22 films seen so far and two full days to go so making the most of the Festival. Yesterday we had invites to
Sicario
in the main Lumiere theatre and the Lionsgate party to celebrate its
premiere (attended by Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin) afterwards at
the Baoli Beach. Here we are:
John and Rikki at Sicario party, Baoli Beach, Cannes
Sicario (
in
competition) - Dir. Denis Villeneuve, USA 2004 - is a very absorbing
thriller/action movie with Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro in a ruthless
pursuit of Mexican drug cartel leaders in which standard rules of engagement
are set aside - set mainly in Arizona and Mexico. Emily Blunt starts out as a
tough FBI special ops agent in a promisingly strong female role which is
unfortunately undermined as the film progresses. An unusual kind of film to be
in the Festival Sélection Officielle but an exciting watch. See Trailer
at link.
John & Rikki about to see Sicario in Lumiere at Cannes Film Festival
The other films I caught on Tuesday were quite different:
Son of Saul (
in
competition) Dir. Lazlo Nemes, Hungary 2014 See Peter Bradshaw
Guardian review and trailer
here
Saul is a Hungarian Jewish prisoner at Auschwicz death camp forced to work
in the chaotic horror of the gas chambers, plundering the possessions of their
victims and disposing of the corpses in furnaces or lime pits. Incredibly, as
the 'shower' is emptied of its latest batch of corpses, laboured breathing
reveals the body of a young boy miraculously still alive. Saul helps retrieve
the boy only for a camp doctor to extinguish his remaining thread of life.
providing the boy with a religious burial becomes an impossible but obsessive
mission for Saul, a desperate means of introducing an act of morality into this
hell on earth, alongside interventions in other subversive activity across the
underground networks within the camp. The formal qualities of the film and the
persistent close-up focus on Saul against the hellish backdrop of the screams
of the gas chambers, the heaps of corpses, the roar of the furnaces, beatings
and executions convey the massive scale and the sickening dehumanisation and
'normalisation' of the genocide.
The
Measure of a Man (Dir. Stephane Brise, France 2015 –
in competition) - see
The Atlantic review and traier
here.
Deals with an
experienced machine operator who loses his job in factory lay-offs in a
fly-on-the-wall style drama reminiscent (sort of think Ken Loach might make).
Having been active in trade union resistance of the lay-offs, he has tired of
the fight and sets about trying to find new employment.
After months of job-seeking, he is eventually
taken on as a security officer in a large supermarket, a job requiring some
compromise of his principles as he trains in surveillance - of both shoppers
and fellow employees. His family life with his wife and disabled son continues (DIY
in the house, jive lessons with his wife, discussions at school about his son’s
progress, etc.). As spectators we uncomfortably witness, fly-on-the-wall style,
the apprehension and questioning of a series of shoplifters (mainly vulnerable
individuals whose limited means prevent them taking up the company’s standard
offer to let them go if they agree to pay for the pocketed goods. We also
witness the confrontation of a long-standing employee for pocketing unclaimed
bonus points for herself and the devastating consequences of her dismissal.
When a second colleague is similarly confronted with evidence of her repeatedly
keeping unclaimed coupons, the moral compromise becomes too great for Thierry
(Vincent Lindon, the only professional actor in the film).
Ingrid
Bergman - in her own words Dir. Stig Bjorkman, Sweden 2015. A documentary
initiated by Bergman’s daughter, Isabella Rossellini (as she recounted at the
presentation of the film in the Salle de 60ieme premiere) in conversation with
the director at an earlier Cannes film festival. Slightly too long, but
nevertheless fascinating, insight into Bergman’s family with footage from an
amazingly rich collection of home video material filmed throughout her life,
starting from her childhood with films recorded by her father and interviews
with her 3 daughters and son (revealing a range of perspectives on their
relationship with their mother and changes associated with the break up of her
marriages to and Rossellini and filming commitments) as well as public and
press reactions to Bergman as a result of her private life. See Hollywood Reporter review from Cannes
here.
Isabella Rossellini at presentation of Ingrid... in Salle du 60ieme, Cannes Film Festival
Presenting Ingrid... in Salle du 60ieme, Cannes Film Festival (Thierry Fremaux, Roberto Rossellini, Stig Bjorkman and Isabella Rossellini
Also - just few words on some of the other films seen on Friday 15 and
Saturday 16 May which I haven’t mentioned in earlier blogs:
****Paulina
/ La patota (seen Fri 15/05) Dir. Santiago Mitre, Argentina/France,
2015. See Hollywood reporter review from Cannes
here and trailer
here.
A tough and compelling drama about Paulina’s decision to leave her promising
careeras
lawyer, her barely commenced
PhD and her comfortable city life to make a practical contribution to the
democratisation project she has been promoting as a social activist. She goes
to work as a teacher in a school in a deprived and marginalised are close to
the borders between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay where developing an
understanding of human rights and social justice are priorities for the
project. When Paulina is raped by initially unknown attackers, rather than going
back to the city, she determines to stay in the community and continue the
project, adhering to her guiding values and principles as she seeks to come to
terms with her emotional response, and find her own way of confronting the
experience – and her attackers - and the consequences of the attack. The film’s
formal approach, involving reprises of key moments in the film from different
points of view, captures something of the protagonist’s attempt to find and
maintain a balanced perspective and response to the situation, notwithstanding the
conflicting emotions and dilemmas she experiences and the reactions of those
around her. A powerful film with a very strong central character and
performance.
*NoKids / Sin hijos Dir. Ariel Winograd, Argentina/Spain 2015 (seen Fri
15/05). Review and trailer here.
Light romantic comedy (Maribel Verdú, Diego Peretti). Gabriel has been
totally absorbed in his young daughter Sofia for the last few years since his
marriage broke down but decides to keep her existence a secret – through a
series of outlandish strategies - when he falls for Vicky who is a committed
member of the ‘No Kids’ movement and Sofia, who has a candour and inventiveness
beyond her age (think
Outnumbered’s
xx), adds new dimensions to the subterfuge and is the key factor in a slightly
predictable ending. See Altapeli review and trailer (Spanish)
here.
**Aurora
Dir. Rodrigo Sepúlveda, Chile, 2014 (seen Fri 15/05). Trailer
here.
Sofia and her husband have been trying to adopt for several years without
success. When Sofia sees a news story of a dead baby discovered on a landfill
rubbish dump, she determines to find out about the baby whom she names
‘Aurora’. Impervious to the incomprehension of the authorities, Sofia becomes determined
to provide the baby with an identity and a recognition that she existed and
engages in a seemingly impossible legal battle to gain the right to bury her.
Based on the true story – the closing credits of the film indicate that since
Aurora, the couple have gone on to provide burials for several other abandoned
dead babies. Interesting positioning of her quest at the borderline between
determination, dedication and obsession.
More anon....
