In my second year at the Cannes Film Festival, I told myself I would expand my viewing beyond the Official Competition to enrich my experience. (For those who might not know, the festival also has two officially recognized sidebars that boast impressive selections of their own.) I feared I had run out of time to check out a film from Critic’s Week but noticed that, in a small pocket of freedom, I could catch a repeat screening of the winner, Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza’s “Salvo.”
Perhaps seeing the high expectations surrounding a newly crowned champion are to blame for my intensely negative reaction. Or maybe I was just fatigued given that this was my fourth film of the day. But I don’t think I had a more miserable viewing experience at that festival than “Salvo.”
The filmmakers commit themselves to minimalism, which is certainly not an immediate cause for dismissal. But the reservedness does not draw us in further or illuminate the characters. It’s the case where nothing just means nothing. “Salvo” has an interesting enough plot – an Italian mafia hitman has a crisis of conscience when faced with the prospect of having to whack a blind girl – but it’s executed with such an excruciating lack of urgency that it renders the final product practically unwatchable. D /
Over a year ago, I had the distinct honor to attend a panel in memory of my hero in the realm of film criticism, the late Roger Ebert, in Cannes. His widow, Chaz, was in attendance a little over a month after his passing. We all took a “500 Thumbs Up for Roger” picture (if you like a good Where’s Waldo puzzle, try to find me in this picture) and signed a book letting Chaz know how much her husband meant to everyone who cherishes film.
But it was not the words that I left her that mattered that day; rather, it was the words she left me and everyone else in attendance. Kicking off the panel, she remarked, “Roger said that the cinema expands your imagination. And when it’s done well, what it will do is allow the individual to be transported beyond linear boundaries and to take you to a world that you hadn’t seen before and allow you inside and outside to become a better person.”
People that take the time to write seriously about these illusionary worlds of light, shadow, and pixel have most likely achieved this exhilarating narrative transport. It’s a difficult and thus extremely rare feat for a film to pull off. Yet the sensation feeds the soul in such a sublime manner that it’s worth seeking out even if it means wading through seemingly endless mediocrity.
By year’s end, I manage to let the awards hype delude myself into thinking I have experienced this transcendent feeling multiple times. In actuality, however, these little miracles only occur every few years or so. I’m overjoyed to report that James Gray’s “The Immigrant” is one such film.
Most movies nowadays return me to the same spot from which I departed. This masterpiece, on the other hand, picked me up at one place and deposited me at a higher ground. The story of “The Immigrant” alone left me feeling spiritually enriched. The complete package assembled by producer, writer, and director Gray left me renewed and reaffirmed in the power of the cinema. I remain so stunned in slack-jawed awe at this exquisitely beautiful work that few words can fully capture my strong sentiments.
Producers of the upcoming film adaptation of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” I have found your director. Thank me later.
In the past three weeks since I’ve seen Abdellatif Kechiche’s “Blue Is the Warmest Color,” I have gone back and forth on whether I deem it to be pornography. What I can say without a doubt, however, is that it features the most graphic depictions of sexuality between any two people that I have ever seen on film. It takes that honor away from Steve McQueen’s 2011 masterpiece “Shame,” which used pornographic aesthetics to ironically point out just how little pleasure was present in the carnality occurring before our eyes.
Kechiche’s camera, whether voyeuristic or artistic, captures human sexuality between the timid young Adele (newcomer Adele Exarchopolous) and the nubile Emma (Lea Seydoux) at an extremely intimate level. On the one hand, it seems almost animalistic as we feel their every body movement, see the saliva drip, and hear their every moan. Yet at the same time, it’s also highly erotic. Kechiche seems more focused on capturing the act from every angle and less on the experience that Adele and Emma are having.
The story just stops as we are left to gaze at Adele and Emma entangling in a frenzied sexual embrace. Acting halts as well since the camera just cares about Exarchopolous and Seydoux’s extremities, not their faces. In addition, Kechiche’s segues into sensuality are so abrupt and unexpected that once the first scene occurs, it’s impossible not to be constantly wondering if the next edit will lead into intertwining limbs or passionate moans.
