Here’s to the 70th edition – and my 11th – of the Cannes Film Festival! – to sharing teeny-tiny apartments with teeny-tiny flights of stairs and no elevator – to forgoing late-night parties for early-morning miles with breathtaking views – to Tilda, and Jake, and, Will, and Isabelle – to dancing to Justice with a recovering knee – to a 33-year old street artist & an 88-year old film legend taking a moving road trip together – to being blown away by Inarritu & Lubezki and the possibilities of VR – to red carpets for porta potties, and in the press room, and outside churches – to drinking rose while…
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The Cannes Diaries: My Week with Marcello
I dubbed this year’s Cannes Film Festival, “My Week with Marcello” because I usually cover Cannes until the end of the 12 days, when the Palme d’Or is handed out and the last film is shown at the Grande Theatre Lumiere, but this year, due to to a cosmic forces beyond my control, I had to leave halfway through. So I only had a week spent in the south of France, with Italian film star Marcello Mastroianni’s sunshaded-portrait providing the backdrop for this year’s fest. Of the films I did see, my three favourites were: The Salvation, a co-production between Denmark and South Africa, in which Mads Mikkelsen plays a vengeful…
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The Cannes Diaries: Of Catching Foxes and Dodging Avalanches
I’ve heard it being said a few times over the past few days, and I’ve felt it myself – this Cannes doesn’t feel as busy as previous years. Also, there doesn’t seem to be the same kind of buzz being generated as in years gone by. But each festival has its own character, and there are still moments of wonder and engagement that are giving this year’s one its own unique feel. This morning’s screening of drew high praise from critics here for Steve Carell and Channing Tatum, as well as Mark Ruffalo to a lesser extent, as his part isn’t as big or as revelatory. I hardly recognized Steve, not…
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The Cannes Diaries: Of Auteurs and Action Heroes
Cannes has a reputation for being prestigious, glamorous, high-end, in many regards. It’s as if the beautiful old picturesque town requires it. There are gowns, there are airs and graces, and there are yachts whose worth I don’t even want to know. As far as the films go, you’ll find the work of auteurs from all over the world being shown here, and names that have been built over years of acclaim, that lend themselves to others seeking credibility. But Cannes also has a fun, sometimes gaudy side to it too. One moment you can go from Tommy Lee Jones’ period drama The Homesman, to a press conference with the…
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The Cannes Diaries: Mr Turner Takes The Day
And just like that, a year later, it’s back into the Cannes swing of things. There’s a rhythm to this festival all its own. It’s not like Sundance, where I try to see as many films as I possibly can back to back, nor is it like Toronto where it’s more about squeezing in as many press opportunities and interviews as one festival will allow. Cannes is about mixing in as much of both as possible, without neglecting one over the other: see the films, do the interviews, and try enjoy the sunshine and blue sea while you’re at at, because, hey, we’re in Cannes! That last part is perhaps…
