White God (Fehér Isten) - Retro Film of Interest - Highly Recommended

White God (Feher Isten), written and directed by Kornel Mundruczo - Winner of Un Certain Regard, 2014 Cannes Film Festival.  

Harsh imagery and elements of realism meets horror fantasy, the impact is intense, raw and cringe-worthy at times - and worth every moment.  This is an extraordinary, soulful film.  It's not a flawless film, but I love everything about it and would not change a thing. 

Highly Recommended to say the least.

Links:

White God Official Site - Magnolia

RogerEbert.com Review

Cannes Un Certain Regard, 2014

Titane - Featured Film of Interest - Winner of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or

Titane, directed by Julia Ducournau and winner of the 2021 Palme d'Or at Cannes, is my most anticipated film of 2021.  Though it was released in October, I have yet to see it due to zero opportunity.  I'm hoping for a local theater screening in the upcoming months (Violet Crown, please), but have yet to see notice of one.  I do not think it is yet streaming, but if it is, I'm pretty certain that I will hold out for the big screen.  I may have to travel a bit, Richmond/DC style.  For those of my friends and colleagues in major markets and larger cities that have had the chance to see Titane, well, keep it quiet - you already know I'm jealous.

Director Julia Ducournau after her win

'Titane - an outlandish film packed full of sex and violence - has won the top award at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.

Director Julie Ducournau is only the second woman to receive the Palme d'Or and the first female to win it alone.'

Links:  

- BBC - Cannes Film Festival:  Titane wins top Palme d'Or prize 

- The Guardian - Julia Ducournau:  "Women Kicked serious ass this year"

The Lobster - Featured Film of Interest - Trailer/Teaser

The Lobster (2015)

A new film from the mind of Yorgos Lanthimos, director of Dogtooth (2009) - nothing else need be said.  I'm quite excited about this film and Lanthimos' first stretch into English language cinema. Refer to my posts on Dogtooth (Kynodontas) for further exploration.

Links:  The Lobster Festival De Cannes

            The Lobster IMDB
            Cannes Review

White God ("Fehér isten") - Featured Film of Interest -Trailer

Trailer for White God (2014), a Hungarian film directed by Kornel Mundruczo, and recipient of the prize Un Certain Regard 2014 at Cannes.  I am thoroughly intrigued by the concept and visuals, and in bewilderment that they were successful in wrangling so many dogs for the film.  Nearly none of the animal shots were CG, and it seems as if great care was taken to assure ethical conditions for the furrier performers - very aspiring accomplishment.  I look forward to screening it soon, hoping for a big screen opportunity.

Biutiful, by Iñárritu - Featured Film of Interest - Trailer

Biutiful (2010), the most recent film by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros, 21 Grams) finally received a limited US release on December 29, 2010. Though it seems to be riding somewhat under the radar and receiving accusations from media sources as being "too dismal" (haha, big surprise when the cinematic standard is senseless 3D action) - the ambition of the film, as well as the grueling preparation and performance by Javier Bardem certainly makes this a film of intrigue and one worth viewing seriously. Bardem received Best Actor acknowledgments at Cannes 2010 for his role as Uxbal. Above is the Official Trailer and a short synopsis follows.

Synopsis:

Biutiful is a love story between a father and his children. This is the journey of Uxbal, a conflicted man who struggles to reconcile fatherhood, love, spirituality, crime, guilt and mortality amidst the dangerous underworld of modern Barcelona. His livelihood is earned out of bounds, his sacrifices for his children know no bounds. Like life itself, this is a circular tale that ends where it begins. As fate encircles him and thresholds are crossed, a dim, redemptive road brightens, illuminating the inheritances bestowed from father to child, and the paternal guiding hand that navigates life's corridors, whether bright, bad - or biutiful.

