Robert (author of Distant Relatives) here with more info from Cannes. The Palme found another strong competitor with Aki Kaurismaki's La Havre. Probably the highest profile director from Finland (if you know him from anything it would probably be 2002's The Man Without a Past), Kaurismaki has been off the scene for five years. His return takes him to the French town of the films' title and a couple who attempt to help an illegal immigrant who's being pursued by a tough cop. The Playlist's Kevin Jagernauth notes the rapturous applause that greeted the film and says it "now matches The Artist for the biggest, most rousing crowd-pleaser of the festival."
Meanwhile director Bertrand Bonello had perhaps the least desired spot in the fest. His film House of Tolerance about the comraderie in a brothel mixed in with heaping helpings of violence and sex opened the same day as The Tree of Life. But having little attention payed to it, may turn out to be a good deal for him. MUBI has a good rundown of the mixed critical response to the film.
Links Ultra Culture Cannes Abuse Checklist. An invaluable chart! Boy Culture scores the first Val Lauren interview post Sal Mineo / James Franco casting. Scanners Opening Shots: Woody Allen's Another Woman IndieWire wonders if winning the Palme D'Or equals box office revenue. Well... it might if any Palme D'Or were released immediately after their win. But by the time they're released summer prestige glory is usually a footnote. Take Uncle Boonmee. No, it was never going to be a "hit" but wouldn't it have played better if it had a normal curve of buzz, release, discussion? Instead of opening 10 months later?
Tilda, Ezra and Lynne Ramsay at the WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN premiere
Movie|Line wonders if a slow burn favorite might win the Palme D'Or instead of The Tree of Life. Cannes Jury predictions crack me up each year because everyone assumes its done deals (just like the Oscars)... but it's often far from predictable. Towleroad GLAAD Awards. Kim Cattrall's acceptance speech is quite funny. 'I played a gay man on a popular tv show' Slash Film Tilda Swinton and Michael Fassbender for a Jim Jarmusch vampire flick? Curious and possibly awesome. I guess this means that Countess movie with Tilda isn't happening though. I can't see her doing two vampire films in a row. Film Doctor steals notes froms the Mrs for Bridesmaids
Gagging on Game of Thrones I know that my initial impression of HBO's Game of Thrones was far less favorable than most critics and fantasy fans, but can I at least get an amen that the casting of both "fourth in line" Renly Barantheon and his lover The Knight of Flowers, who are often described in the book as intensely charismatic, is terribly off. The casting does not reflect either The Knight of Flowers legendary beauty or Renly's reputation as the most charming fellow in the Seven Kingdoms. They both come across as whiny slightly-bitchy wimps which is about a 180 from the books wherein The Knight is someone you'd NEVER want to meet on a battlefield he's so deadly physically and Renly is someone everyone wishes were king. I really am not pleased with this. And I did not to hear those campy sound effects for well, MOVING ON... But I'll admit that for all my reservations, the series is hooking me just like the first novel did. That first novel was so brilliantly plotted but I really must stop watching this before it goes off the plot horse never to remount in any subsequent books or, uh, seasons as the new case may be.
A Beatty-ful Summer Tonight in New York City at 92 Street Y, elusive actress/writer/director Elaine May will be showing her cut of the infamous 80s flop Ishtar starring Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman. May will discuss the movie afterwards which she rarely does. I'm totally going. Tickets are still available. And then in June, the man himself will be appearing at a Dick Tracy screening in Los Angeles to discuss the movie. Tickets for that are $30 but it's a rare opportunity to hear Beatty talk about his work and see that comic flick on the big screen. If I were in LA, I wouldn't dream of missing it. But then I have an unheathily attachment to Beatty and his Mrs.
Jane Fonda. She Knows She Rules.Last time on red carpet lineup Kurt and Nathaniel chatted about the annual Met Gala. This time out, Jose and Nathaniel are discussing the first few days of Cannes international fashion parade. Find out which actress Nathaniel is starting a religion to worship and which audition tape Jose dreams of seeing.
Nathaniel: Hello Jose. I must know. Before I throw dresses at you if you've been following Cannes 64 at all?
Jose: Hi! Well yes, but mostly for the dresses actually, considering most of us mortals never get to see all those movies they talk about over there.
Nathaniel: So though you're a cinephile, for Cannes you're rather like the very casual Oscar watcher then? It being all about the gowns?
Jose: Sadly, yes. I blame distributors!
Nathaniel: The perfect scapegoat.
Jose: At least they can't take fashion away from us.
Nathaniel: True. Or movie stars for that matter. Even when the movies aren't there anymore you're still a legend for the purposes of the red carpet. Like Faye Dunaway...
