A few notes on the Cannes "lineup" that won't make it to Cannes

by Nathaniel R

Steve McQueen would have had TWO films at Cannes this yearCannes won’t be held this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic but the powers that be at Cannes have announced that 56 films that would have filled out various programs will bear the Cannes label as in "we selected them!". i.e. they would have played there. This will give the films a leg up moving forward should any of the fall festivals actually take place. This does not however tell us anything about what would have “competed” this year at Cannes since they generally only have 20 or so films in the main competition. Spike Lee was meant to preside over the competition jury this year but instead he'll do the honors next summer instead.

It will forever be lost to an alternate history what might have been this year and what film might have held the difficult task of following in Parasite’s footsteps to the Palme d’Or...

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May Retrospective: “Ishtar” (1987)

by Cláudio Alves

As we've seen in our analysis of Elaine May's first three pictures as a director, she was a consummate auteur. It's true that a farce about marital homicide followed by a cruel comedy of adultery which, in turn, is followed by a New York-set character study may suggest a somewhat chaotic filmography. However, her themes were consistent, her work with actors always inspired, and her cinematic language showed a through-line of bizarre human behavior anchored by material realism.

This is never more evident than when autopsying the carcass of May's final picture, Ishtar, where all these threads coalesce and reach their apotheosis in the form of a mainstream flop of epic proportions. Tales of a troubled production had made headlines long before the movie reached theaters and, when its box-office results proved catastrophic, Elaine May's career as a director went down the drain…

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May Retrospective: “Mikey and Nicky” (1976)

by Cláudio Alves

All of Elaine May's films explore questions of masculinity, usually centering around toxic men whose perspectives may define the narrative but are also skewered by the canny mind in the director's chair. Brittle and pathetic, her broken men expose themselves and their venality through spectacles of emotional evisceration, often letting us see into the darker depths of their souls even when they act as if they're conquering heroes.

Consequently, there's often an aspect of cruelty to the humor of May's funny pictures, a comedy born out of disdain that's wielded like a scalpel by a master surgeon. Through our uncomfortable laughs, the director dissects her characters most mercilessly. Because of that, it seems obvious that Elaine May would have no trouble doing calcinating dramas with the same ease with which she did incise comedy. After all, in hercinematic universe, every comedy is also a tragedy.

Such is the case of her third feature, 1976's Mikey and Nicky…

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May Retrospective: “The Heartbreak Kid” (1972)

by Cláudio Alves

After many years redefining the paradigms of American comedy along with Mike Nichols on the New York stage, Elaine May made the jump to the movie business when she appeared as an actress in some late 60s cinematic endeavors, including Mike Nichols' The Graduate. It wouldn't take long for her to branch out and, by 1971, she was writing, directing, and starring in A New Leaf.

In our last piece about this intrepid artist, we looked at that movie and how May's genius was able to transcend the interference of pushy producers and remain a near-masterpiece. This time, we'll be looking at the picture May directed after that flick, a production that suffered much less interference from panicky executives. It's also the only picture May directed she didn't also write and the single one of her movies to ever be nominated for the Academy Awards.

We're, of course, talking about the Neil Simon-penned The Heartbreak Kid…

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May Retrospective: "A New Leaf" (1971)

by Cláudio Alves

A master comedian of immense historical importance, a Tony Award-winning stage actress, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter, and one of the greatest American directors of the 1970s. Those are portentous descriptors, each of them difficult to earn individually during a lifetime. For someone to deserve them all is astounding, but astounding is an ever-appropriate word to categorize Elaine May.

She remains a genius through-and-through and, despite her career as a movie director having been abruptly halted in the late 80s, many are devoted to the celebration of her directorial legacy to this day. If you need any proof that Hollywood has little respect for the talent of female directors, look no further than the example of Elaine May whose filmography we are here honoring. After all, what better time to sing the praises of May than during the merry month of May?

First up, we have 1971's A New Leaf…

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