Thursday, May 29, 2014

Sin


I just can't believe some comments I just read about Eva Green.
Wow. It immediately reminds of #YesAllWomen.
Gross.
Can't we just look at a woman's body and like...be appreciative of it? Instead of calling the person a whore?
I mean, from a mer visual and sexual stand point, gotta say I like it a lot. It's a great poster. I'll obviously won't watch the film, though. But I won't be saying that she's weird, she only plays whores and likes to play whores...gross.

Pic of the Day

Be willing to let go of preconceptions we might have of people who are different than us and taking people on their own terms.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

This is Where I Leave You - the trailer


Yes, I like it.

Cannes - Until next year

“I think that film is a language everyone can speak with their own accent.”
Abderrahmane Sissako.

First of all, let’s do a recap of this year’s Cannes winners.


Semaine de la Critique
The Tribe. By Ukrainian director Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy.


Just give it all to Thomas Cailley and his film Les Combattants.
He and his film became the first to win all three awards at the section of Quinzaine des Réalisateurs.
Art Cinema Award
SACD Prize (French Language Films)
Europa Cinemas Label (European Entries)

AND it also won the FIPRESCI Award.


The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) winning selections films were distributed with three prizes:
Official Competition:
"Winter Sleep" ("Kis Uykusu") by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Un Certain Regard: 
"Jauja" by Lisandro Alonso
Parallel Sections:
"Love at First Fight" ("Les Combattants") by Thomas Cailley (shown in the Directors' Fortnight)
This year's international jury members:
Esin Kücüktepepinar, Turkey, president
Jean-Michel Frodon, France
Pierre Pageau, Canada
Paola Casella, Italy
Tereza Brdeckova (Czech Republic)
Olivier Pélisson, France
Alissa Simon, USA
Richard Mowe, UK
Frédéric Jaeger, Germany
Coordination: Pamela Biénzobas, Chile/France


The winners of the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival:
Prize of Un Certain Regard
"Fehér Isten" ("White God") by 
Kornél Mundruczó
Jury Prize
"Tourist" by by Ruben Östlund
Un Certain Regard Special Prize
"The Salt of the Earth" 
by Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado
Ensemble Prize
"Party Girl" by Marie Amachoukeli, Claire Burger and Samuel Theis
Prize of the Best Actor
David Gulpill in "Charlie's Country" by Rolf de Heer


The Queer Palme
Pride, The British period drama.


“Power is often a cover for vulnerability.”

And finally the big ones:
Palme D’Or Best Short film
Leidu by Simó Mesa Soto
A Colombia/United Kingdom production with fifteen minutes of duration.

Short Films Special Distinctions
Aissa by Clément Trehin-Lalanne. A French Film.
Ja Vielsker by Hallvar Witzo. Norway.

CAMERA D’OR
PARTY GIRL BY Marie Amachoukeli-Barsacq, Claire Burger and Samuel Theis.

BEST ACTOR
Timothy Spall, Mr Turner.
BEST ACTRESS
Julianne Moore, Maps to the Stars.

BEST SCREENPLAY
LEVIATHAN, Oleg Negin and Andrey Zvyagintsev.

JURY PRIZE
MOMMY,  Xavier Dolan.
GOODBYE TO LANGUAGE, Jean Luc Godard.

BEST DIRECTOR
Benett Miller, Foxcatcher.

GRAND PRIX
The Wonders, Alice Rohrwacher.

PALME D’OR
WINTER SLEEP


Women Stories (Male tellers)


Clouds of Sils Maria
This is the other film where the story revolves around the show business, the Hollywood system, the actors, but especially the female perspective. Map to the Stars is obviously the other one. There are a couple of things I’m having issues with.
Juliette Binoche was the one who came up with the idea a few years ago and contacted the director. This is prominently a women’s story. First of all, I wished she had written it herself. This film becomes another example of women’s perspectives written by men. I can’t really say much else about the film because I obviously haven’t seen it. All I know is that Juliette Binoche is just this inspiring woman, she has this brightness, this light and I believe she’s a great example of a working actress that stands well beyond the ideas the film explores about actresses and age and self centeredness and awareness. Just watch the press conference and you’ll get it. She’s awesome.
Other films with women on the center of the story are The Homesman, directed by Tommy Lee Jones, a western lead by women; Marion Cotillard in Deux Jeux, une nuit, we can also add here Leviathan and Mommy. The Search, with Berenice Bejo at the center as well.

