Elisa Giudici reporting from Cannes
Benoit Magimet & Juliette Binoche star in "La Passion de Dodin Bouffant"
Another edition of the Cannes Film Festival is close to the finish line. It's time for some 'for your considerations', some praise for my favourites, and the impossible task of predicting the Palme d'Or winner. Predictions which will quickly be outdated by the actual winners at the closing ceremony.
How was this Cannes Film Festival overall? I managed to see all of the Competition titles (a couple more reviews coming), a large chunk of Out of Competition titles and a couple each from Quinzaine and Un Certain Regard. The general impression is that this Cannes edition lacks a masterpiece that everyone agrees upon. This absence is perceived only in these final hours, when we're all trying to guess the big winner. But the competition did feature a large group of excellent movies. There was only one terrible movie (sorry Sean Penn, but Black Flies in competition was a bad joke)...
Pierre Niney stars in Michel Gondry's "The Book of Solutions"
From the Cannes Premiere section was able to see the new Michel Gondry The Book of Solutions as well as Victor Erice's return Close Your Eyes. Both films deserved so much more visibility, not to mention a place in the main competition. This greed to feature great movies just to be sure they can not premiere later in a competing festivals has damaged the visibility of many a movie and worthy director. A couple of screenings in smaller cinemas far from the center of the Festival, at the same time the Main Competition entries are premiering makes it impossible for the bulk of the press to see and cover these deserving movies.
There are just too many movies to create a reasonable chedule. Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon had just two screenings, Almodóvar's Strange Way of Life, just one. There were several moments of tension in the queue to last minutes access, some ticket holders remained outside because of a badly managed system of priorities. Next year I hope to see fewer titles giving them all a chance to shine.
PERSONAL FAVOURITES
The "best" two hours of cinema at Cannes this week was probably The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer. It is so rare to see someone trying to push the cinema into new territory. But because it's so radical it's destiny is to be polarizing. It is not exactly the kind of movie you want to see a second of third time, to have a nice evening.
"Anatomy of a Fall"
Listening to my heart, though, only two titles gave me absolutely everything I want from a good movie: phenomenal lead performances with ambiguous characters to play, Hollywood melodrama, sensual atmosphere and a director who knows how to captivate his or her audience, until an unexpected betrayal. Anatomy of a Fall (review forthcoming) by Justine Trier has it all, plus the most strinking performance by a dog I’ve seen in years. May December has it all too, doubled by the Portman/Moore duo and by a soundtrack that soon became an obsession.
Honorable mention to old foxes who know how to make a great come back: Wim Wenders, Aki Kaurismaki, Marco Bellocchio, and Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Any of them might put their hands on the Palme (for the first or the second one) if the Jury feels a little nostalgic.
I also want to give a shout out to La Passion de Dodin Bouffant by Trần Anh Hùng. For me is the real surprise of this edition: a movie ready to enter into the canon of cinematic food porn and a sensual flick with some intense chemistry between Benoit Magimel and Julieitte Binoche (who happen to be former partners). The work of bot the photography and direction here is mesmering.
WHO WILL WIN?
I spoke with a lot of colleagues and no one is sure of nothing. Not even the acting prizes, that are often easier to guess than the Palme. With the expection of Black Flies, I can't say there's a single title in the Main Competition that's totally out of the game for prizes of some kind. So, what will Östlund’s jury do? Rumors here say The Zone of Interest or Anatomy of a Fall are the most likely winners. Both movies are also strong contenders for Best Director and Grand Jury Prize, so someone else can take advantage if the jury opts to give them one of those instead.
Will it be the year of Kaurismaki? My gut says no. It the jury will go for a movie able to put a smile on everyone’s faces, I think they’ll go for Wim Wenders’ A Perfect Day.
So, to sum up my guesses:
Palm d’Or - Anatomy of a Fall
Grand Prix - Fallen Leaves
Director - Jonathan Glazer
Screenplay - Ceylan, Kaurismaki or Rohrwacher
Actor - Kōji Yakusho for Perfect Day
Actress - Natalie Portman and/or Julianne Moore for May December, or Sandra Huller for Anatomy of a Fall if the film does not win the Palme or Grand Prix
FUN MISCELLANIA
The Dogs: This year Cannes is a dog festival. So many adorable dogs featured in so many movies. A couple of them have a substantial role in movie as this year's Palm Dog winner, the protagonist of Anatomy of a Fall. But Beware: a good part of these adorable dogs meets a very brutal, tragic, unbearable to watch end -- Doesthedogdie.com will have a lot of work to do.
Trend: From Asteroid City through The Book of Solution, May December, Four Daughters, and A Brigher Tomorrow: the real trend of Cannes 2023 is the movie within a movie. In general, the level of meta-narrative was higher than the past. It seems to be the future of cinematic storytelling.
"The New Boy" with Cate Blanchett
Strange Connections: The New Boy and Kidnapped feature nearly the same scene about a kid freeing Jesus from his cross. Last Summer feels like the French prequel of May December. And Moretti threatens to call Martin Scorsese within his movie, and they're both here at Cannes.
Best WTF? moment: The fridge scene from May December is too outtrageously funny to forget. Another strong contender, for acute observers, is Black Flies director Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire thanking the Archangel Michael in the credits of the movie.
Best sex scene: There was not too much competition this year, unfortunately. Last Summer contains some steamy hot passages, but my favourite is from La Passion de Dodin Bouffant, from Trần Anh Hùng. Benoît Magimel sensously prepares a dessert with pears, touching the fruits with authentic devotion. After a transition the naked body of Juliette Binoche has replaced the pear, in the very same position, contemplated, touched and adored by Magimel.
A little more to come and then I return to Italy. Thank you for reading!