GARY MEYER ON CANNES FILM FESTIVAL, 2008

May 16, 2008

The Cannes Film Festival 2008 has started and your loyal correspondent is here. I'll fill you in on the first few days and if you want to see how well I predicted things last year, you can check out my full articles at balboamovies.com/lounge/cannes-2007.html .

Thousands of journalist, distributors, festival directors and film talent crowd onto a small space along the French Riviera in hopes of finding great success in their particular areas.

Considered one of the world's most important film Festivals, Cannes is celebrating its 61st year.

A month ago the pre-buzz among film people was that maybe 2008 would be a bad year for the festival selection. 2007 vas one of the strongest in memory and rumor had it the Cannes team had delayed their press conference to get more choices...and at that had reduced the number of films in Competition. Taking an optimistic attitude my hopes are that a reduced number of entries means a high percentage of good ones.

The Opening Night film at any high profile film festival is a tough spot to fill. The press and public judge the movie on a higher level, asking "Why does this one deserve the opening night spot?" A lot of considerations go into the selection of this film including a highly regarded director, interesting subject matter and stars who can walk the red carpet and join the Festival Director on stage.

For Cannes the announcement came after everything else, building suspense and doubts simultaneously. It is the new film by Ferando Meirelles (CITY OF GOD, THE CONSTANT GARDENER) with Julianne More, Mark Ruffalo, Gael Garcia Bernal, Sandra Oh and the bay area's own Danny Glover. It is an ambitious project and I admit that reading the production notes before the 8:30am press screening I became worried. Based on a prize-winning novel by José Saramago, it would be a challenge to bring it to the screen without being pretentious. My fears proved to be the reality for many in the press screening. The movie is intriguing as a man driving home suddenly is blind. Everyone he comes in contact also loses their sight and when the government realizes an epidemic has broken out; these people are rounded and placed in an abandoned building that is a prison. A "Lord of the Flies" kind of existence develops until they realize there are no longer guards keeping them inside....because the entire city has gone blind. Performances are impressive and it does keep one interested. At the official Opening Night performance the audience responded with enthusiasm that once again proved that critics and audiences aren't always on the same page.

There is an interesting coincidence with the Festival's poster, from a David Lynch image as a female is blindfolded. The poster was revealed long before BLINDNESS was announced.

But things looked up with the next batch of screenings. There have been several fine films in the past 24 hours for the jury, headed by Marin's Sean Penn, to give serious consideration.

There appears to be a theme developing around prisons with the powerful Argentinean THE LION'S DEN about a university student who awakes in her apart to find blood everywhere, her boy-friend bludgeoned to death and his lover (yes it gets complicated) also knocked out. The two are arrested and when it is learned that she is pregnant, she is placed in a special prison for pregnant women and their children, who will be taken away from them when the kids become 4 year old. The story of her attempts to get out of prison for a crime she isn't likely to have committed, battles with her long absent mother over the child's upbringing and how she adapts in prison make for fascinating stories superbly acted, directed and written.

The very next film, HUNGER, follows Irish political prisoners who went on a hunger strike. The focus is on Bobby Sands' 66 day ordeal and it s brutal, often had-to-watch work of great power.

WALTZ WITH BASHIR is an animated documentary about a loss of memory and attempt to regain the facts about the first Lebanon war in the early eighties. A variety of visual styles accompany the interviews with various people who participated. Another fascinating and challenging work.

I am off to see the new Woody Allen film followed by a Palestinian independent work and a documentary on Mike Tyson tonight.

UPS AND DOWNS ALONG THE CROISETTE

As the Cannes Film Festival has moved into full swing, it is the usual story with a lot of very serious, often depressing movies about the state of life around the planet. This is the kind of subject matter that usually wins prizes and critical raves, though not necessarily box office results.

So amidst films about poverty, drugs, abuse, war, hate, unwanted pregnancy, urban violence, starvation and whatever other terrible situations you can imagine, a well-made escapist film can be a relief. For this reason, the Cannes selection committee usually adds some high profile Hollywood movies out of competition which explains the charming computer graphic family film KUNG FU PANDA with its voice actors Jack Black, Lucy Liu, Dustin Hoffman and Angelina Jolie happy to frolic for some press coverage in the sun.

Similarly, having Steven Spielberg back for the first time since he brought E.T. here seems like a safe bet for international coverage serving the needs of both the Festival and the filmmakers. And Spielberg showed off his team.

