Jueves
De la sección oficial se presentaron La Frontière de L'Aube, del francés Philippe Garrel y la canadiense Adoration, de Atom Egoyan.
La película de Philippe Garrel tiene hasta ahora el honor de haber recibido las peores críticas de película alguna en competencia. Con su hijo Louis Garrel [el hermano de Eva Green en The Dreamers de Bertolucci] como protagonista, la película cuenta la historia de una actríz de Hollywood que inicia un affaire con un fotógrafo francés:
Philippe Garrel a la extrema derecha junto a su felíz y emocionado elenco.
Having been recently canonized by some critics and auds for his May '68-set slacker story "Regular Lovers," helmer Philippe Garrel may now face excommunication by a goodly chunk of his erstwhile supporters for "Frontier of Dawn." A risible slice of pretentious hokum, this love triangle plot with a supernatural angle peddles that covertly misogynist and sadistic old chestnut, that the hottest, most desirable women are self-harming loonies . In France, presence of ascending stars Louis Garrel and Laura Smet, and helmer's rep, should help pic reap little coin, but frontiers offshore will be harder to conquer." -- Variety.
"The indelible power of true love, however destructive or impractical, is at the flawed heart of Frontier Of Dawn. Earnest, inherently divisive effort, lusciously photographed in black and white, is one of the weaker recent entries in Philippe Garrel's four decade career of bravely iconoclastic art films. Garrel's son Louis continues to embody his generation, projecting an appealing blend of mop-topped insouciance with doubt and anguish on tap. But his presence in this episodic love story with supernatural overtones is insufficient to overcome the film's endearing but awkward retrograde aura." -- Screendaily.
Rachel Blanchard, Scott Speedman, Atom Egoyan y Devon Bostick.
Atom Egoyan no es ningún novato en Cannes.
Esta es su quinta visita al festival, y películas suyas tan grandiosas como The Sweet Hereafter y Exotica ganaron numerosos premios cuando se presentaron en el 94 y el 97 respectivamente, incluyendo el Gran Premio del Jurado para The Sweet Hereafter.
A su lista de premios puede agregar el Premio Ecúmenico del Jurado que acaba de otorgarse hace apenas unas horas a Adoration.
Como sucede con las grandes películas que salen de Cannes, las reacciones de la crítica son encontradas:
"Atom Egoyan's remarkable new film "Adoration" is a haunting meditation on the nature of received wisdom and how it can warp individuals, damage families and even threaten society. Shot on beautifully utilized film but employing images vividly from the Internet and mobile phones, it's an examination of the power that false ideas may have on people's imagination and beliefs when they are repeated over and over." -- The Hollywood Reporter.
"Atom Egoyan's Adoration is a fascinating muddle. Folding all sorts of post-9/11 questions -- about the ethics of terrorism, the deceptiveness of outward appearances, the ways technology can enable dialogue yet hinder the truth -- into a very Egoyanesque miasma of elegantly fractured chronology and provocative ideas, this ambitious think-piece ultimately smothers its good intentions in didactic revelations, earnest pleading and incessant violin music. Engrossing nonetheless, the story of a high schooler troubled by his parents' legacy reps one of the Canadian writer-director's most accessible efforts" -- Variety.
En la sección d
e Un Certain Regard, Kelly Reichadt, una de las directoras norteamericanas más interesantes del actual cine independiente y autora de la brillante pero poco vista Old Joy, presentó una de mis películas más esperadas de todo el festival, Wendy and Lucy.
Protagonizada por Michelle Williams, cada vez más afianzada como actríz seria, Wendy and Lucy es una road movie sobre una mujer en camino a Alaska en busca de un mejor trabajo, que en el trayecto desde Indiana en su destartalado Honda sólo tiene por compañía a su perra Lucy:
"Kelly Reichardt's third film is another small story revolving around seemingly banal events which, like its predecessor Old Joy, builds into a moving cry of despair for its alienated lead character, a young twentysomething woman called Wendy. But Reichardt is no pessimist and her compassion for Wendy and belief in the kindness of strangers make for an optimistic film which should serve to build her already strong US reputation on an international scale." -- Screendaily.
Otro evento especial del jueves fue la siempre esperada Leçon de Cinéma.
Creado en 1991, este evento ha sido presentado por directores tan distinguidos como Martin Scorsese y Wong Kar Wai, donde comparten con la audiencia sus experiencias haciendo cine.
Este año el turno fue de Quentin Tarantino, y como se esperaba, la concurrencia fue tal que hasta golpes hubo entre la gente se amotinaba por entrar.
