TowleroadFar From Heaven being adapted into a stage musical. I've been burned on this sort of thing too many times but at least it's by the composer of Grey Gardens and that had a few lovely tunes.
And would make a good stage-to-movie candidate actually...
NYT the latest injury from the set of the Spider Man musical on Broadway. Wednesday matinee cancelled. I am 100% certain that someone will one day write a bestseller about the behind-the-scenes of this disaster prone production Cinema Blend Peter Weir not interested in a sequel to Master & Commander. Awww. Maybe they should just adapt it for a stage musical instead. Kidding.
Movie|Line has a jolly interview with Mike Leigh on the eve of the release of Another Year. I love this bit on why he'd never make a superhero film (no, really. the question was posed to him in a way that's not as crass as it sounds)
I use film to make a personal kind of film in a very specific, particular way. And there is no more reason for me to do what I think you're suggesting than there would for me to give up being a film director an become the pilot of a jumbo jet flying across the Atlantic. Or a brain surgeon or, indeed, a coal miner.
I love thinking of Mike Leigh as coal miner. Tee hee. Come to think of it. He would make a GREAT director for a coal mining movie or a... wait a minute. I have it. Topsy-Turvy demonstrated that Leigh can sell a musical number. So... Mike Leigh, directing the acclaimed musical Floyd Collins about that explorer trapped in a cave!
Floyd Collins is so pretty. Let's listen to a couple of its songs.
Her Awesomeness Audra McDonald & Hair's Will Swenson doing "Through the Mountains" from Floyd Collins.
Matt Doyle (Gossip Girl) doing "How Glory Goes" from Floyd Collins. This song is perfection but it must be hard to sing because there are a lot of bad versions on YouTube. This version gets better as it goes.
My brain does like to wander. Obviously needed a break from thinking / writing about Oscar Oscar Oscar Oscar Oscar...
Moving On... Pop Eater have you heard this crazy story about 80s star Marilu Henner? Seems she has something called "superior autobiographical memory" - fascinating story really and totally unrelated: I've always thought Marilu was a hilarious celebrity. Go Fug Yourself Fug or Fab Style: Mila Kunis In Contention Jafar Panahi banned from making films. So terrible. As Guy says, this puts the silly annual Oscar bitching into perspective. AV Club Will Smith and Mark Wahlberg offered $1 million to box each other for charity cuz they both starred in boxing picture, see? This story cracks me up on so many levels. Like, no movie stars would risk their billion dollar faces for charity. The only risk movie stars take with their moneymakers is plastic surgery.
Tired of critics awards yet? You can say so if you are. The London Critics Circle have offered up nominations. Sadly, The King's Speech -- the only British film that doesn't need any Oscar boost -- is the only one they're willing to back for crossover attention; it shows up on both their "Film of the Year and "British Film of the Year" lists and doubles up on Helena Bonham-Carter and Colin Firth in two acting categories, too. (sigh) Whew... I thought Colin Firth was in danger of losing his Oscar momentum there for a second. Thank god, they threw their weight behind him.
David from Victim of the Time, reporting from the 54th BFI London Film Festival.
I've been engrossed in this festival for so long now, it already feels like it's winding down; in fact, there's another week to go, with Danny Boyle's 127 Hours the closing night gala next Thursday evening. Perhaps my feeling comes from the fact that my most anticipated film is just around the corner: yes, I too fell under the spell of the Black Swan trailer, and it hits my eyeballs tomorrow. I'm at fever pitch. Today, though, we visit Italia and Quebec, but not before a British perennial delivers once again...
Lesley Manville.
I realise I have a tendency to waffle, so I thought I’d get straight to the point.
I had my problems with Another Year, but, as you’ve heard (and heard, and heard), Lesley Manville is absolutely superb in it. I’d heard that too, but it still didn’t prepare me for the density and devastation mustered by Manville in this character. Manville’s Mary is so magnificently imagined that, despite Leigh’s insistence in the post-screening Q&A that what you see is what was shot, and nothing more, there is the strong suspicion that the film shifted during its realisation to centralise on her. (Echoed by this review – I didn’t set out to focus it so immediately, but it felt honest to do so.)
Perhaps it's reductive to talk solely of Manville. The rest of the cast, from the connecting contentedness of Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen to the chirpy Karina Fernandez, give assured performances just the same, and surely only boost Manville’s power through Leigh’s famous workshopping process. The cinematography expressively, if rather obviously, differentiates the seasons the film shifts through. The editing is extremely deft within the restraints of Leigh’s improvisational approach, notably giving a sparky energy to scenes like Broadbent and Sheen’s first meeting with their son’s new girlfriend that contrast with the more sober, gentler feel of much of the film. But I can’t escape that it is Manville, her mousey, skittish walk, her nervous, misdirected laughter and her sad, defeated glances that are what struck me most heavily, and what continue to live mostly strong in my head. (B+)
If only he wasn’t gay! That seems to be the central lamentation of Ferzan Ozpetek’s dunderheadly jaunty Loose Cannons, which doesn’t just have one gay son of a traditional Italian pasta-making family to pretend to support; it has two! Oh yes; before Tomasso (Riccardo Scamarcio) can make his shocking announcement, his brother Antonio taps his glass and is promptly thrown out, leaving Tomasso to run the business and suffer suggestions he should get it on with the business partner’s daughter Alba. Of course, with its longing musical montages of the pair drinking, eating and laughing together, you could be forgiven for thinking the film is even more desperate for the heterosexual harmony than Tomasso’s oddball family are – even when Tomasso’s boyfriend Marco and their camp friends crash the… well, you can hardly call it a party. Framed with a seemingly irrelevant flashback device involving the wise, accepting grandmother, the unexpectedly poignant finale almost redeems things by not tying up every loose end in a neat little farfalle, but it can’t erase the tiresome, laboured schematics of what precedes it. (C-)
I confess. I have a weakness for young, attractive French people giving themselves over entirely to their lustful urges. Xavier Dolan himself is a young and attractive Canadian person, but he’s from Quebec, and I do believe that’s included in Subsection 1B of my confession. After his vaunted J’ai tue ma mere, Dolan again directs himself in Les amours imaginaires (feel free to explain the disastrous English title, Heartbeats). Dolan’s style boldly cribs from Wong Kar-wai – they may not be accompanied by In the Mood for Love’s striking musical theme, but you can almost see a pot of noodles swinging from the hand as we follow a posterior in slow-motion down the street. Dolan doesn’t merely copy but adapts the techniques he apes, sexualising the characters in saturated single-colour sex scenes; but there’s also a sense of irony and pity in the fierce emphasis on the desperation of the two friends both in lust with the same man. Dolan consumes you in sensuality and focuses you on the mistrustful dynamics of love, so that while you might not match the lust for the particular figure, you lust for this mood in general. It isn’t about liking these characters – the sneering ending makes that clear – but about identifying with how low these familiar feelings have made them, and can, have, and will make you. (B) [edited from full review]
Robert here, with another entry in my series about great contemporary directors.
