CANNES 09: "Antichrist" Gets a Stoning

Yet, despite all of the extreme responses this film has received since its screening in France, I still really want to see it, and may even want to see it more now. Good or bad, it looks damn interesting. (Ebert said it may, in fact, be unendurable, but it's not a boring movie, and that's plenty good to me.) And even if director Lars von Trier is the most self-righteous man on the planet, he makes some courageous films that look astounding, here aided by longtime collaborator Anthony Dod Mantle, who just won the cinematography Oscar for "Slumdog Millionaire." (Trier's a little like Kanye West in this regard: makes some irresistible stuff, but I abhor the man himself.) I enjoyed what he said at the conference that followed a few days after the screening where he was heckled to justify his work. (Anne Thompson has more from the conference.) He said something to the effect of "You are all my guests...I don't have to justify myself..." or this little picture of his, which he called "a dream" and has on several occasions also called his form of therapy after a bout of depression, and this little picture is a piece of his mind and soul. He is not our guest, so he doesn't have to humor us.

While not every reaction has been pure hatred and disgust, I think the Spartan yelling match is going to deem the dissenters the winner for the time being. Its chances at wide domestic release and/or success are in jeopardy. But I think they'll come around. Eventually. I think.

Do bad reviews excite you?


IMAGE from: Slashfilm

Coppola's "Tetro"

I love the cinematography and look of this film so far, and the posters are beautiful as well. There's three I've found (via Awards Daily), but the one included here is my favorite - evocative use of color in those light flares and the situating of the text (and the choice of font itself) atop the shot of Vincent Gallo and his brother would make for a perfect Criterion Collection cover. Slap on a "Director Approved" sticker and the neat letter-c logo and you're set. I'd buy that. Well, if the movie turns out, then I'd buy it. This is the first Francis Ford Coppola's written personally since "The Conversation" so hopefully that bodes well for the picture as a whole. (Criterion doesn't currently have any Coppola films in their collection, but I'd say this and "The Conversation" could surely, fittingly, get the ...ahem, conversation started.) The film's formula looks astoundingly fine on paper: Greek tragedy-like story involving an Italian musician father + Osvaldo Golijov to provide sweeping music on that front, whose score sounds at least ten steps away from a Nino Rota composition + immigrant family struggles, a la "The Godfather" + achingly beautiful Spain + Maribel Verdu to romance us as the girlfriend + Vincent Gallo under the direction of Coppola (the name of the game is restraint, Mr. Gallo) + Pedro Almodovar vet Carmen Maura in a mentor-role to play opposite Gallo = Cannes/Oscar glory? One can dream.

I've always thought that the circumstances that perpetually surround Coppola have been what has made his output drop - those expectations that he will conjure up another film-opera of dramatic grandeur like "Godfather" are hard to work with/through/around. He is actively trying to survive what George Lucas aggressively seeks to sustain. That past glory. Coppola, like Lucas, is a dynamic director and his projects ("The Conversation," "Apocalypse Now," "Bram Stoker's Dracula," even "The Outsiders") reveal latent idiosyncracies that were either too transparent, rudimentary or non-existent "Godfather"-era and they show his inclination to refashion his style with every picture. ("Dracula" strikes me as his most different project, but they all possess something unique from the others.) That's why so many people feel that the new "Star Wars" trilogy didn't work - Lucas is a different filmmaker with a different economy but the material and its fans demanded consistency, continuity. Coppola's fans work the same way. Of the "Film School Generation" the only one who's been allowed to carve out new territories is Steven Spielberg, whose projects combine the economy of an indepedent film (even titans like "Munich" and "Minority Report" took only a couple weeks to actually shoot) with the resources of typical Hollywood. I'd go as far as to say that while Spielberg has fashioned some real marvels, Coppola is the real technical genius, Spielberg just knows people and knows how to make them shine.



