CANNES - A WRAP

Austrian director Michael Haneke's AMOUR (Love), in French, was awarded the top prize, the Golden Palm (Palme d'Or), for Best Motion Picture Feature at the 65th Cannes International Film Festival, Sunday. He received a Palme d'Or in 2009 for THE WHITE RIBBON in German and Italian. He is only the seventh director to take the top prize twice.

Riva in AMOUR

AMOUR was filmed entirely in Paris, and stars beloved French actors Jean-Louis Trintignant, 81, and Emmanuelle Riva, 85, as an elderly couple still very much in love, and Isabelle Huppert. It is 180 degrees from most of Haneke's movies, as he stated, ". . . a film’s style should match its subject matter, not its director, and 'this film is about love.'"

Saturday, we posted on our "Mimi at the Movies" Facebook page: "We choose Michael Haneke's AMOUR (Love), to capture the Palme d'Or at Cannes tomorrow."  So far, we are two for two this year, the Best Motion Picture Oscar (The Artist) and the Cannes winner!

CHILDREN OF SARAJEVO

THE CANNES UN CERTAIN REGARD 2012 section presented 20 films directed by 26 directors hailing from 17 different countries. Four of the works were first films.

Presided over by Tim ROTH (actor, director), the Jury was comprised of Leïla BEKHTI (actress), Sylvie PRAS (head of cinema - Centre Pompidou Paris, artistic director - La Rochelle Festival), Tonie MARSHALL (director, producer) and Luciano MONTEAGUDO (critic - Pagina/12 - Buenos Aires). According to Roth, “This was an extraordinarily strong group of films and our deliberations were passionate. The film makers never once failed us! Incredible!”

TOP PRIZE OF UN CERTAIN REGARD
AFTER LUCIA (original title, DESPUÉS DE LUCIA0) by Michel FRANCO, a Mexican/French co-production in Spanish. It is about teenage bullying in Mexico.

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
LE GRAND SOIR (The Great Evening) by Benoît DELÉPINE and Gustave KERVERN. A French production in French.

SPECIAL DISTINCTION OF THE JURY
CHILDREN OF SARAJEVO (original title, DJECA) written and directed by  Bosnian--Herzegovinian filmmaker Aida BEGIC, telling the story of two orphaned siblings struggling to survive during the Bosnian War. Congratulations to Aida, Kevin Spacey and all the gang at the upcoming Sarajevo Film Festival! I will be following.

Writer/Director/Producer Aida Begic

 

AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS (Shared)
Suzanne CLÉMENT for her performance in LAURENCE ANYWAYS directed by Xavier DOLAN, and Emilie DEQUENNE for her performance in À PERDRE LA RAISON (Reason to Lose) directed by Joachim LAFOSSE.

AWARD FOR BEST ACTOR
Mads MIKKELSEN in JAGTEN (The Hunt) directed by Thomas VINTERBERG.

GRAND PRIX
REALITY directed by Matteo GARRONE.

BEST DIRECTOR
Carlos REYGADAS for POST TENEBRAS LUX (title means “light after the darkness”).

BEST SCREENPLAY
Cristian MUNGIU for DUPÃ DEALURI (Beyond The Hills).

JURY PRIZE: THE ANGELS' SHARE directed by Ken LOACH.

Caméra d'Or for Best First Film -  BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD directed by Benh ZEITLIN.

SHORT FILMS
Palme d'Or - SESSIZ-BE DENG (Silent) directed by L. Rezan YESILBAS.

OTHER AWARDS:  NO, starring Gael García Bernal, a Chilean production in Spanish, took Top Prize at the Directors' Fortnight; FIPRESCI Prizes (Critics Awards) went to BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (USA) filmed in New Orleans, and IN THE FOG, a Latvian production in Russian.

It must be noted that, despite a stronger showing of American movies at Cannes this year, U.S. films were shut out when it came to the awards, except for BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, which won two awards.

SOME FEATURE MOTION PICTURES THAT RECEIVED FAVORABLE ATTENTION AT THE FESTIVAL:

1. Leos Carax's HOLY MOTORS, labeled bizarre by some. Carax is French. From IMDb Trivia: His professional name, Leos Carax, is an anagram of his first and middle names, "Alex Oscar."

2. A big standing ovation and favorable buzz at Cannes following David Cronberg's COSMOPOLIS premiere with Robert Pattinson and Cronenberg in attendance. At this festival, Pattenson was praised for his acting. The movie features French actress Juliette Binoche, who rose to movie stardom after appearing in Philip Kaufman's  critically acclaimed, THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS  OF BEING.

3. Kaufman's latest, HEMINGWAY AND GELLHORN, received some words of warmth at the festival as well. It is an HBO movie, starring Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen. The drama is centered on the romance between Ernest Hemingway and WWII correspondent Martha Gellhorn, Hemingway's inspiration for, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and the only woman who ever asked for a divorce from the writer. This one is definitely on my "must see" list.