Maestro:Mike Leigh Known For: modern kitchen sink dramas. Influences: classic kitchen sink dramas. Masterpieces:Secrets & Lies Disasters: some less memorable entries, but certainly no disasters Better than you remember: depends on how you remember things. Box Office: Secrets & Lies with over 13 mil (such is the power of Oscar publicity) Favorite Actor: Leslie Manville
Mike Leigh often gets short changed as the king of crying. This is undoubtedly because his two best known films of the past twenty years (thanks to a pair of best actress nominations) have been the copiously, though not excessively weepy Secrets & Lies and Vera Drake. Which is why it was such a shame that Sally Hawkins failed to be nominated for Happy-Go-Lucky. Aside from the fact that she was great (usually an afterthought for the Academy) it certainly couldn't have hurt to have drawn attention to the fact that not all of Leigh's films are devastatingly depressing. In fact, the proper constant of Leigh's films isn't sadness but insight, honesty and the routinely fantastic performances that bring it all about.
Mike Leigh is one of the few filmmakers still dedicated to the idea of kitchen sink realism. His films frame the messy imperfect lives of the Britons with sincerity, never judgment. The principles of the great British filmmakers of the 1960's which seemed so mod and truthful then an have seemingly gone out of style are sill alive in his movies. While his themes may seem old fashioned his method is one rare enough to seem perpetually modern (though it secretly isn't). Leigh's films are created through dramatic improvisation, which requires first and foremost a total trust of the actors' abilities to build, understand and evolve their characters to create reality. As a director this requires such a high level of giving and trust in your actors, it's really no surprise that few filmmakers employ it. For most movie makers are craftsmen turning out scripts, auteurs declaring a vision, but Leigh has taken the process to a truly communal place. When you consider the quality of his actors, it's really evident how the result is usually phenomenal.
The lives and characters embodied by these actors are usually the misfits of society (then again, who isn't?). Whether it's Naked's criminal Johnny, Vera Drake the abortionist, or eternal optimist Poppy, Leigh and his actor's characters live in a world that seems to have no simple place for them. Whether they deserve the consequences of this are quite beside the fact for Leigh. He's more interested in understanding people than making overreaching statements. And through his insight, and the insight of his collaborators we come to understand these people as well.
The trailer for Another Year
For his next film, Another Year Leigh continues to demonstrate his interest in people who seem to have found peace and the world that continually, inevitably antagonizes them. It received positive reviews in Cannes for not only Leigh but for, you guessed it, the performers. *
In trying to keep up with DVD promises, I've given An Education (2009) a second look. First thing I noticed the second time through was a vaguely wary expression on Carey Mulligan's face the very first time you see her. Before she has anything to be worried about.
It's as if she knows that this is not a post about how great she is!
One of the chief and actually insightful digs at the movie, from certain unconvinced parties, is that director Lone Scherfig is so enamored of Mulligan's Jenny (and yes there's plenty to be enamored of) that she passes up numerous opportunities to complicate the movie. Our relationship to the youthful arrogance of the protagonist really does need a tougher investigation. Jenny really does need to be told. [Has she been told? Tell her. Oh snap!] This is the reason I love every tiny bitter morsel from Emma Thompson as the stern headmistress. More please.
But it wasn't just Scherfig that had trouble looking away from Mulligan's star-is-born turn. How else to explain the curious little attention the film received outside of its Actress and Best Picture bids. The film has amazing costume work, smart art direction and terrific original songs. Regarding this last bit, there's zero excuse for the Academy's music branch to pass up "You've Got Me Wrapped Around Your Little Finger".
The song even gets a showcase scene and is intertwined with the narrative, something they're actually supposed to be looking for when they vote. The characters even sing it in the car while driving.
But the best thing about the film is for sure the ensemble play. Scherfig makes some fine shot sequence choices to accentuate the interplay between her "clever" foursome of lovers: Jenny & David (Carey Mulligan & Peter Sarsgaard) and the highly flavorful duo of Danny & Helen (Dominic Cooper & Rosamund Pike). One early scene of the foursome in a bar offers audiences the rare opportunity to watch four actors acting simultaneously. I watched this scene four times in a row to look at each performance and they're all fully engaged. Oh the joy of medium shots!
Only after we're already made some observations about their group dynamic does the more generic cross cutting, shot / reverse shot pattern, take over (you know the pattern, it's the way 99% of movies film every single conversatzzzzzzz zzz zzz). I love how the scene begins with Helen holding bitchy court -- she theorizes that college girls might be born ugly -- but as soon as she's turned her attention's Jenny's way, "books?", Scherfig zeroes in and the blocking changes. The two men begin to flank Jenny, gradually pushing Helen right out of the frame. Scherfig sees what's happening to the group dynamic (fresh meat!) and illustrates accordingly.
