5 days, 12 films. Queues, parties and last day of pouring rain… Emerson College, where I will be studying from September, featured my profile in its blog as one of the Emersonians in Cannes. And here’s my short review of the most distinct films :
Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson (in Competition): cinematic, stylish and entertaining film, which ironically criticizes American society and portrays a world of children-scouts. However, in the end it needs a more solid story or something that would allow spectators to identify with the characters. A perfect opening film.
De Rouille et d’Os (Rust and Bone) by Jacques Audiard (in Competition): beautifully filmed, poetical, great characters (a whale trainer Stéphanie who loses both legs after an accident and a boxer Ali who takes care of his 5 years old son – two unforgettable performances by Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts). Everything was so correct in this film, maybe even too correct?
Baad el Mawkeaa (After the Battle) by Yousry Nasrallah (in Competition): a very interesting, though long and sometimes weak at performance, mix between documentary and fiction, set in Egypt during the revolution against Mubarak’s regime.
Jagten (The Hunt) by Thomas Vinterberg (in Competition): the best film from what I saw in Cannes this year, in which a random lie spreads quickly around a small Danish village and causes Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen) to be ostracized by the community, hunted as deer that he used to hunt with his peers, and forced to fight for justice alone. Actual as well as universal, great acting (Award for Best Actor for Mikkelsen), moving and poetical story. Perfect. Or maybe just a film of my taste.
The Sapphires by Wayne Blair (Off Competition): a light and funny comedy about a band of 4 Australian Aborigenal girls touring in Vietnam during the war. Just a nice film for Saturday night.
Mystery by Ye Lou (Un Certain Regard): a film by prominent Chinese director Lou Ye (Une jeune chinoise) had interesting moments but generally failed in a too explicitly told over melodramatic story.
Laurence Anyways by Xavier Dolan (Un Certain Regard): although I wasn’t a big fan of Dolan’s Les amours Imaginaires, I must admit that this young filmmaker has his own style that is very clear. Furthermore, I was fully immersed into the film, following the story of a transsexual Laurence and his female soulmate Frédérique for more than 2 hours without any concern of time.
Broken by Rufus Norris (Semaine de la Critique): one of my favorite films in Cannes, portraying a 11 years old Skunk (Eloise Laurence) who has A type diabetis and who observes the life of neighbors around her. Emotionally engaging, sincere and socially realistic debut film by British stage director Rufus Norris, or maybe just a type of films I like.
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