Link to Official Site: www.biutiful-themovie.com

Cannes Update: Thai Filmmaker, Weerasethaku, Wins Palme d’Or

I've been a bit slack with updates from Cannes (silly me, I've been busy with never-ending post on my own torturous film project) - while much of cinematic interest has unfolded at this years festival. I will certainly be visiting a few films and topics from Cannes Film Festival 2010 in upcoming postings (Jean Luc Godard's Film Socialisme is of particular interest). It seems that the jury morphed into a reflection of its president, Tim Burton, in selecting an unexpected Thai film for the Palme d'Or - a fantastical piece that delves into cultural myth and afterlife otherworldliness (perhaps with less macabre than Burton's films - maybe due to relative cultural differences in popular perceptions of death) - and the first Thai film to receive the top honor. For a complete report of the awards, follow the embedded link to the official Cannes website, or you can read more from the NY Times article below:

Apichatpong Weerasethakul, center, winner of the Palme d’Or, with Tim Burton, far right. Juliette Binoche, far left, and Javier Bardem, second from right, won acting prizes at Cannes.

CANNES, France — On Sunday evening the 63rd Cannes Film Festival came to a shocking, exhilarating close with the Palme d’Or going to “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” from the Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Surely the only Palme winner to feature sex between a princess and a thrashing catfish, “Boonmee” is a fantastical tale about a dying man whose past lives — and ghostly relatives — enraptured some critics while turning others off. The speculation that it might appeal to the jury president, Tim Burton, along with some of his more discerning fellow jury members, proved true.

On accepting the award Mr. Weerasethakul (who goes by Joe) said in English that “this is like another world for me,” and noted that “Uncle Boonmee” is the first Thai film to win the Palme. “I would really like to kiss all of you,” he said to the jury, telling Mr. Burton that he liked his hairstyle. Mr. Weerasethakul thanked “all the spirits and ghosts in Thailand,” who made it “possible for me to be here.”

Cannes Update - Opening Day

Wednesday, May 12 was Opening Day of Festival de Cannes - Hooray! More news to follow as the festival unravels with arrogant buzz, honest acclaim, and all of those things that make festival coverage and film critique so fun. Once again, you can follow the link to the festival website for more information: Festival de Cannes

Cannes Update - Rubber - A Film About a Psychic Tire of Terror

That's right. It's a film about a killer Tire with psychic powers that terrorizes people before exploding their heads (Scanners style), or something of that sort. And Yes, it is an official selection to Cannes Film Festival 2010. Upon first hearing the summary of the film, my initial reaction was a slight chuckle and grimace. It sounds like another low-budget, niche horror film in a genre so depleted of original concept and innovation that it has resorted to yet another killer, inanimate object - and all that is left in the ideas box is a mundane rubber tire (just the rubber part, not even a rim). Certainly it will try to salvage credibility with a self-referential, semi-parodic tone (like so many today, attempting to follow Rami's Evil Dead paradigm to no avail) - as if awareness of the genre failings is enough to justify them. Maybe they're thinking that the youth market and DVD sales will make money regardless of how ridiculous it is - pretty common approach. Then I remembered - It's an official selection to Cannes - plenty to lend it credibility of some sort, and just weird enough of a coupling to peak my interest - so I gave it a more thorough glance. Of course, it actually looks very interesting with quality production value and a potentially unique story - it might be badass. Written, shot, and directed by Quentin Dupieu (but he sometimes goes by Mr Oizo - check out his music under this pseudonym), it premiers Saturday May 15 . Follow the links for more info and stills and check out the trailer below.

/Film

www.rubberfilm.com

imdb - Rubber

2010 Festival de Cannes Update - Film Lineup

Festival de Cannes is right around the corner (I wish that was the literal truth) - here is a list of films screening in this year's competition and a link to the full list of selections. It looks like an interesting and eclectic lineup, so get excited and start investigating what nearly promises to be some of the year's most innovative and insightful filmmaking.

