Festival de Cannes 2008 by Mandy_Rodgers

    So finally...after a long plane flight and travel time filled with lost tickets, oversized luggage, late plane arrivals, jet lag, the ever-present eye infection and just losing half of an already-typed blog post complete with pictures...here is the final wrap-up and recap of the Festival de Cannes 2008 closing ceremonies.
    What was reportedly the rainiest and least exciting Cannes Film Festival in the last couple of years, ended on a rainy and windy day with a nearly desolate French Riviera. Even on the day of the closing ceremonies, critics tried to predict winners but few agreed on many categories or seemed certain that one nominee topped the rest.
    After miraculously getting a ticket to the red carpet gala, I got to watch the final awards ceremony coupled with the premiere of Robert de Niro's new movie about the film industry, What Just Happened.
    The ceremony began with a charming French host who was saying some amusing things in his native tongue because everyone was laughing, but I couldn't understand a word. Kerry Washington (The Last King of Scotland) came out to introduce something, but I never really understood what she was presenting...no award was given out...maybe a pre-awards show talk?




    The Camera d'Or (for first time filmmaker) was then presented to Steve McQueen for his amazing and stunning biopic, Hunger, starring Michael Fassbender as Bobby Sands, the Irish republican who went on a hunger strike while in prison. The remarkable story sent critics and audiences abuzz from the very beginning of the Festival. Dennis Hopper (who is surprisingly shorter then you'd imagine) presented McQueen with the award who commented on Hopper's influence on his own work.



    Then the jury was announced, beginning with the president, Sean Penn. Penn also starred with De Niro in the movie to be shown afterwards. The jury members each took their seats on the stage, while Penn discussed the hard task of picking these winners. He also said he would try and translate the winners in English after the French announcement if needbe, because at one Cannes ceremony, Penn didn't know who was winning what due to the language barrier. The jury also consisted of: Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men director),  Sergio Castellitto (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian villain), Marjane Satrapi (writer Persepolis), Jeanne Balibar (French actress), Rachid Bouchareb (French director), Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thai director), Alexandra Maria Lara (German actress) and Natalie Portman.



    Each presenter had to look to Penn for the winner of the awards - it seemed like this was a mistake on someone's part for not having cue cards or "winner is.." envelopes for the presenters. Jokes were made in French repeatedly about this error. Le Silence of Lorna (The Silence of Lorna) won Best Screenplay, even though most had predicted a Best Actress win for this film. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne both vigorously accepted the award for their screenplay about a woman's struggle with her heart, a faux marriage and the mob. Best Director went to Nuri Bilge Ceylan for Three Monkeys, a slow-moving drama about a family's downward spiral after the patriarch does jail time to help his boss. Faye Dunaway presented the Best Director award after speaking some lines in French.



    Benicio del Toro was unanimously decided to be the Best Actor winner for his starring role in Steven Soderbergh's Che. Sandra Corveloni (surprisingly) won the Best Actress award for Linha de Passe, her first feature film role. The film's two directors, Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas accepted the award on Corveloni's behalf. The actress had already traveled back to Brazil and dealing with some unfortunate medical situations. Jean Reno (Reno) presented this award.



    A special 61st Cannes Film Festival award was given to Catherine Deneuve (Un Conte de Noel) and Clint Eastwood (The Exchange) for a combination of lifetime achievement and their films at the Festival this year. Deneuve received the award from Penn, who received his Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 from her, so the two have a little Film Festival history. Eastwood was a no-show to the ceremony.



    Il Divo won the Jury Prize, which is kind of like a third place to the Palm d'Or, while Gomorra won the Grand Prize,  which is, you guessed it, kind of like second place to the Palm. Both films focused on mob situations. Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil) gave Il Divo's director, Paulo Sorrentino his award, and legendary director Roman Polanski (Chinatown) surprised everyone by appearing in public and giving Gomorra's director, Matteo Garrone, his prize.



    Finally, the Palm d'Or was ready to be given by Robert De Niro himself. France's The Class (Entre les Murs) unanimously won the coveted epitome of Cannes, and the entire row of people behind me screamed and yelled, as they must have been related to the many children featured in the film who filed on stage to accept the award with the director Laurent Cantet. The movie is based on reality but still a fictionalized version, and it premiered on day 11 of the Festival, giving critics barely enough time to rave and audiences barely any chance to see it. It's based on a book (turned screenplay) by its star (in film and in life), François Bégaudeau.



