![Neon Acquires Oliver Laxe’s ‘Sirât’ [Cannes]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbcad0f2727be3646b9fee1/1748026312860-MW0NI6PFT93H9K9M31XI/IMG_5553.jpeg)
Bless Ken Loach’s heart. The man is relentless in his refusal to stop depicting working-class stories. After all, even his closest competitor, Mike Leigh, has dabbled outside his comfort zone in the past; not Loach, though, who was once retired but is back to tell the tales. Good on him. I will freely admit that his latest, “Sorry We Missed You,” got to me for its first hour or so, but it eventually got tiresome in its attempts to hammer on its anti-capitalist message. The miseries kept piling up, so much so that it felt like overload.
Read moreJohn Carpenter Ready to End his 10 year Directing Hiatus — Cannes
John Carpenter was honored by the Quinzaine yesterday. A special screening of his 1982 body-horror masterpiece “The Thing” was followed by a Q&A with the horror director.
Read more‘Bacurau' Review: A Perplexing Mix of Magical Surrealism and Grindhouse — Cannes
Kleber Mendonça Filho triumphed at Cannes in 2016 with the best movie of his careerm "Aquarius." That film was led by a mesmerizing performance from Sonia Braga and dealt with his native Brazil being invaded by gentrification. Filho’s latest, "Bacurau," is a whole other beast, an exercise in B-movie trappings which feels a little too facile, at least on surface and when compared to Mendoza's previous works.
Read more‘Les Miserables' Review: A French ‘Training Day' With Added Political Resonance— Cannes
The fringes of France are about to blow up in Les Misérables, the feature-length directorial debut from 39-year-old Ladj Ly. The film expands on Ly’s documentary and César-nominated 2017 shortof the same name, which also starred this feature’s three leads.
Read more‘The Dead Don't Die' Review: Jim Jarmusch's Zombie Film Feels Unfinished— Cannes
After going for depth and gravity with “Only Lovers Left Alive” and “Paterson,” writer-director Jim Jarmusch stumbles with his latest, the slight zombie comedy “The Dead Don’t Die.”
Read moreCinephile Heaven is Upon Us — Cannes
This is the official press schedule I will adhere to in my 12 days at the Cannes Film Festival. It kicks off today with Jim Jarmusch’s “The Dead Don’t Die.”
Read moreCannes 2019: Alejandro González Iñárritu & Jury Press Conference
CANNES – I won’t get too into the nitty gritty of today’s Cannes Film Festival competition jury press conference. Mostly because there wasn’t much said that needs to be repeated or highlighted here.
There was the usual fawning, this time from Elle Fanning saying she “was shocked and couldn't believe she was chosen to be part of the jury,” even mentioning how it feels cyclical to have Inarritu as the president, considering he cast 7-year-old her as Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett’s daughter in ”Babel.”
Inarritu, on the other hand, said he didn’t feel comfortable being President, considering he was never in charge of anything in his life, not even in his own movie sets or family home.
More interestingly, the director elaborated that “The future of cinema is the way we experience it. To watch is not to see. Both different. Cinema is born to be experienced in community and it is different than watching something on an iPhone.” He went on to praise France, which he said “protects cinema, but we need to see it in the rest of the world.” going on to add and question how many of the films in competition would actually be exhibited in theaters.”
Director Kelly Reinhardt looked forward to the day the press will stop asking "what it feels like to be female filmmaker."
As you can tell, it felt like same old, same old. Now, on with the show.
Pre-Cannes Thoughts; Fremaux Says 50% Female Films Would “Show A Lack Of Respect”
it's always interesting to go through the competition lineup at Cannes, especially if, like me, you've been attending the fest for quite a few years now. The stakes are always high for world cinema whenever this film fest to end all film fests kicks off mid-may. A good chunk of the European film industry counts on Cannes to produce its fair share of successful titles..
Read more‘A Hidden Life’: New Photos of Terrence Malick’s WWII Drama
I’m headed to Cannes this coming weekend. Yes, there’s the Tarantino, but there also is Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life.” That’s the other BIG American premiere.
Read moreSome Are Not Happy That Alain Delon Is Receiving An Honorary Palme D'or at Cannes
So what can actually happen in the case of Alain Delon and Cannes honoring the legendary French actor in two weeks? Absolutely nothing. But, of course, there is resentment, among a fringe in the U.S, that Delon, who is 83, does not deserve to receive an honorary Palme d’Or at the forthcoming edition of the Festival.
Read moreCannes 2019: Jarmusch Confirmed as Opener. Larrain's ‘Ema' Bought by Netflix. Tarantino Might Not Make it in Time.
