What a fantastic result this year, and with such a prestigious jury I was expecting no less.
This might be one of the less commercial orientated result for a while, but with some bold choices from real cinema lovers, awarding prizes to young and rather unknown directors, that's what the festival should be all about!
Sure some critics moaned that the Coen brothers did not get anything this year, but do they really need a second palme d'or, they won one in 1990 at a time when it was more important for their career!
The Romanian film who got the top prize looks fantastic and could well be the new "The life of others".
I am particularly pleased for Naomi Kawase, the ever so charming Japanese director who got a runner up prize, for a film that got showed last in the festival and did not receive much press attention. And the Korean actress who got best actress is absolutely fantastic I'm told!
I really hope that all of these films will have some kind of impact on cinema audience around the world, sadly, for most people, the only memory of the festival will be the Brangelina circus, but I guess that's the great thing about Cannes, it is not just about obscure Eastern European arthouse film, it welcomes all sorts of films.
Right, next year, I'm definitely going!! (with a press accreditation, the proud writer/director of a short movie... who knows!)
I like that picture of that old mommy Jane Fonda, power coiffed to perfection, who seems to be pinching the cheek of Palme winner Crisitan Mungiu like a naugthy schoolchild.
The members of the jury are locked up in a villa above the hills of Cannesc as we speak, deciding on the prizes to award.
I love the idea thaty only 8 people get to decide on the prizes, it leaves the competition more open than the Oscars where thousands of academy members vote.
And with such a distinguished jury, I am hoping for great things.
While the prizes in most of the 90's have generally been given to up and rising, young and bold directors (Sex, lies and videotapes by a 26y old Steven Soderbergh in 89, Wild at Heart to David Kynch in 1990, Pulp fiction in 94 etc...), most of the awards in the last few years have been given to a lacklustre and largely forgotten since bunch of movies.
Who remembers the 1990's winner, Rosetta, the year of All about my mother? How about that snoozefest by Theo Angelopoulos in 98, my last year in Cannes, The eternity and a day (which is about how long it seemed to last)
This year's contender are the Coen's brother latest outing, No country for old men, hailed as a return to form, and a Romanian movie, 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days, which was called a revelation. Paranoid Park by Gus Van Sant has its chances too.
There could be a few surprises as well, that Persepolis I have writtent about a few times, The mourning forest by the ever so charming Japanese director Naomi Kawase and a Korean film called Secret Sunshine.
I like that the competition is open this year, as much as I like Gus Van Sant & the Coen's brother, I am one to think that the award is best given to a newcomer but we shall see in 2 hours!!
(Shame no one in Britain is even remotely interested, as such the ceremony is not broadcasted on any channels here...)
I am pressed with time today, however I am pleased to report that Persepolis, that French animation about the Islamic revolution in Iran in the 70's, has had a 20mn standing ovation at its Cannes presentation, the director Marjane Satrapi was in tears.
I talked about it a few days ago so scroll down for that and the trailer, I was predicting at the time that due to its original style and topical subject, the film could be a sleeper hit... We'll just have to wait for Sunday! The new "Triplettes de Belleville", with added political satire?
Obviously this film has attracted the anger of Iran, who has been playing political ping pong with the French governement, accusing him of interfering with the festival to ensure the film was being screened... The Festival is well above any kind of political pressure (or I'd like to think so...)
Following on my previous entry, it is somehow disheartening to think about the fate of the films presented here, even those of the official selection under a (supposedly) intense media scrutiny.
Look at Les chansons d'amour by Christophe Honore, a hip young French director I am told. It might have been presented on the official selection last week, and for a day was the most important film in the world, but who is actually going to see it? It's a musical, it looks ace and got some brilliant reviews (and a few others not so glowing reviews) Where is it actually going to end up being screened?
The trailer is fab
In London, which is not exactly a cultural desert, we only got his previous film released this week, in a couple of arthouses cinema, and a year after its presentation at the Director's fortnight at Cannes 2006!
It's called "Dans Paris" I am supposed to see it on Friday night at one of those tiny arthouse cinema with my lesbian best friend, it's not quite going to be the thrill of seeing it in Cannes, but what can you do...
The trailer looks good though. The realisateur is supposed to be Eric Rohmer meets David Lynch, he did a film a while ago called "Cecile Cassard 17 times", call me a perv but at first I thought it was something naughty.