So I know you’ve all been wondering where all my updates from Cannes were this year. Last year, I did a pretty intensive journal and wrote most of my reviews during the festival itself.
Well, no one year at Cannes is quite like the other (or so I’ll generalize from my two years at the festival). This year, the movies were better, the experience was better, and the time was maximized. Not that my readers and my writing isn’t important. But all my writing can get done later – the festival is there for 12 days and then it’s gone.
It also didn’t help that my Wi-Fi was poor at the hotel where I stayed. I could have written from my phone like I did last year, but that got me into a number of binds where I was low on battery at crucial moments – and I wasn’t too keen to repeat those instances. If I had to worry about conserving my phone battery, it could limit my opportunities. I also could have brought my laptop into Cannes, but it would be bulky and could get stolen.
Plus, this year’s festival was pretty simple for me. I worked, I ate, and I saw movies. 25 of them, to be exact. (Paradise for me, right?!)
I also had to sign a confidentiality agreement for my employer this year, so that limited what I could write about. Rather than tell tales of eating yet another Nutella banana crepe or waiting in yet another line, I figured I would spare myself the effort to journal. And at the same time, you all would be spared my monotony.
And yes, the festival did end 5 days ago – but I’ve been in transit getting from France to home to school. I’ve been living on planes and out of suitcases. It’s been exhausting, and I normally get too drained to write reviews. But starting tomorrow, June 1, I will begin to document my thoughts on the Cannes titles I saw. You’ll get my opinions, don’t you worry. A little later than Variety or The Hollywood Reporter, sure. But if all you want is immediacy, then you probably shouldn’t read me anyways.
Thanks for your patience. I hope you enjoy the sneak preview of a fantastic year in cinema that awaits!
Last year was the age of YOLO (You Only Live Once), so the phrase “YOCO” circulated around my friends at Cannes last year – standing for “You Only Cannes Once.” The point was, you should live it up this year because you only have one time at the Cannes Film Festival.
Well, all those times I said “YOCO” last year were a lie. Because now I’m back at Cannes for a second year at the festival. So prepare yourself for another two weeks of reviews. I’ll be attempting to diversify outside my mainly official competition, primarily American slate from last year. Although it’s going to be hard because there are so many fantastic American films in competition this year…
But this place hasn’t aged a day since I left. And I’m excited to see what kind of great experiences await in 2013. Go like the Facebook page for Marshall and the Movies for more instantaneous updates on my time at Cannes!
Cannes Film Festival 2012 / Sundance Film Festival 2013
(NOTE: I saw “Mud” at the first showing in Cannes last May. I have no idea if the movie being shown in Utah is the same one I saw in France. I have some lingering suspicion it might have been reworked and tweaked a little bit since it disappeared from the festival circuit for eight months.)
Third features are, for most filmmakers, really the first time we can gauge their capabilities and career trajectory. A debut film is, well, a debut film. Unless you are Orson Welles, whose first film “Citizen Kane” is the best of all-time to many, the first time behind the camera is rarely one that produces much beyond the promise of great things. While many directors break out with their second film, some would consider that they still have the training wheels on the bike.
By the third film, however, we generally stop cutting them slack or grading them on a curve. It’s do or die, make or break. If you haven’t quite figured out how to make a good movie, perhaps it’s time to consider a career change. Just to provide some perspective, Scorsese’s third film was “Mean Streets,” Spielberg’s was “Jaws,” Malick’s was “The Thin Red Line,” Jason Reitman’s was “Up in the Air,” and Ben Affleck’s was “Argo.”
Jeff Nichols, an emerging American filmmaker, made his first two movies with a very independent spirit. His debut, “Shotgun Stories,” had an interesting concept but was poorly executed. His second film, “Take Shelter,” was a superb ambiental drama that effectively visualized the state of economic and personal anxieties in the age of the Great Recession. But his third feature, “Mud,” is so different that it almost feels like a first film.
With “Mud,” Nichols makes what I believe to be a very conscientious leap towards the mainstream. It definitely plays more towards satisfying audience expectations with familiar storyline and aesthetics, not jarring them with the uncomfortable or the unknown. And there’s nothing wrong with that; he’s fairly adept at capturing that boyish spirit in the coming-of-age movies that Steven Spielberg among others made so well in the 1980s. But after the brilliance and originality of “Take Shelter,” I was hoping Nichols would not just fall in line.