One of the most interesting textural bits in the movie is how nearly every character -- not just Jenny -- swoons for any sort of flattering attention; They're all hungry flowers, leaning towards sunlight or water. Dominic Cooper excepted, as he seems very self contained.
I've already expressed my love for Pike with a Supporting Actress nomination but there are other magical things happening within the ensemble, too. Unfortunately the acting isn't always consistent. Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour, for example, both have smart moments as Jenny's eagerly gullible parents, but they swing a little too broadly at other times.
I don't know if it's that stinging late film appearance by Sally Hawkins in a pivotal role but the film makes me think of a Mike Leigh movie.
What?!? Yes, that's a bizarre reference point. Hear me out.
The character work in An Education doesn't have the depth or discipline of Leigh's standard six months worth of improv and rehearsals, and the movie absolutely doesn't have the same high art tone or deep insights. I know that. An Education just zips merrily along, charging through even its darkest moments without considering them too carefully. It's paced and styled for the multiplex, even if it never fully crossed over with mainstream audiences. But I think of Mike Leigh because his movies by their very design always feel a bit ephemeral. You're hyper aware that had his camera swung to the left or right, or left that scene earlier to follow an exiting character, a completely separate and equally interesting movie would be waiting for you on the other side.
An Education is strong enough during its best moments to make me believe or at least fantasize that there's a few movies just off to either side or behind it, should the writers, actors, and director have decided to go another way with it. On second viewing this is the order in which I'd like to see those movies.
The Miseducation of Helen, a biopic, in which Rosamund Pike takes center stage. Was she always this dim and devilish? How hard does she have to work to keep Danny's (Cooper) attentions and keep herself swathed in the fur and finery he provides? (I'm guessing there's been a procession of Danny types.)
The Art of the Steal a prequel, in which Danny (Cooper) and David (Sarsgaard) begin working together. An Education never looks closely at this relationship but if you stop to think about it for just a minute, it sure needs looking at. What is the power balance really like? Does it seesaw back and forth?
The Prime of Miss Stubbs in which we follow this entire school year from the exhausted well meaning perspective of Jenny's teacher (Olivia Williams) and the headmistress (Emma Thompson) becomes the defacto secondary lead.
Educating Graham in which we follow awkward Graham (the sympathetic Matthew Beard) as he grows into a fine writer and learns that Jenny wasn't everything. There are plenty of interesting girls in college and they're less pretentious about it.
To close I'd just like to share this Graham-related dialogue exchange that I love but had completely forgotten about. Jenny's dad has already fallen for David's con artist charm, however age inappropriate he may be, and takes the opportunity to disparage Jenny's young friend.
Jack, Jenny's Father: Better than that young man you brought home for tea.
Marjorie, her mother: [thinks the comparison is unfair] David's a lot older than Graham.
Jack: Graham could live to be 200 years old and you'll never see him swanning around with famous authors. Jenny: Graham might become a famous author for all you know! Jack: Becoming one isn't the same as knowing one. That shows you're well connected.
Some people's fathers...
I love this tiny crumb of a suggestion that Jenny does like the age appropriate but unsophisticated Graham. She's just not into him in that way. That said she doesn't seem to enjoy the ribbing he gets from both her parents and friends. Perhaps she knows somewhere deep inside that she's not that much more extraordinary than him... she's just a little further along in her Education. *
Julien here, your special correspondent in Cannes.
Sorry to report only now, but my schedule has been pretty hectic. I managed to attend a few screenings, so let me share my impressions with you.
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is even worse than I expected it to be. Oliver Stone's 1987 original was never a great film, but it's a fun time capsule, and it contains the signature performance of one of the biggest stars of the 80's. But this ill-advised, opportunistic sequel is just a mess. Stone clings to his reputation as a whistle-blowing, politically conscious filmmaker, but his depiction of Wall Street is so broad (even by his standards), with its machiavellian, cigar-smoking traders, that it ends up feeling as topical as a Hannibal Lecter picture. Not to mention that the abundance of financial blabber is not only unilluminating, but boring as hell. And as iconic as Gordon Gekko may be, he's a relic from another era, and Stone has clearly no idea what to do with him, and how to integrate him to the current financial situation. So we get less Michael Douglas and loads of Shia LaBeouf, who manages to be even more obnoxious than Charlie Sheen was in the original. As for the direction, Stone's flashy visual histrionics feel more hollow and explanatory than ever, and as if all that wasn't enough, the musical choices are simply atrocious.
Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is a huge improvement on last year's Whatever Works. Sadly, that's not saying much. It's an ensemble piece, revolving around two disintegrating marriages, (Naomi Watts and Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins and Gemma Jones). Fear of aging and dying, romantic longing, cruel disappointments: it's typical Woody Allen fare, but once again, something's missing. It's clear that of late, Woody doesn't seem half as concerned with his characters as he once was, and this one lacks the sharpness that made Match Point and Vicky Cristina Barcelona his best pictures of the decade. The actors are a mixed bag: Naomi Watts sells the romance better than the comedy, Anthony Hopkins seems bored (but when doesn't he these days), and Antonio Banderas is little more window dressing, but Josh Brolin's scruffy masculinity works better here than it does in Wall Street 2, and Gemma Jones is delightfully funny as Watts' gullible mother. However the main attraction remains wondering what Nicole Kidman would have made of the stereotypical Woody Allen hooker (played here amusingly by Lucy Punch).