    After the excitement died down, What Just Happened  was screened. De Niro stars as a big-time Hollywood producer trying to balance Sean Penn's new movie to show at Cannes (!), Bruce Willis's ego and his estranged wife (played by Penn's not-anymore-estranged wife Robin Wright). The movie is very average, but the parts about Cannes are fun to see...if you're in Cannes while seeing them.


   

    So after a long and complicated two days of travel and jetlagged-dom...(is that anywhere close to a word?), I made it back to Atlanta, Ga. I schemed my way into the closing ceremonies, so  I have many stories, tidbits and pictures from the event that included some huge surprises and touching moments. I can't wait to share them, but first, I have to find my camera, charge it and get situated back in U.S. time. Ah to travel...will update ASAP with a wrap up of all things Cannes 2008!

    The Festival is officially on the downward spiral to a close. The movies are fewer and farther between, and the marketplace itself is quiet and packing up to go home.
    Maybe it's good timing then that now is when I have developed a horrible eye infection that's not pink eye but some other horrible irritation. I am on my third different kind of eye drops and taking any advice, including the latest: put milk on your eyes to soothe the pain. If anyone else has any ideas, I would greatly appreciate it since doctors are hard to find on weekends, which it now is. So here is a wrap-up of the last three days of the Festival de Cannes 2008...

'Che' Epic: Day 8
    It was one of the most talked about and latest entries into this year's running for the Palm Award. Steven Soderbergh's latest film barely made it into the competition, and this hurried feeling is felt with the film's lack of titles and credits. Che is Soderbergh's full-lenght epic tale about Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, played by Benicio del Toro. Here, the movie played 4+ hours, complete with an intermission where Kit-Kats and waters were given out to the patient crowd. In a recent press conference, Soderbergh discussed his vision for the theatrical release, which has already been slated to be two separate films: The Argentine and Guerilla, but the director also talked about a new idea, where the first week of the film's release, there would be an optional full-length screening, as opposed to the split. None of this is set in stone, however, as a studio still hasn't snatched the picture up.


    The red carpet for Che's official premiere was a sight to see as long-legged dancers performed in the street and those in hotels across the street cheered Che's real life persona with chants and posters. Mike Tyson walked the carpet as well...we were informed through his documentary that he has a tattoo of Che on his stomach, so now he believes he was "before the times," since so much attention is now on the leader. Also, on perhaps a personal note, I enjoyed seeing Soderbergh's wife, Jules Asner, with him. Before Ryan Seacrest and Guiliana DePandi hosted E! News, there was Asner and Steve Kmetko...hasn't been the same since.


    The reviews of Soderbergh's huge undertaking are mixed (like most everything has been at this year's Festival). Some are touting the movie to win the director his next Palm, while others can't get over how much editing needs to happen or the apparent lack of two independently succinct films to be released theatrically, but del Toro is getting mostly rave reviews around the trade papers. Perhaps at least a Best Actor Award this year at Cannes?

Tarantino teaches: Day 9
      The most anticipated event of Day 10 of the Cannes Film Festival was director Quentin Tarantino's Masterclass. I was trying to boycott the event because, though I like some of Tarantino's movies, he disgusted me last year at Martin Scorsese's Masterclass with his incessant talking and just all-around rude behavior. However, when push came to shove, and I landed on a special VIP ticket, I caved and decided to see what Mr. Pulp Fiction himself had to say.
     The event was packed and many people were turned away from the rather large theater it was held in. The Masterclass is kind of like Inside the Actor's Studio with James Lipton on the Bravo television channel. This interview just has a different host and isn't as long as those TV specials.
     Working their way through Tarantino's major works, the discussion started with the director's love of film, directors and writing to start off. Tarantino worked in a video store and watched as many films as possible, getting ideas, honing his knowledge. His major influence, he says, is Brian DePalma. Tarantino recommends anyone who wants to direct to act and write first and just go out and make a movie.
     "I think making a feature yourself, with nothing, is the best film school you could ever have," said Tarantino, who never finished middle school.
     The talk then moved on to the filmmaker's films, including Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill and Death Proof. Various clips from the films were shown, and Tarantino talked (usually pretty wildly and actively) about the scene and sets of his films.
     While making Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino went to the Sundance Film Festival to show some of the work...not all were receptive to some of his experimental long takes, but Terry Gilliam loved it.
     "(I thought) that's going to be my career, and people are going to either really like me or really not, but get used to it, because that's the f***ing deal," said Tarantino to a large number of cheers and applause.
    Video added soon....


