Cannes It: A Summary

The build-up to Cannes seems to never end. All the talk of prep, anticipating what they’re going to show, how people are going to get there, the colour of the pass etc, it goes on and on and yet the festival never seems to start.

You stare at your screen waiting for the first review, the first blurry picture of a superstar on what looks like a red carpet and then just like that, two weeks have come and gone. It feels too quick. You see the list of films ‘In Competition, in ‘Un Certain Regard’, ‘Critic’s Week’ etc and think there’s no way all those films could have been seen and considered and that there must be more to hear about. But no, like every other event in the film calendar it’s distinctly anti-climactic. I’d imagine it’s what sex with Hilary Swank is like.

It’s different for everyone I’d imagine, but I kinda like the end of Cannes. If you’re like me and feel the afore mentioned film calendar is only ten months long then you’d see Cannes as a gloriously extended New Years you can enjoy with the added benefit of not having to go to France. And it signals the start of the new awards season so naturally I get a little bit giddy. Lest I start to sound like a recluse, I would like to go to Cannes one day, I’m sure everyone reading this would, but it definitely isn’t at the top of the prestige festival list (that would be Sundance), and this year’s festival goes some way to furthering my rationale.

If you’ve been just a casual observer of Cannes 2011, at the very least the overwhelming stench of controversy and negativity wafting over the channel more than likely is all you’ll remember in a few days time. That’s a shame as nothing that controversial really happened, with the exception of the films being, you know… good! A Terence Malick film was polarising, naval gazing, pretentious, beautiful, transcendent, powerful and boring. SHOCKING! Lars Von Trier said some bad things in mangled English. A TRAVESTY! Pirates of the Caribbean 4 premiered at a high-status film festival not at all known for its extravagant fame whoring. ZOMG! ROFL! PWN!

Yes it’s a travesty that Pirates…. gets a spot at Cannes but something like this happens every year and we roll-oll-oll with the punches and just get on anticipating the films that mattered. More-so the two most prominent stories to rise from the croisette to the interweb were The Tree Of Life getting booed and Lars Von Trier, director of the in-competition Melancholia, vowing to kill all the Jews, finishing what Adolf started.

Let’s start with Malick. Clearly going into Cannes 2010 Tree of Life was THE film to watch. And then it never played. So wash, rinse, repeats and coming into Cannes 2011 Tree of Life was THE film to watch. As is the nature of film festivals coupled with the internet’s “ME FIRST” attitude to film criticism it was always going to be near impossible to get an accurate read on what Malick’s long gestating insular-epic was like. Â As could be expected the reviews reached both ends of the spectrum with the most common summation in reviews being that the film needed time to percolate before being accurately reviewed. Catch 22 when you have a deadline I guess. But what got out BEFORE the reviews? Tweets, ladies and gentlemen. Tweets. 140-word-or-less examinations of audience reaction to The Tree of Life and apparently some people booed.

First off and bigger picture, booing a film is unacceptable. Who are you booing, especially in a critic’s screening when the filmmaker isn’t there? Do you really think you’re going to hurt the screen’s feelings? A film is the vision of a few and the work of hundreds that encapsulates years of hard work and a vast amount of money, its legacy should never be reduced to a few French critics booing. And I have to assume its French critics and not because of any latent xenophobia, but because I’ve never seen or heard of this happen at any other festival of its kind, anywhere else in the world. Of course genre festival’s are a different beast, but film critics above all else should understand that art is entirely subjective. The singular experience of watching one unfold will be different to everyone in that audience. If you’re in the business of reviewing films for money, put it into words, articulate it properly and let people know what you think that way. Don’t sully a film’s reputation with a guttural sound next in line to a belch. It’s uncouth and it needs to stop.

Secondly, in the era in which we live, this stuff spreads like wildfire until all reports on this year’s Palme D’or winner will forever be begun like so: “The Tree of Life, which was booed at its initial screening at Cannes…”. Oh and while we’re at it, if you LIKE a film a simple minute of applause will do. There are better things to do with your time. Life has been conceived in less.

As far as Von Trier goes, there’s not much else that can be written than hasn’t been said much better by many others. Personally I think Cannes overreacted and again, I think the internet is to blame. Von Trier wasn’t saying he was a Nazi, he was making light of serious matters yes, but the internet’s inability to portray tone correctly saw his words boiled down to these Anti-Semitic and Hitler sympathising statements. The whole meltdown, which was caught on video for all to see clearly shows Lars talking about his own family history then trying to dig himself out of a joke which wasn’t that funny to begin with, in a language that isn’t his own. But what was said really is beside the point. The Cannes Film Festival should be about celebrating the art, the press conferences themselves are an unfortunate necessity of the world we inhabit and serve to take away individual readings of the work. In addition to this, Cannes should know what to expect. They’ve invited Von Trier and his films to the croisette 12 times, and each time he’s been a beacon of political incorrectness and, more importantly, fabrication. They should know what to expect. Von Trier’s always been an icon of self-promotion, an enfant terrible of the art house circuit, and has always provoked controversy. It should have been obvious the moment they realised the film itself was a rather less controversial affair than the rest of his oeuvre, of course he was going to over compensate. Oh, and by the way they had no problem with Mel Gibson walking the red carpet…