Women stories directed by women we have The Wonders, In Competition. Things are a little bit 'more spread' at Un Certain Regard, with five films directed by women, not all necessarily with women as the center of the story. None of them won any awards. It’s the women’s agenda, some say. The General Delegate of the Festival, Thierry Fremaux, seems annoyed by the consistent way the women’s issue is addressed at Cannes; he thinks that we’re using the Festival, especially when it’s not exclusively a Cannes’ issue. He’s partially right that it is not an issue only present at Cannes, of course not, it’s universal. It’s pretty much everywhere. So why not talk about it at Cannes? Especially if it is the world’s biggest film festival? Then why not defend an important issue? Doesn’t it matter to the festival, to show fairness in the film world? Isn’t what the festivals are all about? Because by addressing this issue, by bringing more fairness, I am absolutely positive that we will get more diverse stories, more original stories, more quality films in general. 


Last year, a story about two young women’s love life together won the Palme d’Or. It was three hours long, a minimalist story of a young girl’s desires, about women sexuality (I guess) and also with bits on the French social classes and art. This year, another film with more than three hours long won. It’s pretty much about everything, some say, mainly dialogue driven. And maybe because of that, some say it is a pretentious or even boring. But at the end, it did win the Jury over. I don’t think La Vie D’Adèle is a successful film in general, but there are a few good things about it. It seems Winter Sleep may have its challenges as well. But like Nicolas Winding Refn mentioned in an interview, he isn’t looking for perfection, he is more interesting in imperfection.
So what do we have to look for over the next year or so…From a film about deaf teenagers with no subtitles whatsoever called The Tribe; basically a bunch of coming of age stories like Respire and Les Combattants or Still the Water. Social dramas and society revelations and intellectual observations like Winter Sleep, Leviathan and Timbuktu or something told through short stories like Wild Tales. Biographies of Saint Laurent and Mr. Turner. Dogs take over the country in White God. A Francophone Romeo and Juliet called Geronimo. Hollywood satires like Maps to the Stars. Murders in Foxcatcher. Italian films directed by women like The Wonders and Misunderstood. And films about women written by men.
What’s incredible about Cannes is that despite all the buzz and glamour, especially in Cannes, the stories (represented in the films of course) win the day. At the end, you’re just like ‘Wow…films, you know?’
Yes, films! Films films films! 

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Cannes Days - Quote it

“It’s a funny old thing you know…in your late years, when…I’ve often been a bridesmaid, I’ve spent a lot of time being a bridesmaid. This is the first time I’ve ever been a bride. So I’m quite pleased about that.”
Timothy Spall.

Cannes - The Winners

Palme D’Or Best Short film
Leidu by Simó Mesa Soto
A Colombia/United Kingdom production with fifteen minutes of duration.

Short Films Special Distinctions
Aissa by Clément Trehin-Lalanne. A French Film.
Ja Vielsker by Hallvar Witzo. Norway.

CAMERA D’OR
PARTY GIRL BY Marie Amachoukeli-Barsacq, Claire Burger and Samuel Theis.

BEST ACTOR
Timothy Spall, Mr Turner.

BEST ACTRESS
Julianne Moore, Maps to the Stars.

BEST SCREENPLAY
LEVIATHAN, Oleg Negin and Andrey Zvyagintsev.

JURY PRIZE
MOMMY,  Xavier Dolan.
GOODBYE TO LANGUAGE, Jean Luc Godard.


BEST DIRECTOR

Benett Miller, Foxcatcher.


GRAND PRIX

The Wonders, Alice Rohrwacher.


PALME D’OR
WINTER SLEEP



Post Palme D'Or



“I love Mommy so much…” I think Jane Campion just referred to Xavier Dolan as genius.


“I was scared…'huh oh I’m gonna need a toilet break'…” Jane Campion’s first thoughts about Winter Sleep (obviously before watching it).

Nicolas Winding Refn cried with The Wonders.