Here's hoping that Coppola finds himself even further revived with "Tetro" after the lukewarm reception "Youth Without Youth" received. He once said that he's only been able to make movies again (this was around the time "Youth" was in production) because he was inspired by the advances his daughter, Sofia, has been able to make with limited budgets that was the norm back during the New Hollywood days ("Easy Rider," "Bonnie & Clyde," etc.). Coppola's a step away from that generation, so it'll be exciting to see how he handles old sensibilities in new environments.

If you'd like to see the first three minutes of "Tetro," take a trip to Kris Tapley's In Contention site which has a nice embedded video. I've gone on for too long, and I don't want to clutter this post up even further. Tapley's also got some great info from Coppola on what his literary and cinematic inspirations were for this film.

Is Coppola making an offer you can't refuse?


TRAILER from: In Contention
POSTER from: Awards Daily

"Anti-Christ"

Lars von Trier is such a fascinating and unique director who can really fashion some gorgeous films. (Check them out on Criterion - breathtaking!) He's also proven himself to be quite a capable and brainy logician (magician?) in film, picking apart conventions and toying with both the obvious and latent elements of the cinema to produce complex emotional, political and philosophical experiences (reason enough for a few to hate his work, but I find it intriguing and undeniably artistic). His works associated with the Dogme 95 avant-garde process/movement (though only one is actually part) are tougher to swallow because their confrontation or total disuse of traditional effects of film, like props or artificial lighting or even a score/soundtrack, can be sort of distracting, but I believe von Trier when he says that it's all in the service of the story and performances. If I'm getting frustrated with "Dancer in the Dark"'s insistence on only using incidental music, even for the musical numbers, then I can only imagine how frustrated Bjork must've gotten as actor and composer. But, I confess, all of the story, Bjork's work in the film (which was recognized as the best at Cannes that year; see my earlier post about characters) and the soundtrack were haunting and unforgettable.

Speaking of haunting, von Trier is set and ready to release his next exercise in toying with us and our expectations with "Anti-Christ" which has a feel like "Rosemary's Baby" but in the woods; complete with hallucinatory, satanic images of the body and things associated with children, and craven wolves. It all looks intoxicating, but unsettling, with the classic metaphor of child as bringer of doom or spiritual decay taken (wee wee wee) all the way home. Of course, it's even freakier because the child in question has passed away - nothing spoiled, no worries - and the descent is all based on the intent for emotional and spiritual healing for the couple. Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg are two able and evocative actors and perfect to embody these perhaps Catholic themes and motifs. Trailer below with the premise to follow. Maybe this'll be the first part in a new trilogy for von Trier?


Premise, via Slashfilm: "a horrific drama that tells the story of a grieving couple who retreat to a cabin in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage..." [SPOILERS BEGIN] ...only to find that the cabin is the home of the Devil himself and the place he resides while running the world. [SPOILERS END] Does it strike anyone else as weird that the title card has the symbol for females and, I'm guessing, the child in the film was probably a male? Does this suggest what will be occurring in the woods, or is this a mistake on the part of the studio?

Is this deliciously disturbing to your eyes? Or just disturbing?


TRAILER exclusive through: Ain't It Cool

Cannes: Synecdoche, New York Still Looking for a Date to U.S. Theaters?

I love saying the name of this movie. Synecdoche. It means: "a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole or the whole for a part, the special for the general or the general for the special, as in ten sail for ten ships or a Croesus for a rich man." It's a play on Schenectady - one of the boroughs of New York. And, in true Charlie Kaufman style, the two terms are going to be inextricably entwined. Philip Seymour Hoffman is a theater director making an ambitious (understatement of the year) production about New York, love, death, "earth" (?), and beyond, and starts to fill an empty warehouse with actual life-sized buildings and ...real people (!) to live in and experience and communicate his version of the world. It's like Michel Gondry's ('Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind') Bjork music video, Bachelorette, on celluloid! The clips, while definitely fulfilling that requisite Kaufman tone, don't give away too much. Still, it's enough to pique my interest. I hope it gets a distributor soon, and I find it quite odd that not a single one has landed it despite its early showing and praise (Anne Thompson: “ambitious, arty and brilliant, if not entirely accessible.”) not to mention its most compelling draw - this is a Charlie Kaufman work!