'Synechdoche' puzzles: Day 10
    One of the last movies to compete for the grand prize from America is Charlie Kaufman's unusual (to say the least), Synechdoche, New York. I know Charlie Kaufman is weird, and his films are very odd, but so far I've liked most of his work, which until now, only including producing and writing.
    I really enjoyed Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, so I went into Synechodoche not knowing what to think and expecting something absolutely crazy - that is most definitely what I got.
    Kaufman's first directing experience is led by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Caden, a man going through a midlife crisis/nervous breakdown, to put it simply, but things get much more complicated from there. Caden is a playwright, so he incorporates his real life problems into his plays...kind of...I think this is one of Kaufman's craziest films, and I have respect for it but won't be adding to to my DVD collection. It's also a film that needs to be seen again, studied and discussed, which I haven't had a chance to do.
    The acting is first-rate though (even if the story ebbs and flows). Led by Hoffman, the rest of the cast has a great hold on the material, including Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Most of the cast showed up to the premiere, including Michelle Williams, who's been laying low as of late.

    Now that the Indy premiere is over, things in Cannes just aren't the same...a certain buzz has left the Festival, but hopefully this can be turned around with the remaining films.
    P.S. It's still raining almost every day here...

    Reports have surfaced that Joaquin Phoenix missed the opening of his film Two Lovers due to a nasty stomach flu. The actor is a consistent part of James Gray's three Palm-nominated films, and Phoenix always makes it to the premieres - his absence surprised many this Monday, but apparently he was physically unable to get on the flight. Hopefully he feels betters soon to enjoy the praise his performance in the film is receiving.

    Earlier this week, Clint Eastwood changed the name of his in-competition film, Changeling to The Exchange. I tend to like that better, as it's easier to say. I kept hearing mispronunciations of the first title, making me think of "chain link fence," and it was distracting. It's reported that Eastwood enjoyed the French translation (L'exchange) so much that he officially changed the title the day before it premiered in the Palais.
    Raining and cold, everyone anxiously awaited Eastwood and Angelina Jolie's arrival and the verdict from the critics: is this a film (finally) worthy of the Palm?
    Rounding out the pre-cast celebrities at the red carpet was an array of various personalities including Nick Nolte, Sharon Stone, Tim Robbins and Dita Von Teese. A documentary about Nolte and his life (Nick Nolte: No Exit) is premiering here Thursday evening to a small crowd.

   
    As the rain slacked a little bit (but the umbrellas annoyingly stayed up), Angelina Jolie and Clint Eastwood made their way up the carpet with Brad Pitt following behind. Last year, each of the Brangelina duo had a film and a chance to take a backseat to the other, but this year, Pitt has been willingly taking the background spot to his starring lady. Of course, a background spot for Brad Pitt is nearly impossible and the screaming crowd of girls continued to yell his name until he obliged and waved to the onlookers....creating shrilled hysteria.



    The critics are giving mostly positive reviews of the Eastwood-Jolie flick, though they're concerned with it's succinct place in the Palm category and it's hard-to-market storyline. Jolie plays Christine Collins, a woman working hard in the 1920s to support her one and only won, Walter. After being called into work one Saturday, Christine leaves Walter at their house, asking a neighbor to check in, but he disappears. The nine-year-old is part of a police investigation for five months, until a call comes in telling Christine her son has been found by the Los Angeles police department. Upon arrival, Christine knows this boy is not her son, however, the LAPD does not want to admit mistake and forces her to reconsider, eventually leading to a malicious battle between the corrupt police force and a desperate mother. Jolie is fantastic here, and I'm making an early prediction for her to win Best Actress here in Cannes. Eastwood spins the film just right and moves the audience while also never putting them to sleep. My favorite competition film by far.