OPENING FILM: Robin Hood (Out of Competition)

CLOSING FILM: The Tree (Out of Competition)

IN COMPETITION
Tournee (dir. Mathieu Amalric)
Des Hommes et des Dieux (dir. Xavier Beauvois)
Hors-la-loi (Outside the Law) (dir. Rachid Bouchareb)
Biutiful (dir. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)
Un Homme Qui Crie (A Screaming Man) (dir. Mahamat-Saleh Haroun)
The Housemaid (dir. Im Sang-soo)
Copie Conforme (Certified Copy) (dir. Abbas Kiarostami)
Outrage (dir. Takeshi Kitano)
Poetry (dir. Chang-dong Lee)
Another Year (dir. Mike Leigh)
Fair Game (dir. Doug Liman)
Mein Gluck (You. My Joy) (dir. Sergei Loznitsa)
La Nostra Vita (Our Life) (dir. Daniele Luchetti)
Utomlyonny Solntsem 2 (Burnt by the Sun 2) (dir. Nikita Mikhalkov)
La Princesse de Montpensier (dir. Bertrand Tavernier)
Rizhao Chongqing (Chongqing Blues) (dir. Xiaoshuai Wang)
Loong Boonmee Raleuk Chaat (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives) (dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
Tender Son – The Frankenstein Project (dir. Kornél Mundruczó)

FEATURE FILM JURY
Tim Burton, President
Kate Beckinsale – Actress / United Kingdom
Giovanna Mezzogiorno – Actress / Italy
Alberto Barbera – Director National Museum of Cinema / Italy
Emmanuel Carrere – Writer – Scripwriter – Director / France
Benicio Del Toro – Actor / Puerto Rico
Victor Erice – Director / Spain
Alexandre Desplat – Composer / France
Shekhar Kapur – Director – Actor – Producer / India

For a complete list of films screening (Un Certain Regard, Out of Competition, etc.), Jury members, and further info on this year's films, follow the link: 2010 Cannes Lineup (RopeofSilicon.com) - Complete

'Persian Cats' Exposes Repression Of Musicians In Iran - NPR - Featured Film of Interest

The new film No One Knows About Persian Cats tells the story of subversive musicians in Iran, where certain styles of music -- including heavy metal, rock and hip-hop -- are illegal to record, produce and consume. The film won two prizes at last year's Cannes International Film Festival and opens in the U.S. this week.

The director is renowned Kurdish-Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi (A Time for Drunken Horses, Marooned in Iraq, Turtles Can Fly) and journalist and author Roxana Saberi is the co-writer, though much of the script was improvised. It was shot in secret, since popular music is banned in Iran.

The movie takes place at real locations, as the musicians try to put together a band, a concert and a trip to England. But Ghobadi, speaking through an interpreter, emphasizes that it is not a documentary.

"These kids have within themselves and their real lives a real drama," Ghobadi says. "It's not like in the West, going on freely and without any repression. They're being repressed -- they don't have any concerts, and this in itself makes them live a fiction life."

Follow the post-title link to NPR to read the rest of the article.

Count Down to Festival de Cannes 2010

Cannes is nearing, which always creates excitement in the cinematic community - with valid reason. Year after year, some of the most innovative and artistically keen films of our time are screened and recognized. Here are the dates of this years festival:

May 12 - 23

I will post regular updates as the festival approaches, but to find the most recent news, link to the official website: Festival de Cannes.

News from Cannes - Tim Burton, President of the Jury of the 63rd Festival de Cannes

American film director Tim Burton is to be Jury President for the 63^rd Festival de Cannes, which takes place from May 12^th to 23^rd 2010. Upon accepting the invitation from Gilles Jacob and Thierry Frémaux, Tim Burton declared: "After spending my early life watching triple features and 48-hour horror movie marathons, I’m finally ready for this. It’s a great honour and I look forward, with my fellow jurors, to watching some great films from around the world. When you think of Cannes you think of world cinema. And as films have always been like dreams to me, this is a dream come true."

I'm a little late to the game, as the official press release was in late January. However, I found it to be an interesting selection, and it made me smile a bit.

I wonder if the Cannes selection committee had screened Alice in Wonderland yet? Yes, that was a cheap shot. No more comments on Alice beyond this - It made me quite sad due to overall disappointment (particularly, aspects of the storytelling were flat and underdeveloped), but the root of the sadness was the lost cinematic opportunity. Refer to Bressonian Quote #2. With that being said, the high level of disappointment would not have been possible without an endearing respect for Burton and his body of work. His filmography and the general honesty of his vision afford him quite a bit of forgiveness. There is a quality retrospective of his work on the Festival de Cannes home page.

An early Tim Burton film for your viewing pleasure.