Cannes Day 5-6: "Killing of a Sacred Deer" and "Happy End"
Monday, May 22, 2017 at 8:44PM by Nathaniel R
How's that hunt for our Palme d'Or and runner up prizes coming? Here are the five latest in competition films to screen.
"The Meyerowitz Stories"
Netflix's second (and possibly last) Palme hopeful in the running is the latest from Noah Baumbach. It's an all star comedy and the cast appeared to be having quite a lot of fun on the red carpet. But, then, everyone always has a good time when Emma Thompson is around. I remember reading an article about her in Premiere once in the 90s and some director said 'if you have a choice between two actors and they're both equally good but one of them is Emma Thompson, you go with Emma Thompson because the set will be a much happier place' or some such. I don't remember it exactly. Word is that Ben Stiller steals the show and Adam Sandler stretches a bit, which is what working with an auteur did for him the last time he tried it (Punch Drunk Love)
Palme d'Or Contender: NO (but people seem to like it)
Reviews: Vulture, The Guardian, Collider
Le Redoutable: Loved this self-referential witty & oh so stylish film about Jean-Luc Godard. Lots of Easter eggs for film geeks! #Cannes2017 pic.twitter.com/yyRCNsTsYZ
— Alicia Malone (@aliciamalone) May 22, 2017
"Le Redoutable"
Michel Hazanavicius, who won the Best Director Oscar for The Artist is experiencing a warmer reception this time than he did last time he was at Cannes with The Search. Though that's not saying much since people really didn't like the former. He's made a comic French New Wave pastiche about Jean-Luc Godard's early years with perpetually ubiquitous Louis Garrel as the auteur and Stacy Martin as his young lover (the other leading star of the film). Robbing Garrel of his trademark mop of curls to play the male pattern baldness of Godard seems so perverse though! I can't get over it.
Palme d'Or Contender? NO
Reviews: Vanity Fair, The Guardian, Hollywood News
Haneke, Trintignan, Huppert, and Kassovitz at the photocall for Happy End
"Happy End"
Michael Haneke is back! Jean-Louis Trintignan and Isabelle Huppert play father and daughter again as they did in Amour and apparently this familial drama is also, um, familiar, playing out like a greatest hits package of other Haneke films. People seem to really like it but do I detect a slight underwhelmed-but-I'm-a-Haneke-fan tone to the raves?
Palme d'Or Contender: UNLIKELY unless they're in the mood to stan for Haneke again
Reviews: The Telegraph, Variety, The Playlist
Haneke: Can anyone outdo my fucked-up Cannes movie HAPPY END, with its cruel perversions and teen sociopaths?
— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) May 22, 2017
Lanthimos: Hold my DEER
"Killing of a Sacred Deer"
Director Yorgos Lanthimos, who came to fame with Dogtooth and last year blessed the world with his highly original and blackly comic The Lobster, is getting prolific. He's already done shooting his follow up to Killing of a Sacred Deer which is called The Favourite. Deer seems to be splitting critics, some find it a razor sharp brilliant psychological horror film (with echoes of Kubrick?) others are giving it zero stars and calling it "sadism" The film stars Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman as a surgeon and his wife. Their family is coming apart at the seams due to... well, I don't read reviews of movies I don't want spoiled for me.
Palme d'Or Chances: 50/50. It appears to be extremely divisive... so let's bet it wins something other than the Palme as a way for its haters on the jury to codify its passionate fans on the same jury.
Reviews: Variety, The Film Stage, The Guardian
THE DAY AFTER (Hong): Sad to report that this is Hong's first ever ba... Who am I kidding, this is great. #Cannes2017
— Jordan Cronk (@JordanCronk) May 22, 2017
"The Day After"
This the latest film from Hong Sang Soo the director who holds the title of "Most Revered 'Master' That Nathaniel Doesn't Get At All.' I can usually understand why any of the directors who people start calling 'masters' are revered, even if I don't personally jibe with their aesthetic but he's the exception. I also dislike using the word boring to describe films (it's often lazy criticism designed for people who aren't willing to really watch what a movie that isn't plot focused is telling us visually) but his films even bore me visually! I haven't read any reviews or seen a trailer but I'm betting this one consists of some sort of romantic relationship, possibly extramarital and vaguely defined, with lots of sitting at tables to eat and walking around parks, and maybe some confusion about whether or not some of it is real or if the chronology is a bit jumbled or merely looping because that's what the ones I've seen have consisted of.
