Cannes Diary #3: From Haynes to Trier, a binge-watch kind of day

TFE is thrilled to have a correspondent on the ground in Cannes this year. Thank you to Elisa Giudici.

The Velvet Underground

by Elisa Guidici

It was a really intense day. I was greedy, I could not say no to the majority of the movies screened today so I basically spent the third day inside Palais, running from one screening to another. Six in all (!) With some positive surprises.

The Velvet Underground  (Todd Haynes)
OUT OF COMPETITION

It is perhaps predictable that Todd Haynes would do a fine job in telling the story of Velvet Underground in his newest documentary. He is the man behind Velvet Goldmine and I'm Not There so he has already shown an understanding of the sensibility and the struggle of rock music genre and inner restlessness...

Click to read more ...

Cannes at Home: Day 4

by Cláudio Alves

Benedetta has arrived! Going into Cannes, Paul Verhoeven's promised delirium of Baroque nunsploitation was one of the most anticipated titles in competition. As the mixed reactions pour out of the Croisette, international expectations have only increased; Unanimous praise would be disappointing for such a film. Beyond Verhoeven in the Competition lineup, Catherine Corsini also premiered her latest La Fracture. Other promising new titles outside the competition slate are Eva Husson's Mothering Sunday and Karim Aïnouz's Mariner of the Mountains. As we wait for those four gourmet prospects to be released or come to a future festival near us, we look back at these directors' past works, to find many visions of carnality, both sensual and disturbing...

Click to read more ...

74th Cannes. Red Carpet from Days 1-3

by Nathaniel R

We already covered opening night fashion so let's check in on days 2 and 3. Unfortunately we can't be as comprehensive as we once were in previous years. We used to live on the site Zimbio when they released enormous day-by-day galleries including basically every celebrity, whether they were famous internationally or not and every red carpet shot, whether or not it was a particularly good one including non-glam people like old film directors. They've done away with that section and now you have to look for specific people (so you have to magically know who might have attended each screening). Otherwise you can only see highlights (like every other site) which means you see the same very famous celebrities over and over again. And you lose some of the coolest sightings of rising stars or obscure stars from various countries who are not that famous outside of their home country. Which sucks for internationally minded cinephiles like us...  Ah well. On to the red carpet premiere lewks we did see...

Who gets your vote for best dressed from the first few days?

Click to read more ...

Cannes Diary #2: New Ozon and old Japanese sensations

by Elisa Giudici

At the premiere of "Everything Went Fine"

The Festival has really begun and I finally discovered where the press room is inside the enormous Palais. Free coffees and soft drinks for journalists are a treat I never experienced at other festivals (so I'm feeling spoiled). The room is lovely with its wooden tables and cream colored seats with a view on the blue sea. The day after Annette, it's still the first question everyone asks: do you like it or not? I've already had interesting discussion about the movie with a couple of colleagues. I am really curious to see how it will be received by broader audience after the "festival bubble" ends.

But on to the day two screenings...

Click to read more ...

Cannes at Home: Day 3

by Cláudio Alves

The third day of this year's Cannes Film Festival was a busy one. First, there were two premieres for films in the main competition, Joachim Trier's The Worst Person in the World and Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's Lingui. The response to the latter was so effusive, some are already calling it a contender for the Palme d'Or. Then, in the Un Certain Regard section, Kogonada's sophomore feature, After Yang, took its bow. Other premieres from prominent directors included Andrea Arnold's Cow and Tom McCarthy's Stillwater. Our Cannes at Home program is made up of past films from this illustrious quintet, encompassing a meditation on loss, an allegory of civil war, love songs for architecture, and more.

OSLO, AUGUST 31ST (2011)
From dawn to dawn, a young man ponders the end. Joachim Trier gives a premise fit for po-faced European miserabilism a fresh face in Oslo, August 31st. While not treading new ground, the tale of potential death is all about life, approaching the material with a form that rarely overstates the idea with either in-your-face vitality or florid nihilism...

Click to read more ...