NEGATIVE SPACE

© Semaine de la Critique

Viele frische Namen aus der eigenen Talentschmiede bietet die Woche der Kritik während des Filmfestivals von Cannes.

Keine allgemeinhin bekannte Namen sind auf der Programmliste der Woche der Kritik zu finden. Dafür spielt die bezaubernde Solène Rigot („Tonnerre“) die Hauptrolle im französischen Film „Le visage“. Die beiden Italiener Antonio Piazza und Fabio Grassadonia sind alte Bekannte in der Woche der Kritik. Ihr verheißungsvoll beginnender, dann aber stark nachlassender Genrefilm „Salvo“ eröffnete im Jahr 2013 die Reihe. Jetzt sind sie zurück mit „Sicilian Ghost Story“, einer Variation der Romeo & Julia-Geschichte im Mafia-Milieu. Mit „Tehran Taboo“ ist das erste Mal auch ein Zeichentrick im Wettbewerb, zu deren Jury der amerikanische Filmkritiker Eric Kohn gehört. Im Abschlussfilm „Brigsby Bear“ tritt Mark Hamill als Vater in einer Hommage an das Kino selbst auf.

Das Feature-Programm:

Ava (Léa Mysius)
Bloody Milk (Hubert Charuel)
Brigsby Bear (Dave McCary)
Les enfants partent á l'aube (Manon Coubia)
La familia (Gustavo Rondón Córdova)
Gabriel and the Mountain (Fellipe Gamarano Barbosa)
Makala (Emmanuel Gras)
Oh Lucy! (Atsuko Hirayanagi)
Los perros (Marcela Said)
Sicilian Ghost Story (Antonio Piazza & Fabio Grassadonia)
Tehran Taboo (Ali Soozandeh)
Une vie violente (Thierry de Peretti)
Le visage (Salvatore Lista)

Link: - Programm der Woche der Kritik im Video

© Director's Fortnight

Prominente Namen in der Director's Fortnight bereichern das Angebot des diesjährigen Cannes-Festival. Der Israeli Amos Gitai besucht zum Beispiel in seiner neuen Doku wieder das Westjordanland.

Das Programm der Cannes-Nebenreihe Director's Fortnight glänzt mit Regienamen wie Ferrara, Garrel, Denis, Dumont und Gitai. Vor allem der israelische Regisseur Amos Gitai („Rabin, the Last Day“) mit seinem neuen Film „West of the Jordan River“ interessiert mich. Laut dem Guardian soll dieser Film die Fortsetzung von „Field Diary“, Gitais Dokumentation über das Westjordanland aus dem Jahr 1982, sein.

Ein Augenmerk wird auch auf dem Amerikaner Sean Baker liegen, dessen letztes, nur auf Smartphones gedrehtes Werk „Tangerine“ über eine Transgender-Prostituierte weltweit für Furore gesorgt hatte. Sein neuer Film heißt „The Florida Projekt“ und erzählt von Kindern, die im Schatten des Vergnügungsparks Disney World aufwachsen. Und auch bei einem Musical von Bruno Dumont sagt man nicht Nein, gerade, wenn es um die Kindheit von Jeanne d'Arc geht. Claire Denis eröffnet die Nebenreihe mit ihrem Film „Un beau soleil intérieur“, bei dem Juliette Binoche und Gerard Depardieu die Hauptrollen spielen.

Das Programm:

A CIAMBRA (Jonas Carpignano)
ALIVE IN FRANCE (Abel Ferrara)
L’AMANT D’UN JOUR (Philippe Garrel)
BUSHWICK (Cary Murnion & Jonathan Milott)
CUORI PURI (Roberto De Paolis)
THE FLORIDA PROJECT (Sean Baker)
FROST (Sharunas Bartas)
I AM NOT A WITCH (Rungano Nyoni)
JEANNETTE, L’ENFANCE DE JEANNE D’ARC (Bruno Dumont)
L’INTRUSA (Leonardo Di Costanzo)
LA DEFENSA DEL DRAGÓN (Natalia Santa)
MARLINA SI PEMBUNUH DALAM EMPAT BABAK (Mouly Surya)
MOBILE HOMES (Vladimir de Fontenay)
NOTHINGWOOD (Sonia Kronlund)
ÔTEZ-MOI D’UN DOUTE (Carine Tardieu)
PATTI CAKE$ (Geremy Jasper)
THE RIDER (Chloé Zhao)
UN BEAU SOLEIL INTÉRIEUR (Claire Denis)
WEST OF THE JORDAN RIVER (FIELD DIARY REVISITED) (Amos Gitai)

Link: - Cannes-Wettbewerb 2017

Out of Competition: „How to Talk to Girls at Parties“ © See-Saw Films

Über das Grundgerüst des 70. Cannes-Programms: also über deutsche Comebacks, die bisherigen Highlights und ein Kurz-Plädoyer gegen Sofia Coppolas Remake „The Beguiled“.

