It’s getting progressively tougher to remember a time before Cannes. What did we do? Where did we live? What did we talk about? The Croisette has become our home, workplace and drunken stumbling ground but not for much longer. The final weekend has arrived and we’ll soon be forced to readjust to normal life with reasonably priced food and people who actually give helpful directions. But until then ...
The big film
This morning saw the first Cannes screening for Macbeth, a gritty battle-heavy take on the classic tragedy. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard are in the leads while Snowtown’s Justin Kurzel is in the director’s chair. Peter Bradshaw was a fan, giving it four stars, praising its “operatic verve” while others were mixed:
Macbeth has its moments. Fassbender is committed. Kurzel cannot always escape the theatricality of it all. #Cannes2015
— gregoryellwood (@HitFixGregory) May 23, 2015
MACBETH: Great landscapes, great score, great grim tone, but they never stop being Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard. C+ #Cannes2015
— Tim Grierson (@TimGrierson) May 23, 2015
MACBETH, a fully accomplished film that's not without gimmicks (red filters?) and over-dramatizations. Very impressive nonethls #cannes2015
— Screen Comment (@SCREENCOMMENT) May 23, 2015
It’s a grim version of a grim play and after it finished, Henry Barnes headed to the press conference to see what the two stars and director Kurzel had to say about the shoot. It turns out that one way of getting past the bleak subject matter was looking into the end of a lot of bottles. When asked what the worst and best things about shooting in Scotland were Fassbender replied: “Whisky and whisky”.
The uncomfortable kisses
Last night saw Isabelle Huppert publicly cheek-assaulted by a very kissy Gérard Depardieu at the premiere of their new drama Valley of Love. Look at that face. Or even better, imagine Michael Haneke’s face as he watches from afar.
We’ve also expanded to show you the entire nightmarish story from the day in full. Here’s earlier at the photo call:
Still trying:
Almost there:
Made it:
Now leave the poor woman alone so she can recover.
The other animated film
While Pixar’s major “emotion” picture Inside Out caused a bigger splash earlier this week, there was still a small amount of room for another hyped animation to provide respite from all the incest/death/death by incest dramas that have been depressing the lot of us here in Cannes. Yesterday saw the premiere of The Little Prince, based on the much-loved novel and featuring the voices of everyone you’ve ever heard of ever (Franco! Cotillard! Bridges! Del Toro! Gervais! McAdams! Brooks!). Reaction has been mixed, with Andrew Pulver giving it the royal three stars and calling it “a brave attempt” while others were tearful but unsure:
THE LITTLE PRINCE: Beautiful stop motion rendition of Saint-Exupéry book embedded in a frame story that has little of the same delicacy.
— Alison Willmore (@alisonwillmore) May 22, 2015
Mark Osborne's 'The Little Prince' looks beautiful but meanders unconvincingly at times. (@drjonty) #Cannes2015
— CineVue (@CineVue) May 22, 2015
THE LITTLE PRINCE: Gorgeous, mostly successful attempt at capturing & riffing on the strangeness & melancholy of the source material #Cannes
— olilyttelton (@olilyttelton) May 22, 2015
The pricey Leo meal
How much would you pay to have dinner with Leonardo DiCaprio? How about if it was dinner on a yacht? Okay so take that number and times it by 100. You’re probably still nothing close to $280,000 though, right? Well that’s what someone just paid at an auction to raise money for AIDS/HIV research for a sea-based meal with perennial Oscar bridesmaid DiCaprio. At least you know he’d be generous with boat scraps if tragedy struck.
The Palm Dog
Every year, an unofficial prize is handed out to the best onscreen canine at the point where most journalists are starting to lose their minds. Previous winners have included that dog from The Artist, that dog from Up and all them dogs from last year’s White God. This year, the competition was ruff and just narrowly beating out Colin Farrell’s trusty sheepdog/brother in The Lobster was winner Lucky the Matipoo in six-hour epic Arabian Nights.
The prize, decided on by a group of British journalists including Peter Bradshaw, is seen as a bit of an oddity by the natives. “Luckily, I like dogs,” a French reporter said to Yahoo News. “But seen from the French perspective, this is a bit bizarre. The British are weird.”
Too tired to argue with him.
The awards
More awards were handed out last night ahead of the big Palme d’Or reveal on Sunday and this time they were pinned to the Directors’ Fortnight, a non-competitive sidebar that still, confusingly, hands out honours. Arnaud Desplechin’s coming-of-age drama My Golden Days, bittersweet Turkish drama Mustang and historical Colombian adventure Embrace of the Serpent all picked up prizes.
The podcast
Our third and longest podcast of the festival became a thing yesterday with special guest Leslie Felperin. In it, we talk about the last few films of the festival, who we think will win the Palme d’Or and being generally tired. You can listen to it it here.
The Palme d’Or predictions
Speaking of predictions, Peter Bradshaw went into a bit more detail on exactly who he thinks will triumph on Sunday and if you’re a betting man (or woman), here’s who you should be putting all your worldly possessions on:
- Carol - Peter thinks Todd Haynes’s romantic drama will pick up the Palme d’Or he calls it “replete with artistry, flair and immediately comprehensible passion, the ability to grab you by your lapels, or something more intimate”
- Tim Roth - his turn in grim drama Chronic has become a late favourite - in his review, Peter said: “Tim Roth is excellent as David: impassive and enigmatic, withholding the truth about himself, but radiating in repose a sadness and a swallowed pain”
- Zhao Tao - the Chinese star of Mountains May Depart could be rewarded with a best actress prize - in his review, Peter praised her “wonderful performance”
- The Assassin - Taiwanese director Hou Hsaio-hsien’s first film in eight years has received rapturous reviews and it could win the Grand Prix - in his review, Peter called it “a movie of great intelligence and aesthetic refinement”
You can read the full list of predictions here.
The “wait, what?” film
This Thai romantic comedy called I Fine..Thank You Love You about learning English has already been a big hit in its homeland but I not sure if it will travel well.
The future
The end is nigh! Tonight sees the big premiere of Macbeth and then the closing fillm will come tomorrow, which this year is a documentary from Luc Jacquet. He’ll be hoping that Ice and the Sky will be as successful as March of the Penguins which was both a critical and commercial hit back in 2005. Then tomorrow night sees the final awards ceremony/last chance to get drunk on rosé wine before the locals revolt and Wicker Man us.
Au revoir!