Mike Leigh's Another Year is the best film I've seen so far during the festival, but I have to admit I don't quite share the critical community's unanimous praise. My problem lies with the structure: the film is centered around a couple (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen), around which revolves an array of supporting characters. But it soon becomes clear that the most involving characters are not the leads, whose quiet life and happy marriage are deliberately devoid of any real drama. One of the couple's friend, Mary (beautifully played by the great Lesley Manville, pictured left with Leigh, who may win the Best Actress prize on Sunday) has almost become the protagonist by the end of the picture. I kept wondering why Mike Leigh hadn't built the whole film around her, and also why he abandoned the devastating character played by Imelda Staunton after only two short scenes. Maybe he intended to frustrate his audience, but why? Also, I have to say that I felt the opposition between blissful family life and pathetic spinsterhood felt a little -dare I say it - conventional. Don't misunderstand me, it's still strong cinema, and it has great moments, but I would hardly call it Leigh's best.
I'll be back to talk about Xavier Dolan's Les Amours Imaginaire, but for now I have to walk the red carpet with Javier Bardem.
I woke up with a serious case of Cannes Envy this morning. There's no way around unwanted feelings so you plunge in them to get to the other side. That's the way to do it, right? Or that's the way Nathaniel (c'est moi) does it. Maybe that's the masochist's way? So herewith... random thoughts on Cannes photos, fashions, and tweets from people I was exceptionally jealous of all day. Cuz they're... you know... there. In the thick of it.
Please note: If y'all don't start commenting soon, we're likely to take a long summer hiatus and see you ungrateful beyootches in October when Oscar buzz heats up. Comments are like food.Feed the insatiable Film Experience Beast!
1. Is he, like, inviting us to pose with him here? Won't he be crushed in the mass forward rush of crazed lustful exhibitionist fans?
2. Wouldn't he be super easy to lose at a black tie party? He's sotiny. You'd never find him again.
And now some funny or interesting movie tweeting...
on Mike Leigh's Another Yearwhich is garnering awards buzz for both the film and Leigh regular Lesley Manville
@erickohn "Finally, a top-notch competition film. Mike Leigh's ANOTHER YEAR is a startlingly honest and understated character study." @ebertchicago "Imbecilic Cannes question of the day (to Mike Leigh): "Why did you make Sally so sad?" @totalfilm Mike Leigh's Another Year: kind of a greatest hits movie; pleasure to watch scene to scene if a little familiar. @guylodge "Mike Leigh's "Another Year" is the best thing I've seen at Cannes so far: and Lesley Manville is stunning
on You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Woody Allen's annual sweet and sour cinematic dish. Sweet and sour because well... you know. You never know if it's going to be a Vicky Cristina Barcelona or a Hollywood Ending.
@JustinCChang "Odd, really, to go straight from the bracing humanity of Mike Leigh to the cardboard inhumanity of Woody Allen" @eug "Clearly they love Woody Allen in Cannes: Serious pushing, shoving & yelling at the entrance to screening now. Survived." @jamesrocchi "Light, slight Woody Allen with an unexpectedly vicious streak hidden beneath the farce and ruptured romances." @awardsdaily ""Cannes - funny rapport between Woody Allen and Josh Brolin at press conference. Woody killed, of course. CANNES Woody Allen press conference - Woody says of death, 'I do not recommend it.' And of aging, 'try to avoid it if possible.'"
Josh Brolin and Woody Allen meet the press
on Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, which also stars Josh Brolin. He busy busy... like 2007 busy again in 2010.
@onthecroisette Wall Street moved me immensely, despite it's happy-ending. Is there something wrong with me? That's what my friends say.THEY ARE WRONG! @cobblehillis WALL STREET: THE QUICKENING (Stone): 2.5 hrs of bullet-point speeches about $$$. Mulligan cries, Langella hams, Sheen cameos, Shia lebeoufs. @gemkoWall Street: Let Me Be Clear This Time, Greed Is In Fact Bad ('10 Stone): 43. Not a train wreck, sadly, just didactic-bombastic.
Best Dressed! You have to have a huge international profile to win "Best Dressed" kudos in the media so Fan Bingbing (or Bingbing Fan, whichever you'd prefer) won't get enough credit for that deep groove she wore into the Cannes carpet.
ShareThe Chinese beauty was there to promote Chongqing Blues (previous credits include: Bodyguards and Assassins and The Matrimony) and she was working way more diverse looks in the first few days of Cannes than any of the high profile American stars or oft-photographed jury beauties Kate Beckinsale or Aishwarya Rai. Well done, Bingbing! *
Robert here, scouring the internet to give you the latest on the films premiering in Cannes. In Competition
Another Year Mike Leigh's latest is earning some pretty high praise. Mark Adams of Screen Daily calls it "thoughtful and insightful," while Charles Gant of The Telegraph says the film is "a real grower, powered by wonderful comic moments, jealous glances, neurotic sparks and, finally, quiet reflection." Time Out London likes it too, saying that compared to Leigh's other films it's "more contemplative, less confrontational, more at ease with the gentle passage of time." Nathaniel Interjects!I interrupt Robert's rundown to bring you my dismay that I didn't full out predict Lesley Manville in Another Yearin my Oscar predictions despite my strong hunch that her stellar work in past Leigh films (she's so terrific in Topsy Turvy for one) would pay off here. Though she's not one of the two central married characters (played by Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen). She's winning great reviews and some say she's a contender for Cannes' Best Actress gong.
Un Certain Regard
Tuesday, After Christmas Those following the recent wave of successful Romanian films, might be hopeful for this drama of which the L.A. Times says, "(director) Muntean's movie is a remarkable, pitch-perfect work." Alas, The Hollywood Reporter dissents, noting "the dissected minutiae of this adultery drama unfortunately doesn't add up to a very original or moving whole." Although Mike D'Angelo over at The AV Club draws attention to the fact that the film "opens with a lengthy, static shot of a man and woman lying naked in bed." So really, how can you resist?
Special Screenings
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger Woody Allen's latest, which sports a very impressive cast (including Naomi Watts, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Anthony Hopkins) seems to be garnering kind though not ecstatic reactions. Vanity Fair says stylistically "It's a throwback to his late 80s ensemble pieces, most akin to Hannah and Her Sisters." The Hollywood Reporter just about sums up the mood by calling the film "A serviceable Woody Allen comedy that trifles with its characters rather than engaging with them." A few reactions, like EW's, are viciously snarky "and you know what happens in a bad Woody film when people are miserably hitched: They seek liberation! Crazy love! With sexy-time fantasy mates!"