FAN BINGBING, MAIWENN LE BESCO, FAYE DUNAWAY, SJP, PENELOPE CRUZ
Jose: I love that they're paying tribute to her in Cannes.
Nathaniel: It does feel like a reevaluation is coming. Or at least a revival. Even Mommie Dearest... you don't hear people dissing that performance anymore so much as voicing the theory that gonzo acting ruined her career.
Jose: Absolutely, but I think she'll do more serious work. She's even quoting Meryl Streep in interviews!
Nathaniel: I don't know enough about fashion to know what type of dress this is but gossamer modest flowy light things always make me think of ghosts in Victorian mansions... or Stevie Nicks. Who is also back!
Jose: Faye looks so graceful. Stevie rocks! But I think the new queen of ghost wear is that Florence from the Machine lady.
Nathaniel: This is the part of most celebrity discussions where I would start singing
the dog days are over the dog days are done can you hear the horses because here they come
and then someone would snark about Sarah Jessica Parker.
BUT we both like SJP. So there.
Jose: "Like"? I'm obsessed with her! People can say whatever they want about her face and Sex and the City but the woman is a red carpet visionary! This Elie Saab dress is proof of that. I love how she's been trying to bring back the 70s lately (with her in charge of Halston and everything...)
Nathaniel: I will say that this dress looks MUCH better in motion than it does in a still photograph. Because here it look just... too much. Too much fabric for a tiny diva. But she definitely is a risk-taker. And bringing back the 70s is going well for her if red carpet looks from other women are to be believed.
Jose: Maybe she was paying tribute to Faye. too?
Nathaniel: I hope everyone is with her face plastered on all the posters. Incidentally she wore this dress to the premiere of Peter Chan's Wu Xia and the only unfortunate thing about inviting international fashion icons to your premiere is that your stars get ignored.
Jose: Smart move in case everyone hates the movie, no?
Nathaniel: Well sure but this movie stars Takeshi Kaneshiro, Kara Hui and Tang Wei and I haven't seen one photo of any of them, yet. And they were there as this video proves!!!
Jose: Maybe they were hiding from the cameras under Sarah's ample dress.
Nathaniel: Heh. One thing that happens with celebrity photo feeds is if someone of SJP's fashion stature shows to any "smaller" event, the event is often completely ignored. Even in the headlines. It's weird.
Jose: Shh, don't say that, people will hear you and SJP won't be invited to things anymore! I had no idea Tang Wei was in new movies. I had started to assume she'd pulled off a Falconetti on us and retired after Lust, Caution.
Fan Bingbing at the "The Tree of Life" premiereNathaniel: I always include Fan Bingbing in red carpet lineups because she really wears a deep groove in the Cannes carpet each year. I can't imagine the size of her luggage. How do you ship entire closets?
Jose: I have no idea what this woman does for a living but being beautiful seems to be enough.
Nathaniel: She's an actress, silly. I ignore the models and celebutantes, even when I like what they're wearing.
Jose: She was featured in every option of a "Best Dressed in Cannes" poll, the other day. Maybe entire fleets carry her dresses?
Nathaniel: She never seems to repeat colors styles fabrics. I think maybe mice and birds sew her into custom-made gowns each evening.
Jose: Magic! Must be hard being under so much sartorial pressure. No wonder she rarely smiles...
Nathaniel: I had to include Mäiwenn Le Besco (Crouching Tigress) in the photo above.
Jose: Crouching Tigress, Obvious Drunkard! Girls seems to be enjoying her champagne. Who does that on a red carpet?
Mäiwenn ... actress, director, Diva PlavalagunaNathaniel: Heh. Maybe she's reminding everyone that she wields cameras these days. I saw her last movie The Actress' Ball and it was extremely self-indulgent but also intermittently hilarious and obsessed with actressing so I respect her. When I was interviewing Ludivine Sagnier last month that movie even came up.
I'm always secretly thrilled when Mäiwenn shows anywhere because I love explaning to people that she's the blue opera diva from The Fifth Element and shocking them. Bam! Are you freaked?
Jose: VERY. I always assumed that was a man!
I can't believe you're not letting me talk about Pé yet.
Nathaniel: Your wish is granted.
Jose: Sigh. Nat, I kid you not. I didn't want her to do Cannes because I was afraid she'd disappoint me. Mrs. Bardem has been doing some weird ass red carpet choices, post baby Leo. But I'm actually in love with this.
At first I thought she'd gone all out on Cannes (they love nudity there) and actually had had people paste tiny rocks and fabrics to her body.