And to reiterate, I don’t disdain “Mud” simply for daring to be similar. It’s still quality filmmaking, but it feels more like a harbinger of things to come than something substantial in and of itself. This transitional film is too populist to be indie; however, it’s also a little too indie to be truly mainstream. I don’t usually talk about forces competing for the soul of a movie, yet it feels totally relevant for “Mud” as these two entirely different spirits of filmmaking run amuck throughout the movie. Each claims a scene here or there, and the ultimate victor is unclear.
I would argue that the real winner of “Mud” are the characters, written with love and care by Nichols and brought to the screen with compassion by the cast. Matthew McConaughey, the new king of career turnaround, beguiles as the titular character Mud. He fancies himself an urban legend, an almost mythic figure of sorts. Yet it’s fascinating to watch the man slip out from underneath his tough facade and see his guilt and shame manifested.
Though the movie is named for his character, Jeff Nichols’ film isn’t really about Mud. It’s about the two boys, Ellis (Tye Sheridan from “The Tree of Life,” albeit totally changed since that film was shot so long ago) and his sidekick Neckbone (Jacob Lofland), who stumble upon Mud hiding out in a boat in the trees. While Mud drives the narrative forward, the movie’s real story and power comes from the way those events affect these two adolescents.
“Mud” mainly follows Ellis as he navigates a new world, one where nothing seems clear-cut or black and white. Mud teaches him what love and trust really are when they are together away from society, and then he reemerges to find alternative meanings of such concepts. Sheridan lends a real authenticity to the struggles of growing up and realizing hard truths in a performance that evokes Henry Thomas’ Elliott in “E.T.,” a movie that feels like quite a kindred spirit of “Mud.”
To tap into a fraction of what Spielberg achieved is quite an achievement. Now, it’s time for Nichols to relocate his old voice of originality and create a work just like “Mud,” only with that old aesthetic brilliance and creativity. B /
Remember on Sunday when I said I thought I had hit the wall? That wasn’t the wall; that was a curb.
Day 9 – Thursday, May 24
I went to bed with a slightly upset stomach and unfortunately woke up in the morning with the same feeling. Why doesn’t sleep always function as a reset button? Anyways, on top of that, despite getting around 8 hours or so of sleep, I still felt deliriously tired.
But after the crushing disappointment of being shut out of the “On the Road” premiere, I wasn’t going to go another day eased without seeing a film. So I sucked up and got in line for the rooftop screening of “On the Road,” and I arrived early enough to not only gain admittance but also land a pretty good seat. Too bad the movie’s quality didn’t match my seat.
I then went to work where standing up felt like getting water boarded between my fatigue and unsettled stomach. Thankfully, I got to end the day by seeing the end of a late-night beach screening of “Jaws.” I feel like Steven Spielberg would very much approve of the venue and ambiance.
I guess my run had to end sometime. After seven straight days of seeing movies, I didn’t expect that the sun would rise and set without me having seen one. But happen it did.
Day 8 – Wednesday, May 23
I got my tuxedo on again for a gala premiere, this time for “On the Road.” I wasn’t particularly excited for the movie or the stars, but I figured I might as well go because I didn’t have any particularly big plans for the evening. The screening was to begin at 7:00 P.M., so I got into the line beginning around 4:15 P.M.
There was that long, unglamorous stretch of time where nothing happened again. Then around 6:00 P.M., things did start to pick up again with the red carpet arrivals. They start to play some halfway decent music and you crane your neck to see if that random woman is Berenice Bejo or just some random woman.
Around 6:30, I heard a high-pitched squeal and quickly looked to my right to see Robert Pattinson himself. He looked unshaven and carefree in his Dr. Strangelove-esque sunglasses. I did manage to snap a picture of him from afar, but it’s going to be a Where’s Waldo puzzle for you all.