You Will Meet Lucy Punch, Watts & Brolin & Gemma Jones at the Premiere.
Updated 04/19 They've added two titles but none to the actual competition list just yet. Updates are included below
04/15 Yes, they will add a few titles. Looking round the web people expect something like 4 to 5 more films to show up. Speculation that Malick's Tree of Life or Nolans Inception or Schnabel's Miral probably won't die until after they add said missing titles. But if you're heading over to the South of France next month or merely reading along on various Twitter feeds or film blogs, these are some of the titles you'll be hearing about.
Blanchett. Crowe. Scott
Opening NightFilm Because you have to kick off with a starry entry for that maximum red carpet kick. It gets the international and mainstream press excited and you need their eyeballs... even if your festival is for the global cinephiles.
Robin Hood(Ridley Scott) I'm amused that the tagline is marketing this as an "untold story". Hee. If you look up 'Robin Hood' at ye olde IMDb you get 22 "exact matches" and many more options as well. But it gives us a chance to see Cate Blanchett work the red carpet again and after that one year break (thanks Cate!) the carpet will welcome her back with... uh... open fibers.
Competition Titles The Cannes selection committee is really stingy about this field, nearly always erring on the side of the establishment. You rarely see first time auteurs and they're even stingy about second time auteurs who made a big splash the previous year (See: Xavier Dolan in Un Certain Regard instead).
Another Year (Mike Leigh) Only one more month until we know something (anything!) about Leigh's latest. Such as vague plot. Who has the lead role. Etcetera.
Biutiful(Alejandro González Iñárritu)
Burnt by the Sun 2(Nikita Mikhalkov) Russia's sole competition entry is the longest competition film at 2 hours and 21 minutes. It's also one we have to watch for the Best Foreign Language Film at next year's Oscars since the original won the top prize.
Certified Copy (Abbas Kiarostami)
Fair Game (Doug Liman) This is the Valerie Plame story again, only with Naomi Watts and Sean Penn in the top roles. As Guy Lodge said on Twitter
Doug Liman goes from "Jumper" to a Cannes competition slot. He's been reading Lee Daniels's self-improvement manual.
The Housemaid(Im Sang-soo) This is where we're reminded that IMDb is sometimes months behind on movies. Must be a bear to keep that site fresh with a never-ending stream of thousands of movies in various stages of development. It's listed as in pre-production but next month it shows at Cannes! I'm looking forward to this one -- not that I'll ever get a chance to see it -- because it stars the lead actress of Secret SunshineDo-Yeon Jeon.
La Nostra Vita (Daniele Luchetti)
Of Gods and Men (Xavier Beauvois)
Outrage (Takeshi Kitano)
Outside the Law(Rachid Bouchareb)
Poetry (Lee Chang-dong)
The Princess of Montpensier (Bertrand Tavernier)
A Screaming Man(Mahamat-Saleh Haroun)
The great Mathieu Amalric (and cast) for Tournée
Tournée(Mathieu Amalric)
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Apichatpong Weerasethakul) The sometimes confounding Thai director's latest has the longest title (love it) but is actually the shortest film in competition (90 minutes)
You, My Joy (Sergei Loznitsa)
Un Certain Regard This popular sidebar of films, a competition which runs parallel to the main field, is generally where they put younger still maturing talent and "original and different" films. Though a certain 101 year old Portuguese master is here, so...
Adrienn Pál (Ágnes Kocsis)
Angelica (Manoel de Oliveira) This 101 year-old's 49th project -- god he has more stamina than Clint Eastwood! -- also goes by the titles The Strange Case of Angelica or O Estranho Caso de Angélica
Aurora (Cristi Puiu) From the director of the acclaimed Romanian film (is there any other kind?) The Death of Mr. Lazarescu. Like that film, this one is lengthy... the lengthiest from either lineup with a 179 minute running time.
Blue Valentine (Derek Cianfrance -first feature!) I'm already eager to see his second (third?) feature I liked this one so much. Cannes lists this as a first feature -- meaning he's eligible for their directorial debut award (a very big deal) but according to the IMDb his feature debut came some 10 years back when he made Brother Tied. Maybe that one doesn't count for some reason. The IMDb can be a confusing place.
Chatroom (Hideo Nakata)
Chongqing Blues (Xiaoshuai Wang)
The City Below (Christoph Hochhäusler)
Hahaha (Hong Sang-soo)
Xavier Dolan (I Killed My Mother) returns to Cannes, the scene of his debut triumph
Heartbeats (Xavier Dolan) This film from the writer/director/actor/gay wunderkind is also referred to as Les Amours Imaginaires which is a much more evocative title, don't you think? Click here for more info on the film
Life Above All (Oliver Schmitz)
The Lips (Iván Fund & Santiago Loza)
Octubre (Daniel Vega -first feature!)
R U There (David Verbeek)
Rebecca H. (Return to the Dogs) (Lodge Kerrigan)
Simon Werner Disappeared… (Fabrice Gobert -first feature!)
Socialisme (Jean-Luc Godard)
Tuesday, After Christmas (Radu Muntean)
Udaan (Vikramaditya Motwane -first feature!)
Out of Competition Who knows the politics behind the Out of Competition field each year. But this is where you'll find big name directors who can benefit from a Cannes premiere without the nerve wracking 'will it win anything?' drama.
