Frame to Frame
Films in the Cannes (Part 2)
The Cannes Film Festival wrapped up last Sunday, and the line-up it showcased is already being hailed as one of the best in recent memory.
The movies ranged from silent films and samurai epics to microscopic looks at police procedures and washed up rock-stars battling with their past, and that’s just a taste of the journey that the lucky witnesses got to experience.
According to the jury members, one of the main things that stuck out this year was fantastic storytelling concerning children and the respective child actors who gave magnificent performances. True enough, of the 20 competing feature films, five focused directly on children and a few more focused on the relationship between children and their parents.
So without further ado, this article will cover thoughts on the grand winner and three films that didn’t win the major prize but shouldn’t be forgotten.
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Much to this writer’s delight, Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life (covered in last week’s article) won the coveted Palme D’or. Though it received mixed reactions, it was clear to the jury (according to President De Niro) that the film was the most ambitious, intense and emotional experience from the lot and that it felt very deserving.
Aptly put, I would say, just by knowing Malick’s previous work and reading that his new feature is his most grandiose cinematic poem yet. June 17th can’t come soon enough for us Montrealers.
Hard as the decision must have been, from the news and reviews I’ve absorbed all the winners sound very deserving. There are three films that I would like to devote a few paragraphs to as they caused a lot of buzz and look to be highly accomplished works of art.
Le Havre (dir. Aki Kaurismaki)
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This crafty and pessimistic Fin is a veteran who’s been around since the ‘80s. His 2002’s The Man Without a Past, a film about a stranger waking up and not remembering his identity, is a dry comedy tour-de-force with stellar performance and a unique penchant for an integral kind of realism. It was also by far his most successful film, winning him the Grand Prix at the Cannes and scoring a nomination with the Academy.
What perhaps intrigues me the most is Kaurismaki’s character. Off-beat and a “don’t-give-a-shit-what-you-think” attitude that is more mature than von Trier’s, you feel Kaurismaki’s colourful personality in all of his films.
At this year’s press conference a journalist asked him to show off his magic cigarette. He took out a cigarette and started smoking it, attempting to put it out in his mouth.“I remember when we could smoke at Cannes” he said. “But the times, they are a-changing.”
This year, from the clips I’ve seen and rallying support the film got (albeit, no awards) Le Havre seems like another masterpiece of gloomy humor and true tales told in magical fashion.
It follows the unlikely relationship of an African boy-refugee and an old Bohemian ex-writer in the small port city of Le Havre, France. With the all-encompassing theme of immigration dangling overhead, it looks like the true spirit of the film lies with its characters and people that populate the city.
The Artist (dir. Michel Hazanavicius)
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The Artist tells the story of the rise and fall of 1920s film star George Valentin (Jean Dujurdin, Best Actor at Cannes) and his relationship with up-and-coming starlet Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo). With the revolution of the talkie, the scales tip as Valentin drifts into obscurity and Peppy becomes more and more in-demand.
Sounds like your usual romantic-comedy. But here’s the kicker: the film is black-and-white, and it’s silent. Yes, a silent film in 2011, who would of thunk it. If you were to pitch a premise like this to a Hollywood studiohead in this day and age of CGI’d 3D multi-gazillion dollar movies, he’d laugh so hard that he’d choke on his shrimp cocktail. Oh yeah, it’s foreign too. Ha!
But here’s a film from a relatively unknown director and it’s picking up nothing but positive buzz. The black and white photography from Guillaume Schiffman is on another level, the acting seems terrific (confirmed by the award), the story is said to have a tremendous heart, without a false note in its rhythm.
Watch the trailer yourself, and try to deny that you’re not already fascinated.
Drive (dir. Nicolas Winding Refn)
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The complete opposite of what you’d expect to play in competition at the Cannes festival, much less walk away with any awards, comes the most commercial film from the Croisette.
Refn made his debut at Cannes with this film, and he must be on cloud nine right now because he walked away with the Best Director award, trumping the likes of industry giants Pedro Almodovar and Nanni Moretti. Refn made his name known after the indie-hit Bronson (2009) which skyrocketed actor Tom Hardy so high, he landed the role of the main villain in the next Batman film.
Now Refn brings us Drive, boasting a great cast and digital photography that would make Michael Mann’s mouth water.
Drive tells the story of a Hollywood stunt driver by day, criminal getaway driver by night who lands in messy waters when he becomes emotionally attached to a woman mixed up in the underworld.
The heavily underrated Ryan Gosling leads the acting pack that also features the brilliant Bryan Cranston of TV’s Breaking Bad fame. On paper, it sounds like another clichéd Hollywood adrenaline rush, but word is it’s a brilliantly told suspenseful thriller which had Cannes audiences on their feet.
It’s going to be a long wait (the film opens September 16th in Montreal) but everything is pointing toward it being very well worth it.