Slashfilm has the three clips. (Hot Blog has them too.)
(Slash's is a bit more user-friendly, but can't be embedded as far as I can tell.)

IMAGE from: Variety

Cannes: Clint Eastwood's Movie ...Changes.

News out of the festival: Clint Eastwood's 'Changeling' starring Angelina Jolie in 1920s period dress (a perfect fit after her somewhat short stint as the face of St. John) has become 'The Exchange'. Very appropriate that the name would change given the name itself, but I kind of liked 'Changeling' - gave it sort of a steam punk vibe which only heightened the mystery element that the movie is founded on. Basic premise, which is based on the real-life Wineville Chicken Murders case: Christine Collins (Jolie) and her son live humbly in a quiet neighborhood in 20s Los Angeles, but one evening after pulling in some overtime, she finds her son has mysteriously disappeared. Months go by before her son is returned by the LAPD, and in the meantime her plight has become regional news, so when she finally reunites with him at the platform of a train station, she's stunned to find that this new boy isn't hers. Her cries of confusion are blunted by the police who label her deluded and loony, and she's placed in a mental ward by corrupt cop Chief James E. Davis (Colm Feore). But with the help of radio Evangelist Rev. Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich), she uncovers a web of corruption, politics and murder.

One of my absolute favorite films out of the 90s (it was my no.1 for a good long time in high school, years ago) is 'L.A. Confidential' and another of my favorites in general is 'Chinatown' so it's struck me that maybe I just like these historical fiction tales on Los Angeles in its early history, which is certainly very rich and tangled. This film sounds a heck of a lot like 'Confidential' and in the best way, but being written by J. Michael Straczynski whose best-known vehicle was creating 'Babylon 5' I imagine the characterizations will be a lot broader, and less pulpy than 'Confidential' which was adapted from a James Ellroy novel (whose other book turned into Brian De Palma's 'The Black Dahlia' - another Los Angeles-spun historical fiction film). 'Exchange' definitely has my attention, and with Todd McCarthy's early review of the film, I imagine only greater things could be coming out of this between now and its release later in the year. The content alone has it poised for some kind of run through the awards season early in 2009, and J. Michael Straczynski's script has seen some great responses. What do you think? Surefire Best Picture contender? (If Awards Daily has placed it on the tracker, then it must be!)

(Also interesting to note is that Amy Ryan, the Academy Award-nominated mother from 'Gone, Baby, Gone' plays a supporting role in this as well, which gives the film an unintentional (?) flavoring of that film, which was rather good I thought. I wonder if Eastwood will splice that route and lift it to some subtext, or simply ignore it and pin the LAPD as the sole source of immorality?)

IMAGE from: First Showing

Cannes: Woody Allen's 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona'.

As much a part of Woody Allen's mystique goes to his dedicated audience's experiences with his films as it does his knack for being an auteur. The stories behind the films, about how his fans have reacted to each or all, are certainly an important element when considering his influence. Even when he makes a film that stagnates or a film that hardly makes any strides creatively, his films are a bridge into his mind, and it's always a compelling experience to go there. His latest film, 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona', which debuted at Cannes this year, may have received some pretty mixed reviews thus far (many coming from confusion over whether or not he's parodying himself - he may very well be), but I think he's still more fascinating at his worst than quite a few directors are when they're "on the money".

When I first saw that the film was going to play at Cannes, I was interested, but not entirely excited. 'Scoop' looked like it had his idiosyncrasies, but not much intrigue. 'Cassandra's Dream' looks like the opposite. The early reviews affirmed me, many were put off by its pacing, its melodrama, and its odd sexual tension (without actual sex). I was disappointed that a film with such a wonderful cast as this (Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, Rebecca Hall - who played Christian Bale's wife magnificently in 'The Prestige' but has yet to surface to noted acclaim) could be sloughed off as having unfocused tension and chemistry issues. 'Match Point' was such a wonder, an unadulterated joy to behold, that I've almost been holding my breath to see how Allen might evolve next (I thought the new location in Barcelona could do it). Lucky for me, the good stuff is starting to pour in...