And then the whole cast showed up; the main three actors rolled up in vintage wheels. Kristen Stewart looked like she had spent a grand total of two minutes on getting ready. Kirsten Dunst, on the other hand, looked like a million bucks. And unfortunately, Amy Adams was a no-show. I got this picture of the cast lined up on the steps; Stewart is in the black and white dress and Dunst is in pink.
And while the rush line had worked for me the day before, I was not so fortunate this time. They did not admit a soul from the rush line and even had to turn away people with tickets! I walked away disappointed, tired, and with aching feet.
Sorry for the delay, Internet woes abound in France. Monday was another uneventful rainy day – bad for you to read, but good for me to write.
Day 6 – Monday, May 21
I left my apartment for Cannes today at 12:15 P.M., which felt SO NICE. I got about nine or ten hours of sleep last night, and it turns out that was just what the doctor ordered. I hit my wall on Sunday, so I was glad to be really alive and experiencing Cannes again.
However, Mother Nature did not reward me with a bright, sunny day with my new found eagerness. Instead, it drizzled sporadically and the sky was gray. That is, on the other hand, the perfect environment to watch a movie and not feel guilty about sitting indoors for two hours.
And today, I watched my first movie of the festival in which I did not fall asleep or drift off even for a moment. That could be due to the fact that the film, Thomas Vinterberg’s “The Hunt,” was truly remarkable and easily the best moie have seen over the course of Cannes. It doesn’t have US distribution yet, but it really should. This movie needs to be seen.
Struggling to find something else to write about this day …. um, let’s see, I had a banana and Nutella panini? I bought a donut from a kiosk? I saw no celebrities? Hopefully there will be something more than a beautiful landscape in my next post.
Well, folks, the burnout has finally arrived. This morning, after a brisk sprint to make it to a screening on time, I settled into my seat in the Lumiere and promptly fell asleep for 20 minutes. I almost contemplated just going back to my hotel room and sleeping for the most of the afternoon, but then I remembered the existence of Diet Coke.
Day 5 – Sunday, May 20
I got up early for a screening of Michael Haneke’s “Amour” at 8:30 A.M. However, even though I was ready on time, my bus passed me by because it was already full … yanking my comfortable cushion and leaving me wondering whether or not I would even get to see this movie at all. The next bus came in ten minutes or so, and when it arrived at the stop, I ran off and sprinted to the Lumiere. Surprisingly, even that early in the morning, it was one of the most attentive I had been in a screening … and it was subtitled too!
After that, I had a little bit of down time to write before attending three all-star panels at the American Pavilion. The first was with independent film directors Rodney Ascher of “Room 237” (a documentary on “The Shining” that I’m planning to see tomorrow evening), Adam Leon of “Gimme the Loot,” and Ben Wheatley of “Sightseers.” The blogger in me enjoyed it, although the conversation was pretty much directed towards aspiring filmmakers, something which I am not.
Then, there was a panel about film marketing and advertising, a field that really fascinates me, and the conversation largely centered around the art of the trailer and satisfying your core audience even if you believe you can hit one of the other “four quadrants” (male, female, old, young). The panel included Doug Wick, the producer of “Gladiator” as well as Cannes competition film “Lawless;” I got to shake his hand and congratulate him on the movie’s success. (That is, I’m assuming it will play well with audiences – snooty critics looking to crown the Palme D’Or will surely not like it much.) Oh, and David Poland of Movie City News was also there to provide a different perspective. I gladly thanked him for what he does for long-form journalism. If you are a real movie fan, then you NEED to be watching his DP/30 interviews on YouTube.
Finally, there was the State of the Industry, a packed panel and a packed crowd. Speakers included Nancy Utley, President of Fox Searchlight, and Tom Bernard, President of Sony Pictures Classics. Mrs. Utley spoked about how Fox Searchlight chooses their slate of releases, which range from widely appealing commercial vehicles like “The Descendants” all the way down to smaller niche films like “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” She said that if one person on their team is a passion advocate for a film and can find a way to convince the rest of the team that it has an audience and a path to success, then they will be willing to take a chance on it. Glad to see what incredible artistic integrity they can maintain while building brand identity. (And further blogger geekdom: got to meet Anne Thompson of IndieWire, who moderated the panel, and thank her for being one of my main sources for forming opinions on Oscar season.)