Cannes Days - Final Hours


“Jane Campion is my new mother.”
Nicolas Winding Refn.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Cannes Days


Cannes Days - Standing ovations


A lot of crying at the Mommy premier, like I said yesterday, it's the audience favorite, at least. I don't really know about the awards!
Yesterday, when Xavier Dolan walked  in the theater before the screening of his film, people cheered enthusiastically, like I haven't heard before, and just earlier I saw the cheer at the end and hear that Xavier Dolan had a sixteen minute standing ovation.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Cannes Days


Goodbye to Language was one of the films I haven’t mentioned yesterday which unlike Michel Hazanavicius’ underwhelming reception, is being well received. But is there another way to receive Jean Luc Godard? I don’t think there’s another way but the way of exploration and personal meaning, there’s no good or too bad in his films, there shouldn’t be a sort classification. I mean what am I talking about; the classification in general is already a pretty weird thing. So that’s probably one of the ways to go. It’s about exploring and finding meaningful lines in the mix of a personal, intellectual and artistic experimental process that Jean Luc Godard is known for. His Goodbye to Language is only 69 minutes long but I’m sure there are plenty of details to contemplate. Sometimes underneath it all, things can be quite direct and on the open…but what do I know?


The Salt of the Earth is another film I haven’t mentioned yet but I’m so very interested in. There’s only so much going on with this festival. It’s the new documentary by Wim Wenders about one of the most famous and accomplished traveling photographers in the world, Sebastião Salgado. When one thinks of Wim Wenders and documentaries one can only be anxious for something purely sophisticated, beautiful and thoughtful. The film is co-directed with Sebastião Salgado’s son Juliano Ribeiro Salgado.
The Salt of the Earth is in Un Certain Regard.


Misunderstood, Un Certain Regard.
Asia Argento is back at Cannes! But this time she has a film actually competing. And I need to take a look at her new film, sounds both weird and fun. Misunderstood also sounds personal. Just by the title.
Charlotte Gainsbourg stars in Misunderstood. Asia Argento has been a huge admirer of Charlotte. She had previously worked in a film with her but didn’t had any scenes together, Asia even said she stole Charlotte’s Polaroids that were in the trailer; and she later was member of the jury when they gave Charlotte the award for Best Actress. Of course everyone would like to work with a talented artist as Charlotte Gainsbourg.


“The quest for innovation has to take place in short films and in a director’s first films.” 
Abbas Kiarostami.

The Cinéfondation Selection winners were announced today. It consisted of 16 student films, chosen out of 1,631 entries coming from 457 film schools around the world. The head of the jury was Abbas Kiarostami, and the rest of the members were Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Noémie Lvovsky, Daniela Thomas and Joachim Trier.

Here are the prizes:
First Prize:
"Skunk,"directed by Annie Silverstein from the University of Texas at Austin, USA.
Second Prize:
"Oh Lucy!" directed by Atsuko Hirayanagi from NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia, Singapore.
Joint Third Prize:
"Lievito Madre,"  directed by Fulvio Risuleo from Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Italy.
Joint Third Prize:
"The Bigger PIcture," directed by Daisy Jacobs National Film and Television School, United Kingdom.

These winners will receive €15,000 for the First Prize, €11,250 for the Second and €7,500 for the Third. 
The First Prize winner is also guaranteed that his first feature film will be presented at the Festival de Cannes.


Semaine de la Critique
The winner:
The film is called The Tribe. It’s a first feature from a Ukrainian director called Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy.
Here’s a resume of the film – it is a story about young students, in their boarding school for deaf, where a new student is just starting to fit in this place. There’s desire and conflicts between the youngsters. They’re all deaf. The curious aspect of this film is that it has no subtitles, no voice over no dialogue. But besides this superb and pretty rare challenge, it seems The Tribe, as a whole, is a brilliant film.
There must be so much to contemplate. I’m here and I’m thinking about a lot of details about this film. There’s only so much to be look for. The challenge of following this story, these young people when you can’t understand what they’re saying; just here there’s such a great space for exploration and a unique way to look at a story, the different way we need to position ourselves, for example. What an interesting idea. I can’t wait to look at it.


Still in competition:
Mommy

I think Xavier Dolan's new film just became everyone's dearest film at this year's selection, I mean, along with the opener Mr. Turner. Even Jessica Chastain tweeted about it.

Completely blown away by @XDolan. His film, MOMMY was so impressive

Xavier Dolan and his women:
Suzanne Clement and Anne Dorval. 


Jury of the Un Certain Regard.