What is the theme this year in Cannes, playing it safe? Well-known auteurs hog all the space on a line-up that’s bursting at the seams with big budget fare, with the occasional exception. In a way, you could say it’s been the same mix for years, and that’s because this is what works. But has the Cannes Festival selection process gotten stale? I beg to differ with my own assertion (if that’s even possible). I want to say, gentlemen, your selecting process has lost its sizzle. However, I will reserve the final judgement for after May 24th.
The heavy hitters (and therefore most anticipated, presumably) include Ang Lee, as I reported earlier, whose film “Taking Woodstock” is in the running for the Palme D’Or. Ken Loach, who won it in 2006 for “The Wind that Shakes the Barley” is back on the croisette with a new film called “Looking for Eric.”
Remember Gaspar Noe? He did “I stand alone,” and “Irreversible,” most notably (“Irreversible” is on SCREEN COMMENT’s Top Ten Films; yes, an unusual choice, I know). His “Enter The Void” (pictured) is set in Tokyo and goes soul-searchingly deep in its confrontations of the world of the living with that of the dead. I’m also quite curious about the Lars Von Trier film “Antichrist.” That image of Willem Dafoe on top of Charlotte Gainsbourg has already been forever been etched on my mind. Want… to… see…. More!