Cannes Diary – Day 8
Despite a military precision, sometimes things don’t always go as planned in Cannes. The 8.30 screening of an Iranian film titled WHISPER WITH THE WIND looked very promising. An elderly woman walks in on a young couple making love, then…sacré bleu….no English subtitles. This does happen from time to time, especially in the Salle Bunuel screening room. Damn my impoverished French!
This led to another Cannes tradition, jumping into a film about which you know very little, but which will provide a cinematic fix until the next film you want to see starts. In this instance, the stopgap was MENTAL, an observational documentary from Japan about sufferers of mental illness. From the little I saw, and despite rudimentary production values, it looked like a worthwhile and strangely fascinating work.
Today’s headlines were reserved for Quentin Tarantino and INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (see previous post). Despite a plethora of screenings (three in the Lumière one in the Salle Bazin and one in the Salle Du 60e) the demand for tickets and subsequent queues were exceptional, even by Cannes standards. It would appear that the festival loves Tarantino (Palme d’Or winner with Pulp Fiction and former jury president) as much as he loves the festival right back. After the pretty dire DEATH PROOF, we think the his latest is great fun and it comes straight into our top five at number three.
Critics, however, offered more of a mixed bag: Sukhdev Sandhu writes in the Telegraph that “long-time fans will enjoy the Morricone-slathered soundtrack, and the allusions to Kubrick and Henri-Georges Clouzot” but claims this ain’t no masterpiece. James Christopher in the Times calls it “a fairytale of unusual and thoughtful daring. A return at last by Tarantino to his combustible and operatic best,” but Peter Bradshaw in the Guardian claimed that “everything is just so boring.” Clearly one for you to make your own mind up about.
Yorgos Lanthimos’ Greek drama DOGTOOTH about siblings shut off from outside world, is often amusing, occasionally shocking and consistently intriguing.
SOUNDTRACK FOR A REVOLUTION is a superior civil rights movement documentary that keeps the communal spirit of protest songs close to its heart. The film features a wealth of archive footage alongside new interviews with many of those that participated.
Picturehouse Top Five
- PRECIOUS
- A PROPHET
- INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
- POLICE, ADJECTIVE
- LOOKING FOR ERIC
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