Marshall and the Movies

Now I’m just cranking these out … maybe it won’t be long before I actually complete one of these (gasp) on time. I probably just jinxed myself. Anyways, a short account of yesterday for you all – it was fairly uneventful.

Day 3 – Friday, May 18

I finally slept in past 7:00 A.M., but that probably wasn’t a good thing. I was hoping to catch a screening of Matteo Gorrone’s “Reality,” the odds-on favorite to win the Palme D’Or according to the oddsmakers, but that was at 8:30 A.M. and my body just wasn’t going to let that happen. I’ll have to catch it in the Marche or during the last weekend of the festival when they replay the entire competition slate.

I rolled out of bed around 9:30, grabbed some quick breakfast, and quickly caught a bus to stand in line for “Beasts of the Southern Wild” at 11:00 A.M. It was playing in Un Certain Regard, which, for those who don’t know, is a second competition slate that plays in the DeBussy, a smaller auditorium of only a thousand or so seats. I got there a little bit more than 30 minutes early, which thankfully proved to be just enough. I got a seat on one of the wings in the balcony – not the greatest seat, but the aspect ratio was great for me since it shrunk the screen horizontally.

I was privileged to be at the screening with the director Benh Zeitlin and stars Dwight Henry and Quvenzhané Wallis (a name I can’t type without copying and pasting from IMDb) in attendance. They received a huge and much deserved standing ovation at the end of the film, a very rousing experience for all involved. I’ll elaborate further in my review, but I have some pretty big superlatives coming for this one. It won Sundance, wowed Tribeca, and now looks to spellbind Cannes.

And after that, it was kind of an average day. Didn’t do much else, didn’t see any other movies, didn’t see anyone famous. Sean Penn was supposed to stop by where I work, but that didn’t pan out beecause of the rain. Of course I get the festival with all the clouds and showers, but hey, I’m here! I can’t complain!

Oh, and there was a false alarm of a Ryan Gosling sighting. This guy looked creepily similar to the “Drive” star, but it was ultimately no more than a lookalike.

To close on a more positive note, check out this nightime picture. It’s breathtaking; see it in person at some point in your life if you can.