This week, Film Weekly has decamped to the 63rd Cannes film festival. From the Croisette, we talk to Mark Strong, one of the stars of Cannes opener Robin Hood, Craig McCall on his documentary of Cannes favourite Jack Cardiff and Haim Tabakman about his Cannes 2009 hit Eyes Wide Open. Also, a preview of what's still to come at Cannes 2010.
The festival opened on Wednesday night with a very British affair: Ridley Scott's dark and brooding take on Robin Hood. Playing against Russell Crowe's outlaw hero is a Film Weekly favourite, Mark Strong, as the malign and treacherous Godfrey. The actor tells Jason Solomons about the pleasures of working with Scott again and the special satisfaction of playing the baddie you love to hate.
Israeli director Haim Tabakman's Eyes Wide Open was one of the biggest tips at last year's festival. The film, about a destructive gay affair between a married Orthodox butcher and his wayward assistant, is finally getting a release in the UK this week. The director shares why he decided to tackle such a unique and taboo subject, and discusses the israeli films making waves internationally right now.
Legendary cinematographer and director Jack Cardiff is much celebrated in Cannes – a restored version of The Red Shoes, which Cardiff shot for Powell & Pressburger, was unveiled by Martin Scorsese at last year's festival. This year, the documentary Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff is playing the Cannes Classics sidebar, alongside a restored print of The African Queen. Documentary maker Craig McCall discusses how Cardiff's work in The Red Shoes directly influenced Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull, and how the history of cinema is written in the late cinematographer's long career.
And finally, Xan Brooks joins Jason to discuss the festival so far, with reviews of Robin Hood, Bond villain Mathieu Amalric's Tournée, the atmospheric Chinese entry Chongqing Blues, and Sabina Guzzanti's anti-Berlusconi polemic Draquila. They also pick the Palme d'Or contenders to watch on the Croisette next week.