Brolin. Stone. Douglas. LaBeouf. Mulligan
Carlos (Olivier Assayas) One of France's most fascinating directors returns with this true story of the infamous criminal "Carlos the Jackal"
Tamara Drewe (Stephen Frears) I liked Chéri more than most but I still think it was something like a textbook definition of Missed Opportunity in a few substantial ways. Will Frears regain his artistic footing? Can we get something on the level of his late 80s / early 90s work again any time soon? Please. Pretty please. This is based on a graphic novel and stars Gemma Arterton
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (Oliver Stone) I can't decide whether this movie needed a sequel or not. One can make an argument either way. But the movie will answer the question as to whether or not it did. It's 136 minutes long which... well, I hope Stone has enough to say to keep that going.
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (Woody Allen) Just discussed here.
Special Screenings "Special" Interpret that however you will.
5XFavela (Carlos Diegues)
Abel (Diego Luna -first feature!) Both of the Y Tu Mama Tambien boys have moved into direction. I remember two teenagers talking about this one on the bus in Park City this past January (it played at Sundance). I can't for the life of me recall their conversation other than that they thought it was "weird"
Chantrapas (Otar Iosseliani)
Draquila: L'Italia Che Trema (Sabina Guzzanti) trailer here
Inside Job (Charles Ferguson)
Nostalgia For The Light (Patricio Guzmán)
Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow (Sophie Fiennes) a documentary about an installation artist
Midnight Screenings
They'll have to add more of these. The festival lasts a fortnight!
Thomas Dekker (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) does leading manboy duties for indie favorite Gregg Araki
Blackhole(Gilles Marchand) This is also known as L'Autre Monde and stars Gallic hotties Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet (from the sticky Love Songs) and Melvill Poupaud (from the brilliant A Christmas Tale)
the trailer for Blackhole. Me want
Kaboom (Gregg Araki) Quiet Earth calls this an oversexed sci-fi romp. I can still remember vividly seeing The Living End (his debut) in the movie theater. I hadn't ever seen anything like it.
Don't you wish you were in France?
Other Blog Reactions to Check Out: Thompson on Hollywood some chatter about the films that didn't make the cut or weren't finished in time Women and Hollywood No female directors in competition Independent Eye Light on American films Indie Wire the lineup and poll. which film are you most excited for? Guardian Cannes '09 will definitely be a tough act to follow *
*** *** **** Let's wrap this sucker up! I had really intended to rewatch the top ten (why not?) before I ventured into the mental hospital. Trust me, that's where I've been heading as I've tried to rank the movies I love more than people (kidding! sort of) but who has the time? The 10th Annual FiLM BiTCH Awards begin tomorrow so I have to get a move on to wrap up the 2009 film year. It's possible I'll revisit this rundown at some point for a special project but who knows. These rankings are NOT final. God... I'm not ready for the straightjacket yet. I need my hands free so I can talk.
What follows is more like tiers. The numbers function as mere placeholders.
Tier 3
You could group them with #16-20... It doesn't mean I don't worship them. I got a whole lotta love to go round
15 Vera Drake dir. Mike Leigh (2004) Vera Drake (Imelda Staunton) whistles while she works. Though her "work", you soon discover as you follow her into crowded residential blocks, is not something you'd normally think of whistling to. It's part of the genius of Mike Leigh's best film (yeah, you heard me) that Vera doesn't question her calling or the tune in her head. When the bomb finally drops on Vera's happy-go-lucky existence, Staunton returns Leigh's faith in her with one of the most devastating closeups in cinema. It's the moment everyone remembers from the film but my mind often drifts to the aftermath, diminutive Vera in her coat in the snow heading to the police car, terrified. She's warmly dressed but the chill is already down to the bone.
14 There Will Be Blood dir. Paul Thomas Anderson (2007) If it's not quite this world great's best film (that prize to Boogie Nights saith I) it's definitely his most audacious and technically thrilling. There are so many sinister and seismic moments, it's a wonder the earth doesn't open up while you're watching it, and drag you to hell with Daniel Plainview. "I'm finnnissshed"
Tier 2
I think about them so much that they have ceased to be movies. They're now life events.
12Mulholland Dr. dir. David Lynch (2001) So much has been written about this movie that I sometimes worry that familiarity will rob it of its mystery. Yet when Laura Elena Haring starts whispering "Mulholland Drive" I'm hypnotized again. I'm an amnesiac myself, and I've never heard her whispery chant.
11 Requiem for a Dream dir. Darren Aronofsky (2000) "I like thinking about the red dress."
10 A History of Violence dir. David Cronenberg (2005) In the past I've likened this movie to a machine, it's so finely calibrated and efficient. But that doesn't get at its emotional fire, its guttural poetry, and its savage eroticism. It's more like a cyborg.
9 Wo Hu Cang Long (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) dir. Ang Lee (2000) Ang Lee is not the only filmmaker with three movies in the countdown. But he's the only filmmaker with two in the top ten. How great is Ang Lee? And how glorious was/is this utterly transporting adventure?
8 Rachel Getting Married dir. Jonathan Demme (2008) God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change... like the fact that so many people don't love this movie. Their loss. I'm ready to dive back into this immersive, noisy, eclectic, spontaneous, superbly acted, wonderfully sustained, bleeding heart of a movie right this very second. Pass me the DVD.
7 Hable Con Ella(Talk To Her) dir. Pedro Almodovar (2002) So imaginatively structured, exquisitely controlled, and enigmatically moving that it's nearly impossible to wrap your head around in one go. It's a good thing then that Pedro's movies miraculous improve with repeated viewings... even when they were brilliant to begin with. "Cucurrucucú paloma, cucurrucucú no llores."
Tier 1
As sustaining as oxygen or water or pets or friends. If you try to take them away from me, I will cut you.
6 Fa Yeung Nin Wa (In the Mood For Love)dir. Wong Kar Wai (2000, released in 2001) In a perfect world, I would always be fetching noodles or trying on cheomsangs with Maggie Cheung. Either that or writing wuxia and smoking with Tony Leung Chiu Wai. I'd gladly pay the price of heartbreak in the end.
