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It's unfortunate that Cannes' official website doesn't cover films that are part of the sidebar competitions, namely "Directors' Fornight" and "Critics' Week." Norwegian filmmaker Brett Hamer (Kitchen Stories) has a film playing in the "Directors' Fortnight." It's called Factotum, based on Charles Bukowski's work. The film stars Matt Dillon, Lili Taylor, and Marisa Tomei. Not much info is available at this point, but apparently the film came out in Norway last month. Here's the trailer.
"...Norwegian director named Bent Hamer, whose wry, eccentric comedy "Kitchen Stories" was in the Directors' Fortnight here a few years back, has gotten Bukowski right with "Factotum," which is playing in the Fornight this year. Matt Dillon, who seems to be getting better with every film, plays Bukowski's alter ego Henry Chinaski, rambling from job to job and woman to woman, writing his stories out longhand and consuming impressive quantities of liquor and tobacco. Lili Taylor and Marisa Tomei, both excellent, are the hard-luck women who share Henry's life for a spell."
NY Times.
"The 58th Cannes International Film Festival started on Wednesday, but for some of its attendees the event began in earnest three days later with the premiere of Michael Haneke's "Caché" (Hidden), the first important film to show in competition. One of the most vital filmmakers working today, the German-born Mr. Haneke has been at the festival seven times before, including with his most recent films, "Code Unknown," "The Piano Teacher" and "The Time of the Wolf." All are meaty, complex works and all but "The Piano Teacher," which features deviant sex and an unplugged Isabelle Huppert, received negligible attention in the United States.
It's too early to tell when and if "Caché" will make it to American art houses, partly because its willfully unglamorous subject is violence as it plays out in the field of memory and the culture of fear."
On Distribution:
"Yesterday, I ran into a very smart Industry Bigwig and asked if he had seen anything he liked. Well, he "loves" the Michael Haneke film "Caché," but he also thinks it would be a tough sell to the older art-house audience, you know, those folks who support banal French movies about singing orphans and the like [Sounds familiar!]. Well, I think it's time to kill off that audience — and grow a new audience — if the only films we are going to get from abroad are nice, nauseatingly polite works about characters who simply hold up a mirror to that audience, who wear nice clothes, live in nice houses and have discreet but finally resolvable crises. If someone doesn't buy "Caché," and give it a seriously funded push, then the state of film distribution in the United States is far worse than I thought."
Bravo.
NY Times.
Yes I was. Sorry but that film was a thirty minute movie stretched out to 90 minutes. He's done much better, and I'm hoping that this film at Cannes will prove that he still has some great work left in him. But hey more power to you if you loved Spider.Quote:
Originally posted by arsaib4
Hold on a minute...you're not talking about Spider, are you?
I certainly found Spider to be one of the most psychologically assured and brazenly complex of Cronenberg's films. Looking forward to his latest. Maybe we can go further into this upon its release.Quote:
Originally posted by wpqx
Yes I was. Sorry but that film was a thirty minute movie stretched out to 90 minutes. He's done much better, and I'm hoping that this film at Cannes will prove that he still has some great work left in him. But hey more power to you if you loved Spider.
As expected, the film is dividing critics and audiences. If the reports are true, then it will appeal to the same group of people who loved Dogville.
Lars Von Trier: "So in fact I am American,..."
Much more on the film's page at Cannes' website. Be sure to check out the video-clips (on the left) of the press-conferences.
Just read this morning that Trier got a standing ovation for Manderlay and that his film and Cronenberg's History of Violence are strong contenders for the top prize.
True. Many are also considering Haneke's Hidden for a prize. But Hou and the Dardennes are still yet to come! And, Sin City, of course.Quote:
Originally posted by Johann
Just read this morning that Trier got a standing ovation for Manderlay and that his film and Cronenberg's History of Violence are strong contenders for the top prize.
"...The Child had been greeted with cheers and applause after its first press screening at the Cannes Film Festival. Critics who have lustily booed other competition films this year left The Child extolling its greatness."
