Do you know "Raul"? I don't and I never cease to be fascinated by this bizzarre Cannes Festival tradition. Sometimes, just before a press screening, someone screams "Raouuul!". No one seems to know why or when this phenomenon started, but the most seasoned journalists I know told me that the Raoul tradition started many, many years ago. Maybe I can just google it and find an answer but every person I ask about it has a different theory, so I'm enjoying the mystery. Anyway, on to today's three films...
Mariner of the Mountains (Karim Aïnouz)
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
I took the ticket for the latest by the Brazilian director on a whim, because I woke up early that day and I really liked his previous feature, Invisible Life. I had read nothing about this one since sometimes I like to go in blindfolded. At first I was so confused by the form, a kind of infinite collage of short videos recorded with a smartphone and photos taken by Aïnouz himself during his first journey to Algeria...
He was searching for the small village where his father was born and relatives still live. Narrated by the director himself (via voice over), this almost amateurish documentaristic approach took me off guard. It was not an easy start, but in the end I loved watching his slow discovery of his own history, and that the film is a token of affection for his mother and a reflection on how his life could have been very different if his father has not left them both behind. Aïnouz is able to create an invisible but solid structure to his stream of consciousness, rich in symbols and personal discoveries. There is something inherently Brazilian in the way Aïnouz portrays his mother, the ghost of a travel companion. The portrayal of Algeria as a nation proud of the independence that was conquered with so much blood and sacrifice and yet unable to truly move on from that chapter is also interesting. Mariner of the Mountains has tangible longing and real melancholy. I loved it.
Compartment No. 6 (Juho Kuosmanen)
COMPETITION FILM
From Moscow to Murmansk with love. Here's one from the romantic side with a movie everyone is describing as the new Before Sunrise, but settled in the snow, the ice, and the decadence of '90 Russia. Based on a Finnish novel by Rosa Liksom, Hytti nro 6 is the chronicle of a travel on a very old and quite malfunctional Russian train. Two strangers have to share a small compartment for days to end. The woman Laura is a Finnish tourist and wannabe archeologist who was seduced by a Russian woman. The man Ljoha is the kind of foul-tempered heavy drinker and occasionally prosaic young Russian worker that "somewhere there must be a factory that produce these guys in large numbers". The initial collision between the two leads is full of suspicion and misconceptions. Learning to decode Ljoha's childish yet pure attitude will give Laura a profound, authentic experience of intimacy with a friend and maybe a lover. The romance, charged by amazing lead performances from Seidi Haarla and Yuriy Borisov, almost overshadows another strength of the movie: Laura's internal refocusing her dreams and learning to trust that female instict that is like "an animal that speak to every woman".
Flag Day (Sean Penn)
COMPETITION FILM
This is the true story of Jennifer Vogel, a brilliant investigative journalist who had to figure out how to save herself after a childhood filled with lies, abuse, and instability with an alcoholic mother and con artist father. The last Penn movie screened in Cannes was The Last Face. I watched the latter infamous movie a couple of years ago after realizing it was the only title from the 2016 competition that I had missed. I regret my completist attitude so much. The legend about how bad it is continues with good reason. Believe me: it's unwatchable.
Flag Day is much better, but I am afraid I don't have any other good news. This does not feel like a movie directed by the same man behind Into the Wild, but at least it is not harmful. It is so clear how much Sean Penn loves his daughter Dylan Penn, who plays Jennifer Vogel. He wants the world to see her as he see her, as a super brilliant, lovable actress. That father's eye love makes him too partial. The movie is almost petulantly insistent on making us fans by always focusing on her face, her eyes, her voice. Unfortunately what's revealed is a not-so-remarkable performance. Perhaps she merely lacks experience. Perhaps she did not inherit her parents' gifts.
With a more skilled actress in the leading role Flag Day might have worked better, but there are some stylistic faults as well. Penn direction is extremely heavy-handed. He shows us and then tells us about the misery repeatedly. Do you get it? It's so sad, so sad. I would advise skipping this one.
Previously
Diary Entry #1 Annette
Diary Entry #2 Everything Went Fine, Onada, Yasha-ga-ike
Diary Entry #3 Worst Person in the World, Velvet Underground, Lingui, etc
Diary Entry #4 Benedetta, La Fracture, Mothering Sunday