Cannes Film Festival | Cannes 2011 Special

Wednesday, 19th May 2010

Jean-Luc Godard confounds Cannes 2010

'Prodigal son returns' was the story as Jean-Luc Godard shaped up to revisit the Cannes Film Festival. And as is so often the case with stories already written ahead of the event, things didn't quite run according to plan. The revered director took a leaf from Ridley Scott's book and excused himself on grounds of sickness, though his latest feature, Socialism, did make it to the south of France.

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Tuesday, 18th May 2010

Outrage

Cannes (Official Selection) - “Beat” Takeshi treds yakuza territory for the first time in nearly a decade. Graphic violence and sharp suits are surely a given, and Paul Martin is on (four-fingered) hand to find out if there is sufficient substance beneath the style.

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The Housemaid - teaser

Trailer for The Housemaid, reviewed and much enjoyed by Paul Martin

Tue, 18/05/2010 @ 10:20

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Monday, 17th May 2010

Killer tyre attacks Cannes

Situated a couple of streets back from the Croisette and the imposing structure of the Palais, where the main Cannes action goes down, stands the Olympia, an emporium that houses nine relatively compact theatres in which you can check out festival product. The excitement was focused on Theatre Five this afternoon, as it played host to the psychic, psychotic tyre of Rubber.

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Tamara Drewe

Cannes (Out of Competition) – It's a case of rural raunch as Gemma Arterton's Tamara returns to her tiny hometown and promptly sends the menfolk into a tizz. Paul Martin takes a country break to find out what all the fuss is about.

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The Princess of Montpensier

The Princess of Montpensier is a story of romantic entanglement from director Bertrand Tavernier, set against the bloody backdrop of the Religious Wars. But more than anything else, says Emma Rowley, it's an engrossing coming-of-age tale about a naïve heiress in 1560s France.

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Palais politics

The Cannes Film Festival prides itself on its unimpeachable Leftist credentials, with the cancellation of the event during the turbulence of 1968 being proudly recalled as an instance when Cannes stood shoulder to shoulder with the youthful student firebrands. Yet for those on the ground at Cannes, it can often seem as if the socialist spirit has gone walkabout.

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Sunday, 16th May 2010

Cannes Film Festival 2010 – week one round-up

Sunday may have been designated day of rest for the celestial big guy when he was cooking up the cosmos, but there is no such let-up at the Cannes Film Festival. Though we have plenty more screenings looming up today, we thought we might take this opportunity to provide a little summary of the flicks we have seen so far.

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Kaboom

Cannes (Midnight Screening) – US indie filmmaker Gregg Araki returns to Cannes with his answer to the cosmic fatalism of Donnie Darko and the labyrinthine plotting of David Lynch. But, asks Paul Martin, is his new movie a case of kaboom or (sorry) kabust?

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Cannes double: Aurora and Chatroom

Cannes (Un Certain Regard) – Two of the movies in this year's Un Certain Regard, and on the surface they couldn't appear more different. One is a glacially paced, three-hour diary of a crime, featuring non-professional actors. The other is a glossily slick British teen drama starring a posse of hot young up-and-comers. Paul Martin gives his verdict on both.

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Saturday, 15th May 2010

The Housemaid

Cannes (Official Selection) - An affair between a pretty young domestic and master of the mansion spawns a spate of dark-hearted scheming, as the wronged wife seeks to reassert herself. Paul Martin is instantly smitten by a true cinematic beauty.

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Friday, 14th May 2010

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Trailer for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, starring Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf and Frank Langella,

Fri, 14/05/2010 @ 19:29

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Draquila – Italy Trembles

Cannes (Special Screening) – Best known to we in the UK for his porno pool parties, his pirate-inspired holiday headgear, and for royally pissing off our own Royalty, it is easy for us to dismiss Silvio Berlusconi as a tittersome fool. Yet, as Paul Martin discovers, for those living under his governance in Italy the only comedy is of the black and bitter variety.

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Robin n the hood

Though I exited the party for Ridley Scott's Robin Hood with the clock displaying a time of around one-thirty, the latest actor to breathe life into the emerald-stockinged brigand, Mr. Russell Crowe, was still conspicuous by his absence. I was however happy to depart without having caught sight of him, having already passed through his A-list orbit earlier in the day.

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Thursday, 13th May 2010

The Strange Case of Angelica

Cannes (Un Certain Regard opening film) - Manuel de Oliveira’s latest film feels like it’s from another era – perhaps not surprising since he adapted it from a project he conceived in 1952, inspired by the displacement of surviving Jews after the Second World War. But, asks Emma Rowley, is its story of love in death relevant today?

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