Palme d'Or Chances: GOD I HOPE NOT
Reviews: The Guardian, Screen Anarchy, The Hollywood Reporter
Reader Comments (25)
i always think it would be impossible to love emma thompson any more than i already do, and she always proves me wrong.
I want to see Killing of a Sacred Deer, Happy End, and the new Noah Baumbach as I read some of the reviews for those films and I'm intrigued. Cannes is more interesting when there's a film out there that is polarizing and those are the ones that stick out the most.
I'm perfectly fine with the "boring" label. Film criticism is all subjective anyways, so why not just skip the verbosity and call a spade a spade?
I don't care what kind of visual-allegory Malick was tryin' to sell...I thought "The Tree of Life" was bow-ring.
...but then I'm one of those plot-guys. Like a song and a good melody, I like plots with my films.
What I love about Emma is that she doesn't take herself too seriously. I think some celebrities (you don't always have to be dead serious to command respect) need to take a cue or two from her when they're doing interviews or attending film premieres. I can only imagine how fun it is to be on set with her!
I want to see KILLING OF A SACRED DEER right NOW. The reviews I skimmed (Screen International and Indiewire) seemed positive.
Imagine if this becomes an across-the-board Oscar contender. There could come a day when critics turn up their noses at Lanthimos for making Oscar bait!
Maybe not so far-fetched when you consider DOGTOOTH and THE LOBSTER are both Oscar nominees...
Something's telling me Haneke wins the Palme again and Lanthimos gets the Prix de la mise-en-scène?
Is Sacred Deer "extremely divisive" though? It has 92% on Rotten Tomatoes so far and there are about 3 or 4 raves yet to be added....
The reviews I've read of Killing of a Sacred Deer have been flat-out raves. It doesn't sound particularly Oscar-y, but who cares about that.
One critic compared Nicole Kidman in this to her mesmerizing turn in Birth - that is a HIGH compliment, indeed! Can't wait.
never stand nicole in front of a beige wall - look what happens
[maybe she's on the poster after all..?]
Emma is the BEST when it comes to Red Carpets, press tours, and award shows. Remember how delightful she was in Toronto, doing her darnedest to sell that meh movie with a terrible title, Love Punch?
Can't wait to see Killing of a Sacred Deer. The Lobster was one of my favs of the last two years.
Right now, I think TKOASD takes the Palme, that or 120 BPM
Kassovitz makes me swoon
Yesterday was the premiere of Andre Techine's Nos Annees Folles/The Golden Years at Cannes, mostly to very positive reviews and a positive reception by the audience for a wonderful Cannes moment.
I've read scathing reviews of Killing of a Sacred Deer that make it my most anticipated film of the year. The negatives I'm seeing are a lack of character development, clinical tone, and violence, which to me seems like Yorgos' other films being criticized in the same way.
Rotten Tomatoes gives Sacred Deer 92% rating. They praise Colin's performance but do not mention Nicole's s.
K, Nicole's performance has been mentioned and praised in basically every review posted on that site so far, save for maybe one.
Keep trolling. :)
Better read again
She is given credit for being in the movie. That's all.
@Nathaniel I am very surprised you have not done a piece on The Wizard of Lies. Both de Niro and Pfeiffer deliver very good performances.
By the way, if setting facts straight is trolling, then I am a troller withe a capital
T. I will stop there as name calling as do many on this blog do is totally useless.
K -- i'm a little overwhelmed this week but I will write about it soon.
All shall bow before CALL ME BY YOUR NAME this Thanksgiving.
Lord knows Almodovar enjoys a bit of sadism, but maybe like Tarantino and OLDBOY, he'll be forced to give it the Director or Jury Prize instead.
You are soooo right about Hong. Thanks for spelling it out. I thought I was alone. I've seen THREE (and a half) of his movies and have been bored stiff by all three (and a half). And I love other slow burns that are interesting. Why do I keep giving him a chance?
So far I think BPM is the frontrunner. I'm still holding out hope that Lynne Ramsay comes along and blows everyone away with her late entry.