I almost starting crying just reading about it.
The Mexicans are CHEATING! (That's Carlos Reygadas, Mexican director of the highly controversial Battle in Heaven kissing a Mexican jury member.)
Latest Critics' Poll:
Hidden: 3.3
Broken Flowers: 3.2
The Child: 3.2
A History of Violence: 2.8
Manderlay: 2.7
Last Days: 2.4
Lemming: 2.2
Where the Truth Lies: 2.1
Election: 2.0
Shanghai Dreams: 2.0
Battle in Heaven: 1.6
Kilometre Zero: 1.6
Bashing: 1.5
Once You're Born: 1.5
Sony Pictures Classics have picked up Joyeux Noel, which is playing out-of-competition. Directed by Christian Carion, this WWI drama stars French actors Guillaume Canet and Dany Boon, along with Germany's Daniel Bruehl and Diane Kruger.
SPC will also distribute the controversial new BBC doc, The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear, which was reviewed by Chris Darke in the latest issue of Film Comment (art-directed by our moderator, Pmw).
Woody Allen's latest film, Match Point, is receiving lots of accolades. The inevitible comment "his best film in years...." is of course being thrown around.
I, for one, think the criticism of his more recent films has been a bit unfounded. True, maybe they haven't been as good as Annie Hall, but they've still been entertaining and funny.
Any reason why this film isn't "In Competition" at Cannes? I have no idea of the politics or procedures involved.
Like Arsaib, I too loved Spider. Every second of it. The pacing of the film is locked into the subconscious of Spider, himself a rather non-linear, inefficient thinker. I can't imagine it being any shorter. I have a feeling the days of the more psy-fi Crone have passed. He seems somewhat cerebrally interested in drawing out the psychologies from less charged plot setups. We'll see... whatever his choices, I look forward to seeing the films. Cant wait for A History of Violence.Quote:
Originally posted by wpqx
Yes I was. Sorry but that film was a thirty minute movie stretched out to 90 minutes. He's done much better, and I'm hoping that this film at Cannes will prove that he still has some great work left in him. But hey more power to you if you loved Spider.
P
Quote:
Originally posted by arsaib4
SPC will also distribute the controversial new BBC doc, The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear, which was reviewed by Chris Darke in the latest issue of Film Comment (art-directed by our moderator, Pmw).
Hey,
I have watched this at the SFIFF ...
Just too busy to reveal it ...
Also, the director was there for Q&A ... (at Berkeley PFA)
If only someone here knows people from SFS (I think they taped the Q&A), maybe you could get them to produce the Q&A in verbatim ...
Why?
Because it was very insightful ... i.e., what was asked and how it was answered ... I can only recall some of them ... but still ... the director's answers are better than what I vaguely recall ... hee hee ...
(1) Before the movie was screened, the director was humorous ... he informed that he had distributions in about 25 (or 28) countries ... however, US was apparently missing ... *audience chuckled* ... then he added ... "However, one has to be humble, maybe it is indeed that boring ..." *audience laughed* ...
(2) Some of the tougher Q&A included ...
-- You parallel the "prevention approach" with the green movement? Are you denouncing its merits?
-- Do you think Bush and Blair genuinely believe what they did?
etc ...
Quote:
Originally posted by arsaib4
Latest Critics' Poll:
Hidden: 3.3
Broken Flowers: 3.2
The Child: 3.2
A History of Violence: 2.8
Manderlay: 2.7
Last Days: 2.4
Lemming: 2.2
Where the Truth Lies: 2.1
Election: 2.0
Shanghai Dreams: 2.0
Battle in Heaven: 1.6
Kilometre Zero: 1.6
Bashing: 1.5
Once You're Born: 1.5
Hi,
Is the info from the Screen International Magazine ...?
A few days ago, I read that the following are favorites ...
-- Hidden (aka Cache)
-- The Child (aka L'Enfant)
-- Manderlay
;)
Why is there no talk about the most controversial film in the festival?
hiaks hiaks ...