Kidman and Owen as Gellhorn and Hemingway

LINKS:

  Cannes Festival Home in English

  Movie reviews plus video

Here Comes Cannes 2012

The first edition of the Cannes International Film Festival (CIFF) was originally set to be held in Cannes in 1939 under the presidency of Louis Lumière. However, it was not until over a year after World War II ended that it finally took place, September 20, 1946. It was subsequently held every September – except in 1948 and 1950 – and then every May from 1952 onwards.

This year is the 65th Cannes IFF Anniversary Edition. It will run from May 16 through May 27th. Among those who mainly are associated with American motion pictures and who are expected to walk the red carpet are: Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn and Matthew McConaughey.

The full line-up for the Festival's Jury, who will judge the 22 motion pictures in competition is: French actress Emmanuelle Devos; German actress Diane Kruger; French designer Jean Paul Gaultier; British actor Ewan McGregor; American director, scriptwriter and producer Alexander Payne; and Haitian director, scriptwriter and producer Raoul Peck.

The Competition Jury will be presided over by Italian director, actor and producer, Nanni Moretti. The task of selecting the best new filmmaker falls to Brazilian filmmaker Carlos Diegues, head of the jury for the Camera d'Or.

President Gilles Jacob, and artistic director Thierry Fremaux, announced the official selection of films in competition, which will include a stronger showing from the U.S. this year than last. Some of the films in competition are from: David Cronenberg (Crash, 1996), Lee Daniels (Precious, 2009), Ken Loach (The Wind That Shakes the Barley, 2006) and Michael Haneke (The White Ribbon, 2009).

Veteran French filmmaker Alain Resnais, who is approaching 90, will bring a new film, You Haven’t Seen Anything Yet (Vous N’avez encore rien vu), an adaptation of Jean Anouilh’s Eurydice from Greek mythology, starring Marion Cotillard and Cannes veteran Mathieu Amalric. Resnais won his fourth Palm d'Or in 2009 for Wild Grass.

 LIST OF FILMS IN COMPETITION

MOONRISE KINGDOM

Two-time Oscar nominated director Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom will open the 65th Anniversary Edition Wednesday, May 16, the opening night of competition. Anderson's previous films include: The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Rushmore. The Moonrise Kingdom cast includes Kara Hayward, Jared Gilman, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Jason Schwartzman, Harvey Keitel and Bob Balaban. Music by Alexandre Desplat, who was nominated for an Oscar for The King's Speech, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Queen.

Focus Features has acquired the world wide rights to Moonrise Kingdom.  It opens in the U. S. in select theaters May 25th.

French director Claude Miller

Thérèse Desqueyroux (a.k.a., Thérèse D ), a 2012 adaptation of the novel by François Mauriac, the final movie directed by the late French director Claude Miller (20 February 1942 – 4 April 2012), will close the festival Sunday, May 27th. A previous adaptation of the novel was filmed in 1962. No release date in the U.S. has been announced.

Miller, film producer, writer and director, was 70 when he died. His principal mentor was my late friend, French director François Truffaut. The movie features Audrey Tautou in the title role as well as Gilles Lellouche and Anaïs Demoustier. A release date in the U.S. has not been announced. READ MORE

 

Every year, the Cannes Film Festival invites prominent figures from the world of cinema to give “Masterclasses,” Chiefly focusing on directing. Previous directors have included Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Wong Kar-wai, etc. from time to time, the Masterclasses explore other aspects of film-making other than directing.

Masterclasses for the 65th anniversary will be given by Philip Kaufman, Alexandre Desplat and Norman Lloyd (above). Each speak about their work at the Buñuel Theatre followed by a Q&A with the audience.

Sean Penn

The Festival de Cannes will present "Haiti: Carnival in Cannes," a benefit event presented by Giorgio Armani in support of Sean Penn’s J/P HRO, Paul Haggis’ Artists for Peace and Justice and Petra Nemcova’s Happy Heart’s Fund for their united and extraordinary fund raising work in Haiti.

That gala evening, presented by Giorgio Armani, will feature a dinner Friday, May 18th at the Festival Agora. The funds raised at the gala will benefit all three charities and help them to bring sustainable programs to the Haitian people quickly and effectively.

A Haitian show entitled “Carnival in Cannes” will present a concert of authentic RaRa and Racine music, created with the RAM band, Haiti's leading Racine group, brought in for the occasion from Haiti. The event will be co-sponsored by Chopard.

Festival Site in English

Critics Week Winners, and Possible Palm d'or Winners, at Cannes

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

63rd Cannes International Film Festival, 12 - 23 May 2010

A documentary about the Afghanistan war from Denmark won the top Grand Prix Semaine de la Critique, as the Critics Week section came to a close in Cannes. ARMADILLO, directed by Janus Metz, is the first documentary to screen in competition since the section became competitive twenty years ago.