Citando a Martin Scorsese, Brian de Palma y Sergio Leone y sus Spaghetti Westerns como sus mayores influencias, estas son algunas de las perlas de Tarantino durante la sesión:
"Trying to make a feature film yourself with no money is the best film school you can do."
"I have one of the best soundtrack collections in America, I just don't trust any composer to do it. Who the fuck is this guy coming in here and throwing his shit over my movie. What if I don't like it? And the guy's already been paid!"
Viernes
De las tres películas de la sección oficial estrenadas ayer, la más esperada de todas era Synecdoche, New York, ópera prima de Charlie Kaufman, el guionista-to-go en Hollywood cuando se trata de historias metareferenciales [Adpatation], amor quirky [Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind] o simplemente extrañas [Being John Malkovich].
Con un elenco tan distinguido que incluye a Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Catherine Keener, Jennifer Jason Leigh, la dos veces ganadora del Oscar Dianne Weist, Emily Watson y Michelle Williams; la acogida de esta historia Fellinesca de un director teatral Newyorkino y las mujeres de su vida ha sido sumamente positiva:
"Charlie Kaufman is a past master of ingenious conceits and wild flights of fantasy as witnessed particularly in Being John Malkovich and Enternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. His talent has always been filtered through the vision of a sympathetic director but with Synecdoche, New York he assumes the director's role for the first time. The result is a film of staggering imagination, more daring in content than form as it explores the unbearable fragility of human existence and the sad inevitability of death." -- Screendaily.
"Like an anxious artist afraid he may not get another chance, Charlie Kaufman tries to Say It All in his directorial debut, "Synecdoche, New York." A wildly ambitious and gravely serious contemplation of life, love, art, human decay and death, the film bears Kaufman's scripting fingerprints in its structural trickery and multi-plane storytelling." -- Variety.
"Oscar-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's first film as a director, "Synecdoche, New York," will mesmerize some and mystify others, while many will be bored silly. It's not a dream, Kaufman says, but it has a dreamlike quality, and those won over by its otherworldly jigsaw puzzle of duplicated characters, multiple environments and shifting time frames will dissect it endlessly." -- The Hollywod Reporter.
Para escuchar la entrevista que A.O. Scott del The New York Times hace a Charlie Kaufman, clickea aquí.
También en competencia se exhibieron de Italia Il Divo, dirigida por Paolo Sorrentino, y de Singapur My Magic, de Eric Khoo.
Paolo Sorrentino a la izquierda junto a su elenco.
Por mucho tiempo se ha tenido la creencia de que las películas exhibidas al final del festival -cuando una gran parte de los invitados, compradores y prensa se prepara para marcharse- son en las que el comité organizador tiene menos fe, pero en el caso de Synechdoche, New York y sobre todo de Il Divo [nada que ver con la horrible agrupación musical], se prueba lo contrario.
Basada en la escandalosa vida real del siete veces Primer Ministro de Italia Giulio Andreotti, la acogida ha sido positiva:
"An intensely political film so wildly inventive and witty that it will become a touchstone for years to come, "Il Divo" is a masterpiece for maverick helmer-scribe Paolo Sorrentino. Not merely chronicling the career of seven-time Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti but also zooming in on the enigmatic politico's character, pic features an astonishing degree of craftsmanship and a towering performance by Toni Servillo" -- Variety.
"At long last in this year's Cannes Competition, a film on a serious subject that nevertheless consistently entertains and often makes you laugh out loud. Subtitled "The Spectacular Life of Giulio Andreotti," the frequently outrageous "Il Divo" follows the career of one of the best-known and most tenacious figures in Italian political history in a lively, sensory-overload, cartoonlike fashion reminiscent of "Amelie" and "Moulin Rouge." The fact that it's often over-the-top goes with saying, and is part of the fun." -- The Hollywood Reporter.
Eric Khoo junto al elenco de My Magic.
Eric Khoo es un director de Singapur casi desconocido que nunca ha podido salirse del niche de los festivales de cine. Al parecer My Magic no hará mucho por cambiar su status:
"Eric Khoo's films are an acquired taste, and he hasn't moved much past the festival circuit since 12 Storeys emerged internationally in 1997. Exposing My Magic to the noise and attention of the Cannes competition doesn't particularly benefit either this film or the festival, although needless to say Singapore is delighted to have its first film in Competition. Hidden in one of the Cannes' more obscure corners (a single afternoon screening on the last Friday for all accredited guests) would seem to indicate that the programmers weren't convinced either. Any of the parallel sections would have been a far more comfortable berth for this slight story of a relationship between a drunken former magician who cleans bars for a living and a 10-year-old boy." -- Screendaily.
Ya sólo queda un día. Dos películas a presentarse hoy sábado, y mañana se sabrá quién es la ganadora de la Palma de Oro.