Cannes might be the the second most covered media event in the world after the Olympics, I sometimes wonder what most journalists in here actually cover.
Certainly not the films that barely get a mention on the English press, apart from a few lonely pages on the Guardian.
You'd be lucky to get a mention on TV as well, even the BBC. The only thing that got a few more mentions on the British press here was the Brangelina circus (sorry I hate this word too actually). Speaking of which, look at Brad Pitt on this picture, he spookily looks more and more like Louis he played in Interview with the vampire (Deep blue eyes stare and immortal looking but still hot).
Anyway that was a few days ago and the press has already moved on, nothing in here seem to last more than a day no matter how important.
A persistant rumour claims that Celine Dion is playing herself in Ocean 13, which is getting its world premiere in Cannes...
When I saw Ocean 11 I got so bored I stopped the dvd halfway through...
When I saw Ocean 12, I got so bored, even though I watched it on a plane, I felt like walking out
Now Ocean 13 with Celine Dion.... As if I needed any more reasons not to see it.
The beauty, the glamour, the wonky tooth sticking out of her mouth when she was younger (watch the old footage of her below)... we need more of that glamour on the red carpet in Cannes...
Greg Araki's new film is a comedy called Smiley face. It's about an aspiring actress (Anna Faris) who unwittingly eats her flatmate's space cakes, gets really stoned and ends up in all sort of misadventures! Sure if you want emotional depth, watch Kim Ki Duk new film instead. But Greg Arakis + Anna Faris! Like Gena Rowlands & John Cassavetes and Woody Allen & Diane Keaton, some directors and actresses are just made for each other!
A few days in and we can already say this is one of the most exciting edition for a long time, the frustration of not being there is growing!
There have been a couple of disappointments, from 2 Chinese directors making a film in a foreign language (Won Kar Wai with My blueberry nights in English and Hou Hsio Hsien with The red balloon in French with Juliette Binoche) and who seem to have lost their touch in the process.
Funny how, for a day, My blueberry nights, being the film opening the festival, was the most important and talked about film in the world. A few months from now, it might do well at the French box office, get a limited release in London and New York and then vanish in the history of cinema as a minor part in the career of a great filmmaker.
But apart from that, some strong contenders for an award have already emerged.
No country for old men is showing the Coen's brothers back to form after the godawful Intolerable cruelty and the average Ladykillers, a dark film in the vein of Blood simple.
And coming out of nowhere, a Romanian film called 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days describing the trials of a young woman and her quest for a clandestine abortion during the Ceaucescu reign took the festival by storm. It social realism is likely to have tickled the fancy of the president of the jury Stephen Frears.
I love the way, without Cannes, this film would simply not have existed in the eyes of the media and got released in a handful of arthouse cinemas and largely ignored. Instead, it got into the spotlight for a day, caught the eye of critics along with film buyers even before picking up a prize. Its young actress has already been snatched up by Francis Ford Coppola for its long awaited new film.
So much more to come in the next days, the hip Asia Argento is in no less than 3 different films, by such varied directors as Oliver Assayas, Abel Ferrara and Catherine Breillat. The later is back with a period drama which is preceded by a great buzz, proving what a great director she can be, freed from pretentious sex scenes and without the need for an actor hung like a donkey.
Here is Asia looking very glam on the red carpet
I am personally getting very excited about a French animation film called Persepolis about the rise of Islamic extremism in Iran in the 70's, with the voices of Catherine Deneuve and her daughter Chiara Mastroiani. The film looks fantastic and with such a topical subject, I am expecting great things! Here is a short teaser
Completely unrelated to Cannes and cinema but I've been listening to that song a lot recently, Noah's Ark by CocoRosie.
It is from one of the favourite bands of my boy friend Terry, who got me into their music, when I knew nothing about them.
I always think about him when I listen to their songs, they are so melancholic and it reminds me of his creative and sensitive side. The 2 female singers don't exactly have the strongest voice to say the least, but theirs is a very unique one.
He prefers Beautiful boyz whereas my fav is Noah's ark so I've put both videos on.
The Noah's ark video is interesting, not very polished but unusual, I like the gender bending moustache twist on such a pretty girl too. The Beautiful boyz video is shit so only listen to the song on that one!
Another year and another chance for British journalists to moan about the lack of British films presented in Cannes and being denied awards.
Blame the French, according to them, who year after year share the big prizes between them and the Americans.