All day people stood in front of the Palais du Festival with Indiana Jones hats and costumes or fancy dress and tuxedo waving hand-written signs pleading for an "invitation" to INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL. We walked up the red carpeted stairs into the 3000 seat Lumiere Theatre, photographers snapping our pictures just in case we were somebody famous. It is a bit intimidating but also kind of a thrill. I was lucky enough to get front row seats for the gala screening, a perfect place for this show as the stage is large and the giant screen set back enough to make it just fill my peripheral vision.

We were sitting next to TV personality Star Jones and chatted about each celebrity, watching them on the screen ascend to the entrance, entering the auditorium moments later and sitting in the rows just behind us. First celebrities looking for a good time at the movies. . . Tim Robbins, Paz Vega, Christian Slater, Aishwarya Rai, Dennis Hopper, Michael Moore, Natalie Portman, Goldie Hawn, Salma Hayek, Adrien Brody. . . and then from the movie, Harrison Ford with Calista Flockhart, Cate Blanchett, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg with Kate Capshaw, Jim Broadbent, Shia LeBeouf, Karen Allen, John Hurt, and Ray Winstone. (See Photos here.)

Once all were seated the show began with a visual pun overlapping the Paramount logo with a molehill. And then it kicked into high action filled with serial-like thrills for over two hours. It certainly is the most expensive Saturday matinee movie of all time. I had a great time, laughing and applauding numerous times. It could have been improved if it was shorter but you get your money's worth.

At the press conference earlier in the day Spielberg explained, "We did it as a celebration of the movies. We wanted to reacquaint people with the pure joy of seeing something with others in a darkened room."

When I got invited to the screening, I didn't expect to also find myself at the small private after-party at La Plage. But there we were with easy access to all the team. I asked producers Kathy Kennedy and Frank Marshall about the many stunts the actors seemed to be doing themselves. They confirmed they did much of it from sword-fighting on top of racing jeeps to running through mazes of CG living skeletons and shifting rocks. And they were covered with bruises throughout the shoot. I got to tell Spielberg how much I appreciated all the little details and visual jokes that might takes multiple viewings to catch. He appreciated it and explained how much fun it was to invent these surprises.

The increasingly interesting food kept coming out and the crowd stayed manageable compared to the mob scenes these parties often become. There was no press. And as we left, director George Lucas and his girlfriend, Chicago based financial wizard Mellody Hobson said "goodnight" to departing guests.

Also on the light side was a new romantic comedy directed by Woody Allen. VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA played well in a return to the classic Allen formula that originally made him popular. Now that he has moved beyond Manhattan (following two San Francisco projects early in his career, TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN, PLAY IT AGAIN SAM) to international locations, he is falling in love with new cities, this time Spain's Barcelona with appreciated sequences among the stunning Gaudi architecture. Penelope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall are the women in the life of complicated love life of Javier Bardem. Hall essentially plays a female Woody, who is not in the film himself. Her voice intonations are just like his which becomes irritating after awhile but not enough to prevent enjoyment of the movie. Look for it in early fall.

Now it is back to the serious stuff.

CLINT RETURNS TO CANNES

Clint Eastwood made a triumphant return to the Cannes Film Festival last night with his newest directorial work, THE CHANGELING, though the title may change to THE EXCHANGE.

Based on a true story, circa 1928 Los Angeles, it tells of Christine Collins, a single working mother (Angelina Jolie) whose nine-year-old son disappears while she is at work as a telephone operator. The LAPD, under constant criticism from the press, are determined to solve this case and five months later they bring home a boy they claim is her Walter. The kid clearly isn't her son but he is looking for a home and parent, claiming to be her son. The police bring in doctors to explain how a boy who is several inches shorter and circumcised clearly is her son. She is sent to a psychiatric home where the police commit women creating "problems" for the department Collins and her lawyer never give up hope as we follow a series of surprising and sometimes violent twists.

The French love Eastwood and the response has been enthusiastic from international and American critics announcing this to be the first film for the Oscar race.

Eastwood's French publicist and friend Pierre Rissient invited us to a special post screening dinner at the Restaurant La Palme d'Or. Some of the world's top film critics and film programmers joined Clint Eastwood, his daughter Alison and son Kyle, cast members and friends like Tim Robbins and Sean Penn who have acted for Eastwood in previous films. The film's star Angelina Jolie is pregnant and looked radiant in a gorgeous floor-length dress. Spouse Brad Pitt kept busy while she and Eastwood were deservedly the center of attention.

We were assigned to tables named after films Eastwood has directed. We were at MYSTIC RIVER. The Menus informed us I both French and English that we'd be eating:

The white and Purple Asparagus cooked in mineral water, freshness of amaretto liquor in flowery and argan oil.