* drum roll * ...
it is ...
-- The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael
Most reports did explain why ... but they contained spoilers ... sigh
My bet is it's Jarmusch's time to shine.
Broken Flowers is creating a stir. An industry "insider" was on Classic Rock 101 radio today carping about the reception his new film got yesterday.
Palm D'or for Sir Jim? Please make it so.
I think you're being a bit generous throwing Annie Hall into the mix, but you may have a point, at least with a couple of his recent efforts. On the other hand, when someone sets a high standard, like Allen did early on in his career, people expect more. It's only natural I think.Quote:
Originally posted by JustaFied
I, for one, think the criticism of his more recent films has been a bit unfounded. True, maybe they haven't been as good as Annie Hall, but they've still been entertaining and funny.
Any reason why this film isn't "In Competition" at Cannes? I have no idea of the politics or procedures involved.
I'm sure many critics will be bemoaning this fact in the upcoming months, even though, the competition films are said to be strongest in years. While in most cases, the decision just comes down to what the programmers think are the best works, I think here it was a last minute decision to include it at all. I actually believe Allen when he said that he only came because of his wife.
That's great, hengcs. Looking forward to hearing more about it. You guessed right about the poll.Quote:
Originally posted by hengcs
The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear
Hey,
I have watched this at the SFIFF ...
Just too busy to reveal it ...
I guess we can still trust some of our distributors. Sony Pictures Classics are on a roll: They've picked up Michael Haneke's Hidden (Cache). SPC's president Michael Barker said that the film will be launched later this year at the festivals in Toronto and New York.
Michael Haneke's Hidden has won both the FIPRESCI and the Ecumenical Prizes. Expect another award tomorrow.
Well, apparently Hou came in and told the kids to move out of the way:
"Hou Hsiao Hsien had taken our breath away. I have written earlier about the folly of coming to Cannes expecting masterpieces, but no sooner had I weaned myself of this habit than a masterpiece was staring me in the face. "
"Seijun Suzuki's Princess Raccoon is mad, nuts, lysergic, wonderful, kitsch, genius, smutty, sexy, funny, funny, funny, Zhang Ziyi, Joe Odagiri, Kabuki,"Snow White," "The Wizard of Oz," "Romeo and Juliet," Noh, hip-hop, rock, Broadway, Disney, fuzzy-wuzzys, yakuza, swordsman, by the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea, the cherry blossoms are in bloom again. In other words: I had a blast."
Blogging uncovered 7 minutes of footage. Available here (Real Media Format).
I believe IFC (Independent Film Channel) will broadcast the ceremony live at 1:00 pm ET. It will be repeated later on tonight.
Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne have won the Palme'dOr for L'Enfant
(They also won the top award in 1999 for ROSETTA)
Grand Prix: "Broken Flowers" by Jim Jarmusch
Best Actress Award: Hanna Laslo in "Free Zone"
Best Actor Award: Tommy Lee Jones in "The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada"
Best Director Award: "Hidden" by Michael Haneke
Best Screenplay Award to Guillermo Arriaga for "The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada" by Tommy Lee Jones
Prix du Jury: "Shanghai Dreams " by Wang Xiaoshuai
Caméra d'Or Winner: "The Forsaken Land" and "Me And You And Everyone We Know"
All Hail The Dardennes.
Jarmusch won too- excellent. Can't wait for his film to arrive here.
Thanks Arsaib4- you beat me to the winners.
rock paper scissors...
True. Also, congrats to Tommy Lee Jones and his screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros/21 Grams) for their prizes. And to Michael Haneke (Code Innocu/The Piano Teacher/Time of the Wolf) and Wang Xiaoshuai, of course.