Other than those four events, it was a gross, disgusting rainy day in Cannes. Definitely didn’t come here for this weather. Yet somehow, in spite of the grossness of the icky day, Cannes still looked remarkably beautiful. Houston makes me depressed in the rain (except now, when I rejoice for rain in our drought-riddled state). But Cannes, on the other hand … just wow. It made me think of a certain scene in the rain, and then I remembered that sometimes magic can happen no matter what the weather.
Ok, just got out of the 8:30 A.M. showing of “Lawless” … how I got in is another story entirely. But anyways, here’s my account of day 2 in beautiful Cannes (which was two days ago).
Day 2 – Thursday, May 17
My afternoon began with a fantastic Lumiere screening of “Rust and Bone” at 3:00 P.M. I had to sit in the very back row in the balcony, but the image and the sound were still impeccable, so it was all fine by me. Hopefully my review will come down the pipes later.
Then, with only a quick window to grab something to eat before my next screening, I made the idiotic mistake of trying to order from a McDonald’s … and from one of their outside ordering kiosks, no less. The concept is basically a walk-up drive-through window; however, they did a really poor job of communicating it, so I was looking for my order with all the scrubs inside at the counter. Turns out, there was just a window near the ordering kiosk that would open when an order was ready. By that point, I was so frustrated that when my one bite of Royale Bacon tasted gross, I just threw out the entire tray. (I later got a panini from a streetside café. Stupid me for ever thinking of choosing McDonald’s.)
I was quickly whisked away to the Olympia Theater, a multiplex used for regular year-round film screenings in Cannes, for a “secret screening” held by the Weinstein Company. I don’t think I am allowed to say what I saw, but I am almost positive I wouldn’t be able to say what I thought. The rest of the screening attendees were buyers and international distributors – AKA no press (or bloggers). So perhaps one of these days, my virtual embargo will be lifted. But until then, my lips are sealed.
I can tell you one thing – er, person – I did see though: Harvey Weinstein himself. I almost didn’t recognize him since he was dressed so casually in an untucked white-button down, but as soon as he walked down the staircase where I was waiting, I knew exactly who he was. You could just hear the whispers going around the room: “Oh my god, that’s Harvey Weinstein!” Think the scene in “Elf” where Miles Finch walks down the hallway and everyone is saying his name. Harvey, much like Miles Finch, was totally unphased by taking the air out of the room.
It was totally surreal to see such a mythological figure of the film world in the flesh. And now that I have real experience to complement all the countless journalistic pieces and editorials, if I could describe him in a word, it would be: driven. He looked like a man on a mission walking through that theater lobby, and I think it would take a nuclear weapon to deter him. (No, I did not get a picture … did you think I was going to be the one to take a cell phone picture? Not subtle.)
And then, after grabbing some delectable tiramisu gelato, I was off to a beach screening of “Dr. No” to celebrate the 50th anniversary of James Bond. I had never seen the movie in its entirety, so it was probably nice education to finally sit down and watch it. (Plus, now the “Austin Powers” movies make even more sense and will probably be even funnier.) The setting was beautiful, I was happily curled up under a Stella Artois fleece blanket, and then … fireworks. It was truly one of the most amazing pyrotechnic displays I have ever seen, and it just seemed unceasing as well.
The perfect ending to an excellent day. Try watching James Bond with that going on. I dare you.
Sorry, guys. It’s been pretty overwhelming getting used to life in the Cannes Film Festival, and I’ve come back the past two nights from screenings past midnight with the intention of writing something … but have then quickly fallen into bed. I’m working on 5-6 hours of sleep each night, which can be quite lethal to moviewatching. Even in the movies I’ve loved like “Rust and Bone,” I found myself drifting off at the beginning just from sheer exhaustion. I’ll try to be better, so my hope is that I can churn out this piece pretty quickly and then hit the hay. The goal for tomorrow is to get into the 8:30 A.M. press screening of “Lawless,” which means waiting in a rush line beginning around 7:00 A.M. Party!
Anyways, here come some pictures and plenty of stories!
