Cannes Film Festival 2012
As I wrote last year, Cannes is a wonderful place and unique festival, but it's not easy to watch a large volume of movies due to meetings and other events. There's nothing like a red carpet premiere though! What Cannes lacks in quantity, it more than compensates in quality.
I attended from opening night (16 May) and left early in the following Wednesday morning (23 May) so as usual missed some of the movies I really wanted to see, including On the Road, Cosmopolis and Mud. Other late players on my list were Hemingway & Gellhorn and The Paperboy. I also queued for Antiviral but failed to get in at a very popular Saturday afternoon screening.
You can discover more about the festival at IMDb's Cannes section.
Here's a list of movies I saw at the festival in chronological order ...
I attended from opening night (16 May) and left early in the following Wednesday morning (23 May) so as usual missed some of the movies I really wanted to see, including On the Road, Cosmopolis and Mud. Other late players on my list were Hemingway & Gellhorn and The Paperboy. I also queued for Antiviral but failed to get in at a very popular Saturday afternoon screening.
You can discover more about the festival at IMDb's Cannes section.
Here's a list of movies I saw at the festival in chronological order ...
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- DirectorWes AndersonStarsJared GilmanKara HaywardBruce WillisTwo 12-year-olds, who live on an island, fall in love with each other and elope into the wilderness. While people set out on a search mission, a violent storm approaching them catches their attention.I saw this with Keith at the opening night ceremony where the jury was introduced. It was a tighter pre-show this year which worked well, also lovely after-party in a location large enough for the volume of attendees. The movie was excellent and charming in a way which only Wes Anderson can do. The two leads were amazing, especially for their age.
- DirectorYousry NasrallahStarsMenna ShalabiBasem SamrahNahed El SebaïMahmoud was part of the armed groups coerced by the Egyptian Government which carried out attacks on protestors in Tahir Square the 2nd of February 2011. Since then, Mahmoud has lost his job, been subjected to humiliating treatment, and been ostracized by his own community that live close to the Pyramids. He and his family are close to despair when he meets Reem, a secular young Egyptian divorcee and modern-thinker who works in advertising. Reem is a fervent ecologist who lives in a wealthy neighbourhood of Cairo. This will be the encounter of two people but also of two different worlds.This was interesting on an educational level in terms of politics and culture with a fictionalised story set around recent events in Egypt. A little too hard to get to grips with for me though. Afternoon screening in The Lumiere.
- DirectorJacques AudiardStarsMarion CotillardMatthias SchoenaertsArmand VerdurePut in charge of his young son, Alain leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Alain's bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.This was the film premiere of the festival. I am sure we'll hear more of this one as awards season kicks in particularly for Marion Cotillard. An afternoon screening with Christian in The Lumiere to avoid an evening clash with the Marche du Film opening.
- DirectorBenh ZeitlinStarsQuvenzhané WallisDwight HenryLevy EasterlyFaced with both her hot-tempered father's fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love.Wow. Wow. Wow. I missed this at Sundance where it rightfully won the dramatic grand jury prize. This is an original vision from a filmmaker to be watched. You will not see anything like this. A packed morning screening in The Debussy with cast and crew.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRobert De NiroJames WoodsElizabeth McGovernA former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.Although I have seen it many times on VHS and DVD, this was my first time catching this on the big screen as part of the Cannes Classics presentations on the Friday evening. This is a newly restored 4 hours and 13 minutes cut overseen by the Leone family and is closest to the intended version. The additional scenes really work and add to the story, including a back-from-the-cutting-room-floor appearance by Louise Fletcher.
The screening was well attended by cast members, crew members (including Ennio Morricone), jury, general celebrities and I sat across the aisle from Robert De Niro. Also in attendance was my #1 celebrity crush Jennifer Connelly. - DirectorJohn HillcoatStarsTom HardyShia LaBeoufGuy PearceSet in Depression-era Franklin County, Virginia, a trio of bootlegging brothers are threatened by a new special deputy and other authorities angling for a cut of their profits.This was the big red carpet event in The Lumiere on the Saturday evening and it also played before the rain really arrived. A consistently interesting look at the prohibition era in Virginia. All of the cast were outstanding, particularly Jessica Chastain. During the movie several rounds of spontaneous applause broke out in the cinema as certain events played out to both expected and unexpected conclusions.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsJean-Louis TrintignantEmmanuelle RivaIsabelle HuppertGeorges and Anne are an octogenarian couple. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, also a musician, lives in Britain with her family. One day, Anne has a stroke, and the couple's bond of love is severely tested.So I finally saw a Palm d'Or winner at the time in Cannes rather than later! This is a wonderful film and its not often you see a Haneke film where you understand the ending on first viewing! It is very very tough going with plenty of on- and off-screen sadness. This was an extremely rainy red carpet premiere with Yasmine.
- DirectorAlain ResnaisStarsMathieu AmalricPierre ArditiSabine AzémaFrom beyond the grave, celebrated playwright Antoine d'Anthac gathers together all his friends who have appeared over the years in his play "Eurydice." These actors watch a recording of the work performed by a young acting company, La Compagnie de la Colombe. Do love, life, death and love after death still have any place on a theater stage? It's up to them to decide. And the surprises have only just begun...A final piece of weirdness from Alain Resnais. Seen at the Monday 8:30am press screening as the evening screening collided with the IMDb VIP Cannes dinner.
I really must re-watch the stunning Last Year at Marienbad soon. - DirectorAndrew DominikStarsBrad PittRay LiottaRichard JenkinsJackie Cogan is an enforcer hired to restore order after three dumb guys rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse.This was a fresh look at the underworld where it seems the bad guys have just as many issues at work as there are in more regular jobs. This was dark and wickedly funny in a sick and twisted fashion; a likely contender for my top 10 of 2012.
The scenes with Brad Pitt and Richard Jenkins are particularly excellent.
Seen with Christian at the red carpet premiere in The Lumiere on Tuesday evening.