What a lot of rubbish and how disappointing to see even the Guardian jumps on the bandwagon, getting all their facts wrong in the process.
For the record, Britain has won the Palme d'or twice recently, in 1996 and 2006, and their actors routinely pick up awards more often than any other nationalities. In comparison, France last win was in 1984 and the one before that more than 40 years ago.
Belgium won twice in the recent years, and that was good enough for even serious British papers to claim those as a French victory?!?!
Also the result is decided by an international jury of about 10 members, with no external influence. In 1999, a Belgium film, Rosetta, won the top prize, and there was accusation in the British press of the French taking over, when in fact, it was later said that this was the result of the pressure of the then members of the jury David Cronenberg, Holly Hunter and Jeff Goldblum. (What a stupid choice by the way, the year of All about my mother and Mulholland drive!).
In fact, while the French have always been supportive of British cinema, its biggest enemy is the British public itself, which is simply not interested in it in the slightest (unless it's set in the magic world of Richard Curtis' Land, and features Hugh Grant as a loveable toff) (Can I just say "Love, actually" made me want to projectile vomit, it had to be said).
Secrets and lies won the Plame d'or in 96 and was a huge success in France, yet no one bothered going to see it in Britain, same fate for last year's win, The wind that shakes the barley. And what about Red road from the young and promising British director Andrea Arnold (also the recipient of an oscar for a previous short movie). It got a prize in Cannes last year and might have been a darling of the British critics, yet it did not make a penny in here!
So heaven forbid should France win this year (even though the president of the jury is British!), there will be the usual accusation of a rigged competition in the British press (mind you they thought the British entry should have won this year's Eurovision.
On a lighter note I have been watching Striptease with Demi Moore tonight, I have been thinking about it for a while but my mind is made up, I am taking a pole dancing class this summer
It didn't take too long for the first mini scandal at the Croisette...
Today at the director's fortnight, which has a reputation for its edgier's selection, a film was shown portraying a man enjoying the romantic attention of his horses, with a short clip of a horse bursting in the man's musky treasure (nice). It's based on a true story apparently and it's called Zoo!
Truth is, despite its somehow arty and stuffy image, gore and smut have been longtime companions of the festival.
And not being one to shy away from those, I have my fair share of memories of both while attending the festival. The great thing is, as an audience there, you see films before anyone else, so no risk of the critics spoiling the fun for you!
My favorites moments over the years include the worldwide premiere of The idiots by Lars Von Trier, about a bunch of, well, idiots!, who get together and act like mentally retarded... It was all very boring and mildly irritating in a way only the Danes can be (I should know, I lived with one for 5 years) until they started an impromptu and very graphic orgy that had the very grand audience of the Grand Auditorium Lumiere gasping for air!
Here is the trailer in Danish with no subtitles (I am sure we're not missing much)
Also how can I ever forget watching on the biggest screen in the world the gold dust sprinkled sodomy scene between Ewan McGregor and Christian Bale in Velvet Goldmine (blink and you'll miss it on that clip)
But my best memory was catching Bent on a 8am screening, the story of the persecution of the gays by the nazis. There was a noisy bunch of schoolchildren in the audience led by their well meaning teacher who really should have made more research on the film she was taking them to see. The opening scene scene shut them up completely:
Mick jagger in drag singing "The streets of Berlin" in some kind of louche derelict cabaret/bomb site, followed by a scene with Clive Owen (when he was still hot) being brutally taken from behind by some hunky aryan soldier. Who said History was no fun? That clip does not show that second part sadly, but you get the idea.
The above amateur film might not look like much, but this is the pre credit presentation before each film in Cannes... Memories... Well done to whoever managed to take that given how strict security had become over the years!
I have had a love affair with the Cannes film festival since 1992, when I skipped school to attend as I lived nearby in Nice.
I realised that attending screenings during the day was not all that hard when you're young and cheeky and was close to wetting myself when I managed to get in the screening of Twin Peak, the movie adaptation. I got expelled from school for a week after that, but in retrospect it was all worth it.
Over the years I managed to see more and more films and to get a pass, met an ageing singer that took me under her wings for a few years and got me into even more screenings.