Day 1 – Wednesday, May 16
I spent my first afternoon in Cannes running around the Palais du Festival, the big building where most of the major festival events occur, trying to find an entry into the 3:00 P.M. press screening of “Moonrise Kingdom.” To give you a sense of just how massive this place is, just take a look at the picture below and know that my iPhone hardly captures the scope of it. Some people affectionately call it “the Death Star,” and I have to say, that’s a pretty apt description. It’s room after room, hall after hall, theater after theater, making the Palais one heck of a cumbersome place to navigate.
I couldn’t find a non-blocked entrance, so I just gave up and went to a Market screening of “Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap.” Another cool thing about the Cannes Film Festival that many, including myself until recently, might not know is that there is also a concurrent market for buying and selling films in all stages of production. Some international rights are being sold to blockbusters like “Catching Fire,” which is still in pre-production … and then there are screenings of films like “Silent House” and “Casa de Mi Padre,” which opened in the US months ago but are still seeking international distributors. The Marché du Film (Cannes Film Market) sees thousands upon thousands of transactions, and it provides an excellent opportunity for cinephiles like me to piggyback onto their business and see some movies that won’t come stateside for a while.
So my first Marché screening (and as of right now, also the only) was definitely interesting. Like I said in the intro, I fell asleep intermittently throughout the first 45 minutes, which was miraculous given how booming the sound was coming from the screen showing Ice T’s documentary. I’ll save my more detailed opinions for a full review coming later, but the short form review is this: I don’t doubt Ice T’s passion, but he clearly needed someone to help him edit and refine his fascination in a more appropriate cinematic way.
Then I got great news … I won a ticket to see the 11:00 P.M. showing of “Moonrise Kingdom” in the Lumiere theater, Cannes’ 2300-seat theater which will forever put every other moviegoing experience to shame. Only this theater requires an “invitation,” as they call it, and proper attire must be worn or the Fashion Police (actual people, not Joan Rivers the morning after the Oscars) will wag a finger at you and turn you away. Even if you do have this, your clothing is more important:
I had never seen a movie from a balcony before, so I was glad to receive an education in how they did this back in the good old days. Not to mention because of the mammoth nature of the Lumiere, the filmmakers come into the theater in the wee hours of the morning to calibrate the picture and sound especially for the screening. So in other words, the movies I get to see in the Lumiere are exactly as the director wants me to see them. Crazy, right?! Here’s my view of the screen from the balcony on Wednesday night:
And as if the experience weren’t already magical enough, each Cannes screening begins with this bumper, accompanied by the music from “Aquarium” by Camille Saint-Saens that I already associate with magic and enchantment. (Start the video below at 0:35.)
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I WALKED THE RED CARPET. The same red carpet that Wes Anderson had walked with Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, and Bill Murray just a few hours earlier! I saw their numerous photo opportunities from not too far away and even snapped a few pictures of my own. The highlight of the whole thing was Edward Norton lingering for easily a minute after everyone else on the steps of the Palais to just be goofy.
And then I got to walk it myself, which was INCREDIBLE to say the least. If only hundreds of other people weren’t rushing the steps for their own photo opportunity, I might have felt like a celebrity myself. But regardless of that, it was still pretty freaking cool. Oh, and don’t buy all the illusions you get from seeing these images of movie stars walking the red carpet – it’s actually not very long and there are very few steps.
Well, folks, it’s been another good long absence because of school – but have no fear, because “Marshall and the Movies” is about to be back and better than ever. I’m writing this post now from an apartment in Cannes, France.
Yes, hopefully you read between the lines there correctly. I’m at the Cannes Film Festival. Hopefully, I’ll see some incredible movies and maybe even a few celebrities! But check back here constantly or on my Facebook fan page (shameless plug) for updates on anything I deem significant. Pictures, reviews, and hopefully more will start heading your way when the festival officially starts on Wednesday, May 16th.
But since I write “Marshall and the Movies” not merely for myself but also for you, the readers, please strap along with me for this amazing ride. Hopefully, I won’t disappoint!
Cannes Film Festival – Critic’s Week, 2013
Cannes Film Festival – Official Competition, 2013
Cannes Film Festival – Official Competition
Marshall and the Movies 
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