We’re getting down to the final hours when it comes to the Cannes Film Festival. Speculating these past few months has been fun, but, when all is said and done, the official lineup announcement is set to happen on April 18th. However, a few breaking items for your convenience on this Wednesday afternoon.
Read moreCannes 2019: Jim Jarmusch's "The Dead Don't Die" Will Be Released in June. Hmm ...
I have had a hit and miss vibe with Jim Jarmusch for a few decades now, but I do have to say I absolutely adore “Stranger Than Paradise,” “Down By Law,” Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai,” “Broken Flowers” and “Paterson.” Those are incredible movies. (I’m still iffy about “Dead Man” but a rewatch is in order)
Read moreTrailer for Quentin Tarantino's “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood"
It’s finally here.
Read moreCannes 2019 Update
It’s not secret that Cannes and Netflix are trying to reach a deal in order for the streaming service to enter its films in the prestigious main competition of the festival. The latest proposal included a clause that would say if a Netflix film were to win an award at Cannes, then the streaming service would have to release that film in French theaters. Problematic, since Netflix is still uninterested in doing that.
Read more‘Ash is Purest White’ Is Jia Zhang-ke’s Beautiful Feminist Take On The Gangster Film [Review]
At first glance, Jia Zhang-ke‘s “Ash is Purest White” feels like an immaculately perfect patchwork film, taking cues from his 2013 masterwork “A Touch of Sin” and his flawed, but brilliant, 2015 epic “Mountains May Depart,” as well as the docu-drama Chinese glimpse of “Still Life.” It’s odd, considering that Zhang-ke is not known for repetition — in fact, the only repetitiveness we keep seeing is the use of his wife and muse Zhao Tao in his movies. The director is famous for continuously trying to re-examine and reinvent the language of cinema with every movie.
Read moreIt Looks Like the Venice Film Festival Will Also Ban Netflix Movies in Their 2019 Lineup
Eric Kohn has an interesting report in IndieWire about the Netflix-Cannes issue. However, before we get into that topic, he lays out the cards for us, in terms of this year’s upcoming festival, and, as mentioned of WoR, not only is Scorsese’s “The Irishman” a potential competition title, but there’s also a new untitled Noah Baumbach starring Adam Driver and Scarlet Johansson, Steven Soderbergh’s “The Laundromat,” and Joshua and Benny Safdies’ A24-produced “Uncut Gems,”
Read moreCannes 2019: Tarantino's “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood" Locked Up; “Ad Astra" Remains a Question Mark.
Cannes 2019 is still two months away but rumors are swirling about the lineup.
Read more‘The Image Book’: Jean-Luc Godard’s Offers Another Radicalist, Experimental Assault
It’s been a long time since making traditional or even vaguely conventional “movies” has interested legendary French New-Wave filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard. If anything, the director’s movies over the last 20 or so years have been experiential audio/visual collages more interested in pictures, sounds, cuts, and de-saturation; a maddening barrage of dadaist statements. Even with all that being said, his latest, “The Image Book,” playing in competition at Cannes, should be considered as radical a Godard-ian statement as any.
Read moreMads Mikkelsen Can’t Save The Survivor Minimalism Of ‘Arctic’ [Cannes Review]
When a director decides to tackle a genre that has been dealt with many times before, comparisons to far superior films are inevitable. And so, a film like Joe Penna's "Arctic" will no doubt run the risk of being compared to its spiritual predecessors Danny Boyle's "127 Hours," J.C. Chandor's "All is Lost" and Joe Carnahan's "The Grey." That in itself already weakens it, but like all great art, if imitation can transcend or even equal its inspirations then all the better for it.
Read moreBelgian Film ‘Girl’ Accused of Being a “Danger to the Transgender Community”; Its Trans Star Responds
I thought Lukas Dhont's "Girl" was one of the surprises of Cannes' Un Certain Regard program back in May. I wrote in my review:
"From its very first moments, the beautifully controlled and artful “Girl” – the feature debut of young Belgian director Lukas Dhont – grips and takes hold. This deeply emphatic portrayal of a trans teen has an expressive camera that observes and listens, rather than forces you to succumb to emotions. The trajectory of the story’s protagonist, Lara, who is determined to become a ballet dancer despite feeling trapped in a body she doesn’t recognize, sounds a little exploitative on paper, but the end result is quite the opposite. Sensitively rendered cinema with a capital C, “Girl” features a lovely naturalism and an attention to detail so delicately constructed characters feel like full flesh and blood."
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