Kim Voynar of Cinematical gets the idea with Woody Allen, and relates the experience of watching a film of his to opening a Christmas gift from your eccentric aunt, his latest being of the good bunch:

"I've said before that a new film from Woody Allen is something like getting a Christmas gift from your eccentric aunt; you never know if you'll get a crocheted toilet paper cozy, or a piece of priceless heirloom jewelry. Fortunately, Allen's newest film, 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona', turns out to be more like the latter.

....Allen has succeeded in making an excellent film; Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a lovely gift from a filmmaker who, when he's on his game, truly hits the mark."

Yet if Woody Allen is proficient in anything and quite consistently, it's extracting captivating performances from his actresses (his muse now being Scarlett Johansson, as overexposed as she is), this time from Penelope Cruz, who's still hot (and bothered?) off of 'Volver' and receiving the most glowing responses of any element of the film. It's because of her powerhouse performance in this that's returned my hopes to their high place for this film. Todd McCarthy of Variety:

"Cruz, who officially graduated from sex kitten to powerhouse melodramatic actress in “Volver,” is in full Anna Magnani mode here, storming up and down mountain peaks of emotion and captivating everyone in the process. Allen even generates affectionate comic mileage from the common rap on Cruz’s acting–that she’s great in Spanish but blah in English–by having her deliver Maria Elena’s colorful tirades in her native language, only to be told again and again by Juan Antonio to speak English so Cristina can understand her. She’s dynamite here in either language."

Professional critics may be losing their jobs and criticism as a whole may be on the decline, but doesn't that just get your blood roiling with anticipatory glee?


IMAGE from: FishbowlNY
IMAGE from: First Showing

Cannes: Most Anticipated.

This year's Cannes Film Festival (with poster efforts by none other than David Lynch, below; employing a familiar motif) boasts some highly-anticipated new films from some of the most exciting filmmakers around, and a good number of them are set to open. The rest of the schedule, of course, looks just as splendid. (Here's the Variety coverage.) The first unveiling goes to Fernando Meirelles' ('The Constant Gardener' and 'City of God') Blindness which is one of the most curious films and one that I'm incredibly excited about. It takes a high concept like an epidemic of contagious blindness sweeping across a city and turns it into an elegant (so I hear) allegory about the fragility of civilization. It's adapted from Nobel prize-winner Jose Saramago's 1995 novel of the same name. 'Children of Men' and 'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly' come to mind whenever I hear or read about this film, and that's definitely a good thing, it's a good combination. The cast looks shining, too, consisting of Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover, and Gael Garcia Bernal.

Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York, is another of my personal picks for most anticipated, as Kaufman is one of the few screenwriters in or around Hollywood who has managed to turn the auteur theory on its head, or his. He's a hot commodity, as they say, and his new pic is being trailed by studio execs like a lion to a calf (seen the Battle at Kruger video yet?). They may get lost in this one, though, because it looks like a doozy: Phillip Seymour Hoffman is a theater director (living in Schenectady, New York, where else?) whose wife - played by Catherine Keener - leaves him, so to prove his worth decides to build a replica of the city in a warehouse, which he expands ultimately for forty years and populates with actual people. Even more of a doozy: Kaufman always said he wanted to make a horror film, and he calls this one it. His first time directing (he's the only first-timer this year at the festival), he's got some major ambitions.

Some of the other films to debut: Steven Soderbergh's Che, which follows Benicio del Toro as the 'Lawrence of Latin America' in a two-parter; Woody Allen's continuation of his re-energized phase that started with 'Match Point', Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which follows Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Rebecca Hall in another twisty, lusty plot; James Gray's Two Lovers about a man, played by Joaquin Phoenix, who's stuck in the middle between a woman his family loves and a new and volatile neighbor; and Clint Eastwood's The Changeling, which stars Angelina Jolie as a mother (the story of her life) who finds with the return of her abducted child that something's not quite right. A year with big names has quite a few fighting for the top spot.

IMAGE from: Anne Thompson