Nathaniel: Split opinion here. I think this color is three kinds of wrong on her. I'm not fond of nudity unless it's actually nudity.
Robert (author of Distant Relatives) here. It feels like the dog days of Cannes. Film reactions keep coming in and while they seem endlessly mixed or average it's always helpful to remember that when most of these films make their way to the states (in what could be a week or a year... or two years... or never) many of them will be greeted by accolades and Rotten Tomato scores upwards of 80%.
Let's start with the gems. Alex has already clued you in on the success of The Artist. There was one other big hit this weekend. The Dardenne Brothers at this point could direct a Sham-Wow infomercial and it would be accepted to Cannes. But there's a reason why. The Kid With a Bike is being received as one more of many high points in their career. Are the Dardennes in the running for their third Palme? [Rotten Tomatoes page]
Footnoteby Israeli directorJoseph Cedar, who had an Oscar nominee in Beaufort recently, is also finding itself plenty of fans, as the MUBI roundup will attest. The film, about an accomplished but underappreciated professor constantly at odds with his very appreciated academic son is being praised for its mixture of dry, often awkward comedy and meaningful family pathos.
If you've seen previous Cannes winner The Son's Room, you're familiar with the work of director Nanni Moretti. His entry this yearisWe Have a Pope which is about a reluctant pontiff seems to have not struck the right note between comedy and drama. "Intermittently amusing" is the faint praise coming from IndieWIRE.
Fans of Korea's Kim Ki-duk (3-Iron, spring summer fall winter...and spring) will be happy to know that he's returned, albeit with an odd project. Arirang is a documentary in which the director has turned the camera on himself to record his crises of confidence after an actress almost died on the set of his film Dream. A few viewers find the process intriguing, but many echo the sentiment of AV Club's Mike D'Angelo who calls it "self-indulgent, useless, “therapeutic” one-man tripe."
[Editor's Note: Hi. It's Nathaniel. I'm back from a short trip away. We are opting not to say much about The Tree of Life, or to cover the inevitably ecstatic reviews and tweetgasms that are pouring in. For one thing, initial response to highly awaited festival fare is always tricky to gauge. No matter what this type of movie is like, the reaction will verge on hysteric (in any direction) since no critic -- even the best of them -- will have had the proper time to truly contemplate it before writing their reviews (especially given that none of them are getting any sleep at the moment.) But mostly we don't want any spoilers. No, Malick's films aren't typically plotty but do you really want his amazing gift for indelible imagery described to you in detail before you're seeing it? I do not. I want to experience it in the purest way possible. Since the film is opening THIS MONTH patience is not only a virtue, but it's an easy (okay, easier) trait to adopt. Resist the modern urge to have every experience spoiled in advance for you!]
Cannes has its first darling. My eye has been on The Artist ever since it was announced to join the competition at Cannes this year (I love when they add latecomers. It feels like it'll be a ringer for sure). From filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius of the amazingly hilarious OSS:117 films (best spy spoofs ever!), this movie has garnered a lot of buzz since its screening last night. With a cast that includes Jean Dujardin (star of the OSS:117 series), James Cromwell, and John Goodman among others, no wonder this film was snatched up by The Wienstein Company before its premiere. Harvey even called the film, " a delicate flower." Sensitive guy, eh?
Todd Macarthy, Guy Lodge, Indiewire and pretty much every review gush about its homage to the silent and golden eras of filmmaking, but emphasize how it's so much more. Sasha Stone of Awards Daily had this particularly sweet closing comment in her review.
But as the credits rolled for The Artist I already knew I didn’t want it to end. I knew that I didn’t want the lights to come up and I certainly didn’t want to face the world outside. I had no idea it still existed: The magic of the movies.
Dave Karger of Entertainment Weekly is the first to start speculating on its Ocscar chances. Cannes isn't even over yet! I guess with the Wiensteins backing it, it is a fair question. Can't wait to see it. Us regular folk will just have to settle for the trailer for now.
People have also pegged the canine costar as a shoe for the Palm D'og. Yes, its real, people.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at 12:06AM 
Robert (author of Distant Relatives) here with more info from Cannes. The Palme found another strong competitor with Aki Kaurismaki's La Havre. Probably the highest profile director from Finland (if you know him from anything it would probably be 2002's The Man Without a Past), Kaurismaki has been off the scene for five years. His return takes him to the French town of the films' title and a couple who attempt to help an illegal immigrant who's being pursued by a tough cop. The Playlist's Kevin Jagernauth notes the rapturous applause that greeted the film and says it "now matches The Artist for the biggest, most rousing crowd-pleaser of the festival."