The wild Mediterranean Sea Bass set nicely on a smooth polentina with splits of morel mushrooms, a carrot and young broadbean sauce.

The chocolate "Palme D'Or" - smooth cake with splits of hazelnuts, a tonka beans "Chaud Froid."

With appropriate wines paired, I'd give dinner 4 stars.

THANK YOU FAYE DUNAWAY

My first Cannes was in 1972. Theatres have come and gone and every year brings new surprises. Getting to see hot films can often be a challenge. Festival attendees fall into many categories. . . there are at least 5 levels of press; many types of film buyers, producers, directors, cinephiles. . . the list is huge. And the priority for getting into screenings changes hourly it seems. At any point the security guards may announce "C'est complet. It is full." A call to a friend's cell reveals there are dozens of empty seats

but my pleas don't pay off. Sometimes if one patiently waits until everyone else has given up, they may slip you in but the film has usually started. I have learned ways to sneak in via backdoors, bathrooms and exit doors. And each year the officials find and close the secret entrances.

The Noga Hotel has become the Hotel Stephanie and it houses what is now called variously the Palais Stephanie or Theatre CROISETTE. Confusion often reigns as the lines block auto traffic and the place I stood yesterday may not gain me entrance today.

Jerzy Skolomowski (BARRIER, WALKOVER, DEEP END, MOONLIGHTING) has returned after 17 years away from filmmaking with a new Polish film

4 NIGHTS WITH ANNA and there is a hot buzz. My friends are inside holding a seat but the guards refuse to care. I know that there are a couple of ways inside via an elevator ride to the underground parking garage and then through a labyrinth of halls and stairwells. So I set out to beat the system. Upon arrival at my secret door I find there are several guards. With broken French I plead my story. He suggests I go up another flight to the balcony. Another guard and more offensively badly spoken French from me and just as I am about to be told "no" actress Faye Dunaway appears in the lobby demanding a seat. This pulls all the guards away from their posts; I slip through the door, jump a red velvet rope and follow Faye into the theater, escorted by the very guards who wouldn't let me in.

The film is a wonderful surprise, the story of a village simpleton who becomes obsessed with a neighboring nurse. When he is falsely accused of raping her and him thrown in jail, his story details an obsession he hides in Anna's house quietly doing nice things she doesn't always notice. The films moves back and forth in time and I admit to a nap causing some plot confusion but the last image, while intriguing and sure to garner discussion, confused others too. Strands of black humor keep this a challenging and enjoyable return to style.

BAD BOYS

The ongoing prison theme is linked to a pair of very different documentaries causing a buzz. James Toback's TYSON is a compelling chance for the former boxing champ to tell his story about growing up in a house where sex and drugs were part of the daily routine for his mother. Lost, getting into trouble and not interested in school, Mike Tyson finds boxing coach Cus D'Amato who teaches him how to excel in the sport. Cus, a mentor and the father figure Tyson never had dies before the heavyweight championship and with success surrounding the fighter, there are temptations yet nobody to keep him in line. Tyson's notorious abusive behaviour and biting the ear of an opponent are just a few of the stories to be told.

Mike Tyson is clearly an intelligent person who went down the wrong path too often. Filmmaker Toback lets him talk and an often sympathetic man emerges to the surprise of many in the audience, especially women.

Roman Polanski is another high profile personality whose career as a successful film director (REPULSION, CHINATOWN, ROSEMARY'S BABY) in America was cut short when he was accused of having sex with a 13-year-old girl. He fled to Paris where he lives and recently won the Oscar for directing THE PIANIST. Marina Zenovich's thoroughly researched documentary ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED fascinates as it pieces together the details of the case, shedding light and answering questions.

AT CANNES, BELIEVE IT OR NOT

Though dozens of movies show in the official Festival sections, anyone can rent a screening room and become part of the March. Nothing prevents the filmmakers from then claiming "Shown during the Cannes Film Festival." Each year I enjoy uncovering the most outrageous film titles. Last year Troma announced POULTYGEIST and it is now being screened with the added subtitle: NIGHT OF THE CHICKEN DEAD. Horror generally brings the best titles and zombies are popular with BOLLYWOOD ZOMBIES and ZOMBIE, THE SELF DEFENSE FORCE leading the pack.

CHEERLEADER MASSACRE 2 has the most creative (and disgusting) artwork while FIST OF THE VAMPIRE seems pretty confused of its genre. But the winner so far is THERE ARE NAZIS ON THE MOON! With the add urging us to "Join the Fight. Buy War Bonds."

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