It’s the halfway point of the festival, and I’m actually not doing too badly, thanks to the novel idea of pacing myself. I did, however, end Day 6 on a very provocative note – with a burlesque show by Dita von Teese. There were no photos allowed, but I can tell you it was worth the very long wait to see her play around in a giant martini glass. Before that, I went to the Cinema du Brazil party where Gaby Amarantos – Brazilian singer and dancer of tecno brega – entertained the crowd. Sure it’s fun to try end up at the same party as the celebs of Cannes, but it’s even better to be where the Brazilians are – because they really know how to have a good time on the dance-floor.
After a day full of interviews and a packed schedule of films, it’s good to enjoy the spontaneous atmosphere of Cannes too – which is how the burlesque show came to be. I was on my way home and literally bumped into Annie Malan (who once upon a time acted in Fiela se Kind), and she invited me along to Dita.
Monday started with the action-packed film from Japanese director, Takashi Miike, which posed the moral and physical dilemma of protecting a repulsive psychopath. It then moved to action of another kind with Keanu Reeves, who previewed footage of his directorial feature film, a Kung-fu drama called Man of Tai Chi.
I asked Keanu, who is looking a lot older these days, about when he started wanting to direct. He says he got the urge about 5 years ago and so started developing a script with Tiger Chen – a stuntman turned friend and actor from the Matrix days.
Keanu told me he was scared to direct because it meant he was now responsible for the whole film instead of just a part but he knew he wanted to be the only person who told this story. “Kung-fu movies are beautiful,” he said, “exotic, wonderful, empowering.”
I’ve also been watching some SA films and talking to SA directors but that needs its own piece of writing. For now, Michael Douglas in Behind the Candelabra waits.
