As the Festival de Cannes hits the midway mark the three most likely conversations in Cannes are: the terrible weather, a real life million dollar jewelry heist at the Cannes’ Hotel Novotel, located near the Palais des Festivals, and who is likely to take top honors this year.
As the Festival de Cannes hits the midway mark the three most likely conversations in Cannes are: the terrible weather, a real life million dollar jewelry heist at the Cannes’ Hotel Novotel, located near the Palais des Festivals, and who is likely to take top honors this year.
Joel and Ethan Coen’s new film Inside Llewyn Davies, about a folk singer in the 60s, is the hit of the festival so far. It stars Carey Mulligan (enjoying better feedback for her performance in this than her other Cannes film is managing, The Great Gatsby), Justin Timberlake and a breakout performance by Oscar Isaac. A combination of comedy, music (arranged by T Bone Burnett) and film noir, in the way only the Coen Brothers can, it’s been described by The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw as a “sublime joy” to watch.
Other films have also made an impression on the critics. Steven Soderbergh’s Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra stars Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Rob Lowe and Dan Aykroyd, and has been getting rave reviews. Described by the Telegraph as “exceptional”, it’s adapted from a book Behind the Candelabra: My Life With Liberace, by Scott Thorson, who worked for five years as Liberace’s live-in companion. It’s a good review for a film made for television network HBO! Oh, and apparently this is Soderbergh’s final film before he enters self-imposed semi-retirement …
Variety’s Chief Film Critic Scott Foundas found the only film from a female director in competition, Un Chateau En Italie, to his liking, writing that, ”Valeria Bruni Tedeschi once again follows the personal trials of beautiful bourgeois characters in and around the performing arts world, touching on themes of mortality and middle-aged panic in a mostly breezy, intelligent style.”
Japanese director Kore-Eda Hirokazu also delighted with his film Like Father, Like Son. James Cronk from Slant Magazine has written that, “Like Father, Like Son, his latest in a long line of unassuming family dramas, is one of his most heartbreaking works yet.”
Interestingly the critics have been quieter about Asghar Farhadi’s The Past. Expectations for Farhadi’s latest work have been high, especially after his last film, the remarkable A Separation. There been plenty of praise for Farhadi’s storytelling technique, he has apparently presented a film of great quality and craftsmanship. However, the third act seems to have divided reviewers, with some feeling as if Farhadi’s relationship drama unravels during this act.
Further back in the pack, Takashi Miike’s Shield of Straw has been panned, and Arnaud Desplechin’s Jimmy P starring Benicio Del Toro hasn’t faired well either.
Films screening outside the official competition are also getting praise. British writer-director Clio Barnard's second feature The Selfish Giant (loosely based on Oscar Wilde’s Christian fable of the same name) screened in competition in the Directors Fortnight and has been getting rave reviews. A visceral slice of social realism, it’s been called, “an absorbing and ultimately moving follow-up”, by The Hollywood Reporter, while the Village Voice reviewer wrote that, “The Selfish Giant is deeply tender, one of the most touching movies about friendship between men -- or boys -- I’ve ever seen”.
The second half of the festival looks like a bumper offering as well. Unlike previous years, when many of the big names and films were front loaded in the programme, this year the material is spread across the festival. Still to come is Roman Polanski’s Venus in Fur, James Gray’s The Immigrant, Nicolas Winding-Refn’s new collaboration with Ryan Gosling, Only God Forgives, and a last minute entry to the competition, Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive.
My wish list for the New Zealand International Film Festival, kicking off in July, is growing daily...