So many good memories over the years, being among the first audience in the world to see Pulp Fiction in 94, bumping into Pedro Almodovar, John Waters, who was very amused by my request of an autograph, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver (looking very gloomy after the tough afternoon screening of a long Australian movie about the trials of a quadraplegic woman), Gary Oldman (who was my hero at the time in 93), trying to get in the Armageddon party with a very glamorous friend but armed with only one invitation (we lost the second one was our feeble excuse, it worked, Bruce Willis had already gone though), and meeting that American journalist (sorry, Talent Executive) on that same night...
I loved discovering films before reading anything about them and make your own opinion... The last film I ever saw on my last year there in 1998 was Colazon Illuminado, an Argentinian film by Hector Babenco about a mystical love story. It was probably one of the best thing I have ever seen, yet this film never came out in any country... I loved the way every film is given the same chance by the festival, on the same day, you can have the screening of the latest US blockbuster as well as some obscure black and white Hungarian movie and they are both treated the same way.
Thinking about all the obscure films I saw on a massive screen thanks to Cannes I would never have seen otherwise, The Baby of Macon, Three lives and only one death, N'oublie pas que tu vas mourir...
It was hard work and tiring, I would sometimes see 4 films a day back to back, run from one place to another to get invitations and get to the screening, having to queue for hours, the excitment the buzz and the madness were palpable.
This year selection is looking promising, it is harder to follow from the UK as no one is really bothered about it but will certainly be keeping a close eye on it.
Starting today is My blueberry nights, the first English speaking film by Wong Kar Wai with Norah Jones, Jude Law, Natalie Portman... The critics are tradtionally ferocious with the film on the opening night, but it sounds intriguing.
I like the Jury as well, Stephen Frears as president, and among others, Toni Collette (who owes Cannes big time after the all the buzz Muriel's wedding got back in 1994 thanks to its Cannes screening), Sarah Polley, Maggie Cheung, Maria de Medeiros... Sounds like a dream casting to me.
No pictures sadly, my time in Cannes was before the internet, and all the pictures, autographs etc... are long gone and lost, my memories though are as vivid as ever!
We've been together for over 5 months and it felt right straight away...
I hate the whole dating process usually, meeting up for dates in restaurants and trying to have meaningful conversations.
He is quite a lot younger than me (22) so we did not do any of this, he liked me straight away and was not afraid to tell me, there was none of this waiting for the usual 2 days before texting and worrying about being too keen.
We love spending time doing not much, chilling out, watching dvds, playing video games and having endless conversations about anything. He is sochilled out, bright, curious, unpretentious. He is also very creative, constantly creating things, short movies, figurines...
We may have the same tastes but we pretty much disagree on everything when it comes to cinema, he doesn't share my love for anything trashy 80's with loads of neon and a dodgy electro soundtrack but we laugh about it. Here is the godwaful trailer for Crimes of passion, probably my favourite 80's film ever with Kathleen Turner as a strict executive woman by day and hooker called China Blue by night. The trailer does it no justice whatsoever but what a great film!
He's had a colourful past, he was a gay porn actor when he was 20 and had a few wild years but he is a bit calmer now...
Another extract of Crimes of passions to cheer us up, watch out for Anthony Perkins in full psycho mode and a brief extract of the dodgy electro soundtrack!!
Sunday 13 May 2007
I'm a 31 y old French cute (hehe) gay guy in London
Things I like:
Movies (fucking love cinema!!) David Lynch Inland Empire Raspberry Reich (best film ever) Berlin Travelling Norway (gorgeous mountains and even more gorgeous healthy looking men) Indie music Japan Video Games (Okami, Onimusha 2...) Cats (I've always said I'll end up the crazy old person in a house full of cats who smell of pee. Except I can't afford my own house so even that is beyoind my reach) My 22 y old Essex indie kid boy friend (hehe, more of him later) The Cannes film festival (more of it later) San Francisco/New York Moutains, hiking... Politics Segolene Royal! Gordon Brown Making short films that nobody watch The Werkmeister harmonies, any Eastern European film in black and film, with lingering shots if possible
Things I don't like:
John Cameron Mitchell (don't get me started on his latest smugfest Shortbus) Nicolas Sarkozy *boo hiss Stratford (which is probably why I live here) Sydney (overrated) Indie gay guys that take their music waaaaayyyyyyyy too seriously Self proclaimed crazy people (or worse, with a bubbly personality, translating as psycho attention seekers) People who walk slowly on the street, then wobble when you try to take over. For f%$k sake Group of German/Italien teenagers tourists