5 Far From Heaven dir. Todd Haynes (2002) Of all the things we have to thank Todd Haynes for: new ways of looking at Barbie dolls, Bob Dylan splintered, restless experimentation as cinematic life-blood, a mini Douglas Sirk revival, Ewan MacGregor naked and covered in glitter... this is the gift I cherish most: Julianne Moore in a purple scarf, waving love goodbye.
4 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind dir. Michel Gondry (2004) The Eyes: a singularly imaginative visualist in Gondry. The Brain: the twisty intellect of Charlie Kauffman. The Body: a great acting ensemble operating as one powerful machine. The Heart: a comic (Jim Carrey) positively aching with true drama. The Soul: one of the most elemental faces and emotional forces in cinematic history (Kate Winslet); It's the collaborative miracle movie of the decade, all its parts made greater by their interconnectedness.
3 Brokeback Mountain dir. Ang Lee (2005) A love story for the ages. And one that quietly enrages.
List-making is, by its very nature, personal. If you're doing it right that is.
Selma & Satine. To quote the hilarious Moulin Rouge! FYC ads: "SHE SINGS! SHE DANCES! SHE DIES!"
The story of the Aughts for this particular moviegoer was the rebirth of the musical. To yank the dead genre from its unfortunate grave, fearless visionary filmmakers and prodigiously gifted musicians were required. The impish deconstructionist (von Trier) provoked such genius from a totally modern composer (Björk) that ten years later you can still be transported with just a bar of "New World" or "I've Seen It All".
Then, the party of the decade. The inspired mashup conductor (Baz) and his darling stars (Nicole, Ewan, Jim) put on the messiest craziest livelest funniest tearjerking "Spectacular! Spectacular!" show on earth. I'd never claim it's a perfect movie but flaws are endearing when you love madly and deeply. and Love Is All You Need.
Moving on to 2004. What follows is my original top ten list, based on films released in NYC in 2004. If I have anything new to say that'll be in red after the original text.
Top Ten Runners Up (in descending order): Aviator, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Mean Girls, Maria Full of Grace, The Five Obstructions, Collateral, Goodbye Lenin!, Birth and CloserYes, I'm absolutely horrified by the rankings now. Nothing about that ranking feels right now. I am most ashamed thatBirth was only at number [cough] 19 in its year. In my self-flattering memory I "almost" put it in the top ten despite the then brutal reviews. I was ahead of my time! Oh well... at least I did actually name it the #1 most underappreciated film of the year. At the time I said...
Jonathan Glazer made a significant splash four years ago when his brilliantly acted heist film Sexy Beast debuted to much acclaim and some arthouse success. That film's success was attributed largely to its magnetic star Ben Kingsley. Glazer's sophomore effort is also built around a brilliant performance, Nicole Kidman's this time. The reaction has been decidedly different. It's far closer to hate than love. Birth is a confounding and unsettling movie and it's meant to be. Nevermind that it's on many worst lists. It's worth seeing because Glazer is going to be an important filmmaker. Despite an ending that feels like a fumble, there is much in Birth that's superbly handled, haunting, daring, and evocative. Stay tuned to Glazer's career.
That big career I was hoping for hasn't materialized (there's still no Birth follow-up) but the film has aged beautifully. But I still love everything on my top ten list so I don't know where exactly I'd put it now... or Mean Girls, which I've watched more than any of the films in the top ten list since. All of a sudden the dawning realization. Might 2004 be the best year of this decade rather than 2001? 10Bad Education (Pedro Almodovar)Pedro's films have a way of growing stronger on repeat views. You become more attuned to their beautifully executed imagery and storytelling structures. Even if you resist they eventually win you over (though I've yet to succumb to Matador). So, on principle, I knew better than to leave this twisty 'fag-noir' out of my list, even if I loved the also-rans just as much.
Bad Education has many immediate virtues; Gael Garcia Bernal's carnality and triple-whammy star turn, and the expected visual thrills and chills. Curiously though, this fascinating noir also has one virtue that seems to be playing a double role as vice; the layers of stories that are actually all one story. Therein, at least at this writing, lies my tiny seed of discontent and the film's 10th place rank (low for a Pedro). I'm not sure that Bad Education's many superb threads weave expertly into one superlative garment. I loved the stories. I understand them as one story. But I waited for the grand emotional fusion which never quite came. The disparate threads are tightly knit in my head but not my heart.
09 I ♥ Huckabees (David O Russell) A comedy of chaotic singularity. It's been a long time since we've seen rapid-fire sophisticated verbal joking alongside manic slapstick. It's been an even longer time since the last "existential detective comedy" (Wait --was there a last one?)
If the cultural zeitgeist in 2004 had been all about playful soul-searching rather than blindly choosing sides, Huckabees may have hit big. The film's climax, a scene between two existential detectives (Hoffman & Tomlin) and corporate climber Brad Stand (Jude Law) is formed around the question "How am I not myself?" This inquiry is first posed as a throwaway. Brad's more defensive than curious. He's annoyed that the detectives have questioned his basic internal honesty. He exasperatedly asks "How am I not myself?" as if swatting them away. (What a silly thing to question!) But the detectives begin to repeat the inquiry aloud, spinning it around their own tongues to taste its true meaning. The comedy often emerges from the way they engage and disengage from conversations becoming distracted by their own curiousity. They are both service providers and true believers. But laughs are not the only purpose of this movie. The sequence darkens. Going about his day Brad moves from exasperation to self-loathing to fear, the question haunting him all the while. It takes on a mantra feeling by the end. It's a good question to answer, if you're up for it.
Like Mean Girls this is ridiculously rewatchable. I adore it and I still wish there could be a movie serial that ran before all features following the further exploits of Bernard and Vivian, existential detectives. In fact I wish they could interrupt every bad movie and start "investigating" the director, actors or screenwriter's issues. Why are you making this movie?