Regardless, he was banned from the festival for freedom of speech, and the image of Cannes has lost a little of its lustre.Â Anyway, I’ve typed over one thousand words so far and I haven’t got round to the films, so clearly I’m as bad as everyone else. As the festival schedules were announced my most anticipated were Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive and Michel Hazanavicius’ The Artist. The former due to the combination of Refn’s kinetic style and a cast to die for (not to mention a chance to sample Christina Hendricks’ *cough*assets*cough* on the big screen) and the latter because of its leading man Jean Dujardin (last seen in Little White Lies on these shores) and it’s throwback to the golden age of Hollywood cinema. Of course there were plenty of other auteur works to get excited about, but those were the two that got my juices flowing. Turns out my hunches were correct, with both films getting critical praise from all over and a prize each to boot.

Pedro Almodovar seemed to redeem himself for Broken Embraces, that treading water exercise making way for a satisfying genre reunion between himself and Antonio Banderas; La Havre seemed to be the favourite to win the Palme D’or, Aki Kaurismaki’s heart-warming film getting The King’s Speech treatment right up until the final hurdle and Lynne Ramsay made her long awaited return to the screen with well-received, tone poem adaptation of best-selling book We Need to Talk About Kevin which has just been picked up by Oscilliscope in the USA. Awesome.

In fact the only competition films to get a rough ride or a shrug were the new Miike and Moretti, neither setting critics alight. Paulo Sorrentino’s This Must Be The Place continues to look bonkers, and mixed-to-positive reviews actually have me even keener to lay eyes on it, while the French threw a bone to their own with Maiwenn’s Polisse picking up the Jury Prize despite reviews painting it as a confused TV-Pilot with only moments of greatness. I’d say the film I’d heard the least about at the start of the festival which has since jumped to the top of my list is Michael the debut feature from Markus Schleinzer, Haneke’s frequent casting director. It’s tale of 5 months in the life of a paedophile and his 10-year old captive sounds like a punishing sit, yet one that may be incredibly rewarding (unless you work for the Austrian Tourism Board).

Anyway, I’m sure by this point you just want to know more about the films, and find out what won what. As you’re all aware, The Tree of Life became the first US film to win the Palme D’or since Fahrenheit 9/11 and, as it was the bookies favourite the whole time surprised exactly no-one. Except those people actually at Cannes who saw everything. In all fairness Cannes rarely go for the biggest name in the competition, and more often than not seem to act contrary for the sake of it. But I think the key here was Robert De Niro as the head of the Jury. Normally the winner reflects the attitudes of its jury head (The White Ribbon for Huppert, Uncle Boonme for Burton, Fahrenheit/Oldboy for Tarantino etc.) but going in De Niro was a blank slate. Never one to be particularly outspoken or even particularly bothered by goings on around him (not least in choosing films to ‘act’ in recently) it was always going to be interesting to see to what extent, if any, he influenced the jury.

And you know what, I think he did. Many could say he went for the Cannes equivalent of the soft lob down the middle. He gets to reward a giant of Art and American cinema, while making Cannes seem relevant to the masses who will pay attention to a film with Brad Pitt in as opposed to someone with a name they can’t pronounce. But at the same time it tackles themes that have always seemed to interest De Niro, albeit on a more celestial and existential plane. Films such as This Boy’s Life, A Bronx Tale and The Good Shepherd all deal with temperamental and formative father/son relationships and Tree of Life is set in the era in which he himself was a boy. And when you reach a certain age, surely you begin to question what it all means and where it’s all heading… So you know, I think the bookies were right. Just not for the starfucking reasons they thought they were. It is an obvious choice for De Niro and I think he was a lot more influential than he may be getting credit for.

The only other film I could have seen his jury going for was Drive a) because half of them probably wish they were in it (I’m looking at you Jude Law) and b) because it harkens back to the era when De Niro was making his best work. I don’t think this thinking was too far off as Refn’s distinctly un-Cannes film walked away with the Best Director prize while Kirsten Dunst was the recipient of the ‘we’re not holding the Nazi against his film award’ for Best Actress, a safe but still satisfying way of reminding people it’s the art that matters. Now all that’s left to be seen by me is whether or not she deserved it, because let’s face it… she’s Kirsten Dunst.

Side Note: For those keeping track at home, this is the third best actress prize to go to a Von Trier leading lady. He knows his shit. Also, the Dardenne Bros. have never gone home empty handed, 5 times up to bat. Interesting, yet I’ve never seen one of their films. Should I?

Jean Dujardin won Best Actor for The Artist which makes me supremely happy. I’d have given it to him based on the trailer alone. Anyway, enough commentary, see the full list of winners below (and for the best reviews of the fest check out Guy Lodge’s from InContention.com):

Palme d’Or: “The Tree of Life,” Terrence Malick
Grand Prix: (tie) “The Kid With a Bike,” Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne; “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”
Best Director: Nicolas Winding Refn, “Drive”
Best Actress: Kirsten Dunst, “Melancholia”
Best Screenplay: “Footnote,” Joseph Cedar
Prix du Jury: “Polisse,” MaÃ¯wenn
Camera d’Or: “Las Acacias”
Palme d’Or (Short Film): “Cross Country”