Quote:
Originally posted by arsaib4
Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne have won the Palme'dOr for L'Enfant
(They also won the top award in 1999 for ROSETTA)
...
yahoooooooooooooooooooooooo
I like their La Promesse
;)
Quote:
Originally posted by arsaib4
Well, apparently Hou came in and told the kids to move out of the way:
"Hou Hsiao Hsien had taken our breath away. I have written earlier about the folly of coming to Cannes expecting masterpieces, but no sooner had I weaned myself of this habit than a masterpiece was staring me in the face. "
I actually like works by Chang Chen ...
But somehow, he never get to win any awards ...
hee hee
http://www.festival-cannes.fr/films/...d_film=4283744
The Son is one of my all time favorites. Great for those two. They are stand-up dudes. Had the chance to hang with them a few years back during the NYFF and they were completely gracious and kind.Quote:
Originally posted by hengcs
yahoooooooooooooooooooooooo
I like their La Promesse
;)
No awards for Monsieur Cronenberg? Oh well...
That's great to hear, P. It'd be an honor to meet them someday. I love both La Promesse and The Son, but I must say that Rosetta remains the most important for me. If it was their "Mouchette," then many are now saying that L'Enfant is their "Pickpocket." One can't get a better compliment than that.
Let's hope that Monsieur Cronenberg's stuff is good enough for the Oscars. A History of Violence will be released by New Line on Sep 30th.
Along with sharing the Caméra D'Or award, Miranda July's Me and You and Everyone We Know also won the top prize in the Critics' Week sidebar. July was discussed by Chris Chang in a recent issue of Film Comment, and the film is reviewed in the latest one.
More Awards:
Prix Un Certain Regard (Top Award]
Moartea Domnului Lazarescu, dir: Cristi Puiu (Romania)
Un Certain Regard - Prix de l'intimité
Le Filmeur, dir : Alain Cavalier (France)
Un Certain Regard - Prix de l'espoir
Delwende, dir : S. Pierre Yameogo (Germany)
Newly formed Picturehouse films (combination of NewMarket and HBO/Fineline) will distribute the Norwegian film Factotum. Directed by Brett Hamer (Kitchen Stories), the film stars Matt Dillion, Lili Taylor, and Marisa Tomei. The film played in the Directors' Fortnight sidebar. (More info/trailer was posted earlier in this thread.)
Artificial-Eye's acquisitions at Cannes 2005:
Hidden (Haneke)
The Child (Dardennes)
Three Times (Hou)
Lemming (Moll)
Shanghai Dreams (Xiaoshuai)
Le Temps Qui Reste (Ozon)
The Sun (Sokurov)
This is quite important because at least a couple of these films are not going to find a U.S. distributor. AE (U.K.) always does a wonderful job with its DVDs.
_________
Scott Foundas (LA Weekly/Variety) is back from Cannes (he served on the Camera d'Or jury)...here are some of his thoughts.
God Bless Sony Pictures. After acquiring Hidden last week, they've now bought the U.S. rights for the Palme d'Or winner from Celluloid Dreams. Yup, L'Enfant, is on its way here. No release date set yet.
Well, it turns out that Woody Allen films are still quite valuable. Dreamworks have picked up the North American rights for his latest, Match Point, for $4 million which is a big sum when it comes to indies. The London based film stars Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Emily Mortimer.
Some great news! IFC Films has picked up U.S. rights to Lars von Trier's Cannes competition entry Manderlay.
IFC has scheduled a 2005 release date.
Statement from IFC:
"Von Trier is a lightning rod for controversy and there is no denying that Manderlay will provoke and engage audiences upon its release. Love him or hate him, Lars von Trier is unarguably one of the world's great auteurs."
Couldn't agree more.
What happened to Lion's Gate?
I think Lion's Gate is distributing it in Canada.
Tommy Lee Jones' The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada, which won the awards for Best Actor (Jones) and Best Screenplay (Guillermo Arriaga), still doesn't have a U.S. distributor. The film is scheduled to open in France in August.
Trailer (possible spoilers): http://www.threeburials-lefilm.com/f...urials_640.swf
(Macromedia Flash format/High Bandwidth required).
Cinema-Scope has just posted its Cannes report on the web. Here it is. (C'mon Film Comment.)