In other Critics Week Awards, both the SACD Prize and ACID/CCAS Support went to BI, DUNG SO! (Bi, Don't be Afraid!), directed by Vietnamese Phan Dang Di (or Dang Di Phan); the Young Critic Award (OFAJ) went to directors Ola Simonsson & Johannes Stjaerne Nilsson for SOUND OF NOISE; the Canal+ Award for Best Short Film went to BERIK, directed by Daniel Joseph Borgman; and Kodak Discovery Award for Best Short Film was awarded to DEEPER THAN YESTERDAY, directed by Ariel Kleiman.

Two films screened in competition last night at the 63rd Cannes International Film Festival. FAIR GAME, the only American film in competition, and Ken Loach's ROUTE IRISH (see previous post).

FAIR GAME (USA), directed by Doug Liman (THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM), starring Naomi Watts (Valerie Plame Wilson) and Sean Penn (Joe Wilson) is considered a possible contender for a Palm d'Or. It is based on the saga of illegally "outed" CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson.

No one connected with the Bush White House has been charged with betraying Plame Wilson. However, her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, alleged that unnamed and never charged White House officials were out to discredit him after he wrote a 2003 New York Times op-ed piece saying that the Bush administration had manipulated intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to justify the invasion of Iraq.

From the Europeans I know, and from what I have read about many there, it's highly unlikely that the voters at Cannes will have any warm and fuzzy feelings for G.W. Bush or Dick Cheney. Therefore, barring this being a terrible film, I'm putting my chip in the win column for it.

Director Ken Loach is working with his regular screenwriter, Paul Laverty in ROUTE IRISH (see previous post for more. The film stars John Bishop, Mark Womack and Geoff Bell. The cinematographer is Chris Menges (THE KILLING FIELDS).The movie examines the difficulties experienced by British men working as contractors.

In light of the success of last year's THE HURT LOCKER, ROUTE IRISH (UK / France), cannot escape some comparison to HURT LOCKER. THE HURT LOCKER simply alluded to the problem of adjustment for returnees from Iraqi combat and Loach digs deeper. Yet, there is no doubt that Bigelow's film will be used for comparison. It is timely and topical but is it a good movie? Critics seem to be split on that.

Romania's "New Wave" at Cannes, Reviews, Plus

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

First, Ken Loach's ROUTE IRISH, a last minute addition to films in competition at the 63rd Cannes International Film Festival (CIFF) brings the number to 19. Loach's THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY won the Palme d'Or in 2006.

The title ROUTE IRISH is from the infamous, dangerous road that links Baghdad’s international ‘Green Zone’ with the city’s airport, and it marks the 73-year-old director’s first attempt to grapple with the Iraq War of the past six years. But ROUTE IRISH doesn’t deal with high politics. Instead, it explores the murky world of British ex-soldiers who work for private contractors in Iraq.

Trailers of all films in the Special Selection Competition.

Reviews from Cannes IFF: ROUTE IRISH / Iñárritu's BIUTIFUL

Now, Romanian films at Cannes. Romania's Cristi Puiu returns to competition at Cannes with what he describes as a "mind-blowing" crime story, AURORA screened Friday night at the Festival. Puiu, winner in 2005 of the Cannes section showcasing new talent, "Un Certain Regard," for THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU, is the leading figure of the tiny country's "New Wave" school, which seemingly came out of nowhere about that time.

It did not take long for the world film community to take notice. Since then, the Romanians have won a number of top world awards. Among them are Corneliu Porumboiu, Catalin Mitulescu, and Cristian Mungiu, who won the 2007 Cannes Palme d'Or for 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS.

Mungiu won best European Director and the film won best European Film at the 2007 European Film Awards. Romania submitted it for Oscar® consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film category for 2007 for the 80th Academy Awards.

To the amazement of many, myself included, the film was not nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Some suggested that the Academy members did not nominate it because it dealt with a woman having an abortion. Others, because they felt the production values were below par. The Austrian film, THE COUNTERFIETERS, directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky won the Oscar, which it richly deserved among those nominated. However, Mungiu's film deserved a nomination.

Puiu's THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU is the story of a man who dies, a victim of an uncaring health-care system. His latest, AURORO, is the story of a man who kills. Puiu has explained that the title AURORO, refers to the precise moment when day breaks and nature awakes.

In the movie, 42-year-old Viorel, an engineer, drives around Bucharest determined to put an end to the insecurity that has dominated his life since his divorce. He decides to make justice as he understands it, brutally intervening in other people's destinies. His actions throw him into a new life, a new day.

AURORA is the second installment of a planned "Six Stories from the Outskirts of Bucharest." In this installment, Puiu decided to play the lead character himself. Meanwhile, Cristian Mungiu has no directorial projects in the works at the moment.

Review of AURORO and then some.