother are no-brainers, surely?
Funnily enough, the stuff that most excited me this year were some of the "Classic" selections - Martin Ritt's lovely "The Molly Maguires" and Yangs "A Brighter Summer Day", both of which are on my shelves just begging to be rewatched...
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