08Dogville (Lars von Trier) Prologue) In which we are stunned by brilliant staging and an impressive huge cast. Chapter 1) In which Grace (Nicole Kidman) arrives and Tom (Paul Bettany) the
obvious director-surrogate in this parable gives a 'moral lecture' and is immediately chastized by the narrator for "lashing out somewhat haphazardly in all directions." Chapter 2-5) "Happy Times" -The cast interacts lovingly... Chapter 6,7) until their love is exposed as shallow self-interest and their "true face" emerges and the film becomes totally shattering. Chapter 8,9) In which the director (Von Trier) lashes out somewhat haphazardly in all directions and the film ends.
Dogville is harrowing, excruciating in its inevitability, and unforgettable. While colder than the 'Golden Heart trilogy' (Breaking the Waves, The Idiots, Dancer in the Dark) which raised Von Trier's profile to an icon of divisiveness, Dogville is equally potent. Understandably misread as an Anti-American screed, it's closer to a condemnation of the entire human race. This town is "...not far from here."
07The Incredibles (Brad Bird) I saw The Incredibles three times within the month of its opening. And every time something else opened the following month that only looked half-appealing I thought to myself. "Now, self, you can always go and see The Incredibles again!" This great superhero film may be written off as comfort food, but it's not without nutritious value. I've never considered re-watchability to be the strongest indicator of quality but it counts as an obvious plus. The film's cheerful but serious inventiveness becomes more obvious upon repeat viewings.
Brad Bird, who also directed the last American 2-D animation classic The Iron Giant, deserves all the kudos he gets for this special toon. He also wrote the jam-packed, funny and relevant screenplay. He's not the first auteur to work in animation, but he's the genre's greatest superhero behind the scenes in quite some time. He may only be voicing Edna Mode ("I never look back! It distracts me from the 'now'.") but to me he's Mr. Incredible.
For more on Brad Bird, I suggest reading Robert's Directors of the Decade entry. I haven't seen this movie in too long. I'm totally watching it again as soon as this year's awards crush is over.
06Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (Kim Ki Duk) Gorgeously humane and intimately scaled, Spring... is the spiritual tonic that the cinemas most needed in this year of religious-fueled fury (The Passion) and human pettiness and ferocity (Dogville). Director Kim Ki Duk also moved from cruelty (see previous films) to peace and meditation here. spring, summer, fall, winter...and spring is structured with complete simplicity (the title is truthful), but what could have been a precious and obvious film is instead profoundly moving.
05Before Sunset (Richard Linklater) Making a sequel to a film as delicate and "moment in time"-ish as Before Sunrise seems like a fool's errand. But writer/director Linklater and his stars Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke are no fools. This re-meet is less cute (though still cuddly), deeper, and more resonant. It improbably improves the original, which is a pretty awesome trick. Celine and Jesse have aged well. Before Sunset's purity (it's told in real time) gives a beautiful ebb and flow to the chatty conversation and emotional reveals, and culminates in one of the great movie endings.
The last two movies just get to me. Man, do they get to me. Tears!
04Sideways (Alexander Payne) He's four for four now. Payne first made a mark in 1996 when Citizen Ruth won many cinephile hearts for its satirical know-how, poking fun (with gusto) at both sides in the eternal abortion rights battle. Next up came Election (my personal favorite) a hilarious high-school-as-macrocosm of politics movie. And finally, two years ago broader audiences finally discovered his work (with the help of a genuine legend Jack Nicholson) in About Schmidt. Apparently though, for a complete triumph with the sacred trinity of Audience|Critics|Oscar, the fourth time is the charm.
The current backlash-generated question is: Are critics wrong to have been so unanimous in declaring Sideways, a light angsty middle age buddy comedy, the best film of the year? Perhaps. Is that anything to hold against this funny, incisive, memorable, and superbly acted gem? Absolutely not. Drink up!
Though I still think the backlash was as suspect as it claimed the critical reaction was, I readily admit that I don't love this as much now. Before Sunset feels richer when it comes to romantic baggage and if the negatives of this and, say, Birth were on fire. I'd be trying to save Birth. You know? But it's a good movie. So there.
03Vera Drake (Mike Leigh) Leigh is most frequently thought of as an ensemble director. His now famous method of working involves months of rehearsal and improv with his team of actors before the movie has a real script and before any footage is shot. His films tend to have uniformly strong work from their entire teeming cast... even the bit roles are perfection. What is less often remarked upon is the way his film's are often built organically around one magical, lived-in and accomplished lead performance from a character actor. Add Imelda Staunton's Vera Drake to the list that includes Brenda Blethyn's teary Cynthia Purley (Secrets and Lies) and the great Jim Broadbent's towering, magnificent William Gilbert in Topsy Turvy.
I wish I had given Imelda Staunton my gold medal that year. I was too caught up in that silly Bening vs. Swank round two stuff. Argh! Done in by Oscar punditry and my own actressexual "issues".
02Spider-Man 2 (Sam Raimi) The first film in years to make me feel like a little kid again. Absolutely joyous from start to finish. My gratitude goes out to Tobey Macguire and Kirsten Dunst who continue to exhibit a rare chemistry. Kudos also to the team behind Doctor Octopus. Superheroes need a great rogues gallery and Doctor Octopus alone makes 2 a significant improvement on the original. I don't know if "there's a hero in all of us" but Sam Raimi is one in my book. He continues to show complete acceptance and love for that most maligned genre; the comic book film. This webslinging adventure is, quite simply, the greatest superhero movie ever. "Excelsior!"
When I first published my top ten list I never entered any text to explain my number one choice. For a movie that's at least partially about self-erasure, I suppose that's appropriate. The movie is utterly brilliant. Unlike Joel's memories, it will endure forever.
I know you love Eternal Sunshine, but what else made 2004 great for you? Oscar went crazy for Million Dollar Baby (I like it more now than I did back then), the public went crazy for Shrek 2 and The Passion of the Christ and The Bourne Supremacy.You? *