Erkenntnisse zum heute Vormittag veröffentlichten Programm des wichtigsten Filmfestivals der Welt, nämlich Cannes (17. bis 28. Mai):

* Durch die deutsche Brille: Ich dachte eigentlich, dass Fatih Akin mit dem Diane-Kruger-Film „Aus dem Nichts“ nochmal Luft holt, bevor er mit seiner Adaption von Heinz Strunks Magnum Opus „Der goldene Handschuh“ in die Vollen geht. Pustekuchen. „Aus dem Nichts“, der in den Wettbewerb eingeladen wurde, spielt in einer deutsch-türkischen Community in Hamburg. Es geht um Rache, eine Bombe und St. Pauli. Die „Nordsee ist Mordsee“-Legende Hark Bohm hat am Drehbuch mitgeschrieben. Vielleicht noch ein bisschen schöner ist das Comeback von Valeska Grisebach mit ihrem neuen Film „Western“ in der Un Certain Regard-Reihe. Grisebachs letzter Film „Sehnsucht“ ist über ein Jahrzehnt her. Maren Ades Firma Komplizenfilm produzierte „Western“.

* Die für mich heißesten Filme des Wettbewerbs heißen „The Killing of a Sacred Deer“ (Yorgos Lanthimos) und „The Meyerowitz Stories“ (Noah Baumbach). Auch wenn Lanthimos' „The Lobster“ kein Meisterwerk war wie „Dogtooth“, zeigte der Film doch einen der spannendsten europäischen Regisseure wieder auf der Höhe seiner Fähigkeiten. Noah Baumbach verehre ich seit „Greenberg“ sehr. Sein neuer Film hat Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller und Dustin Hoffman in den Hauptrollen. Das deutet ein magisches Triptychon an. Hollywood-Schauspieler, die endlich wieder an ihre Grenzen geführt werden. Außerdem habe ich eine Schwäche für die Filme von François Ozon, der in den Wettbewerb mit „L'amant double“ zurückkehrt. Es spielen in der Hitchcock-Paraphrase die grande dame Jacqueline Bisset und „Jeune et jolie“-Sternchen Marine Vacth.


Jérémie Renier und Marine Vacth in Ozons „L'amant double“

* Wer braucht das Sofia-Coppola-Remake von „The Beguiled“: Der deutsche Filmkritiker Rüdiger Suchsland wird wieder, wie schon bei „Marie-Antoinette“ oder „Somewhere“, aus dem Häuschen sein, wenn er nicht gerade Naomi Kawase feiert. Aber das Don-Siegel-Original aus den 1970er-Jahren mit Clint Eastwood ist perfekt und ein weitgehend unentdecktes Meisterwerk.

* 4x Nicole Kidman, 2x Hong Sangsoo, die Neuauflage der David-Lynch-TV-Serie „Twin Peaks“, keine Hollywood-Blockbuster wie „Dünkirchen“ und ein Virtual-Reality-Projekt von Alejandro G. Iñárritu.

* Asia-Power von Bong Joon-ho („Okja“), Kiyoshi Kurosawa („Before We Vanish“), Takashi Miike („Blade of the Immortal“) und der Midnight-Schiene, die mit „The Merciless“ und „The Villainess“ wieder nach Geheimtipps riecht.

* Ich will Claude Lanzmanns Dokumentation „Napalm“ sehen! Jetzt!

Link: - Cannes-Ticker 2016

Screenshot aus Bruno Dumonts "Slack Bay"-Trailer

Absteigend aufgelistet sind hier die Cannes-Filme 2016 aus allen Wettbewerben, die mich persönlich am meisten interessieren. Die eigene Vorfreude wie auch das Kritiker-Feedback vor Ort sorgen für die Abstufungen, die ich mit Sternen von fünf bis zwei kenntlich mache. Der Ticker wird mehrmals täglich upgedatet:

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Zuammenfassung: Das Festival startete furios: Die deutsche Komödie "Toni Erdmann" von Maren Ade sorgte für internationale Begeisterungsstürme und Punkterekorde in den Kritikerspiegeln. Dann kam aber nicht mehr viel. Alteingesessene Meister und Dauergäste in Cannes lieferten der Presse nach eher schwächere Werke ab. Das schafften sie mit solch einer Konstanz, dass man sich nach den ersten Tagen fragte, ob überhaupt noch Filme gezeigt würden. Da war schon eine Nachricht wie Carla Juris Besetzung in "Blade Runner 2" als perfekt passende Daryl-Hannah-Erbin aufregender als der Rest. Einzig der von mir verehrte Paul Verhoeven schaffte am letzten Programmtag ein echtes Comeback mit seinem Isabbele-Huppert-Film "Elle".
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Most-Wanted 2016:

01. Toni Erdmann - Maren Ade
02. Elle - Paul Verhoeven
03. Raw - Julia Ducournau
04. La mort de Louis XIV - Albert Serra
05. Personal Shopper - Olivier Assayas
06. Paterson - Jim Jarmusch
07. Staying Vertical - Alain Guiraudie
08. Slack Bay - Bruno Dumont
09. The Red Turtle - Michael Dudok de Wit
10. Neruda - Pablo Larraín

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★★★★★

"Toni Erdmann" (Maren Ade): "Was hoping this would be wonderful, but it exceeded expectations x1000. Simply, a great, great, great movie." (David Jenkins, Little White Lies) "Goddamn did I love this. Funny, pained father-daughter story about how you inevitably hurt the people you love. Also, pranks." (Alison Willmore, BuzzFeed) "Just everything: funny, touching, poignant. Impeccable narrative storytelling. The first masterpiece of #Cannes2016. [A]" (Jordan Cronk, Cinemascope) "I've never heard a louder Cannes ovation mid-film than Sandra Hüller deservedly just got for an enforced karaoke moment. What an actress." (Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph) "Tender, unpredictable father-daughter reunion comedy-drama. Delicious - after Loach, another vote for the Human Factor. Very funny, mischievous and... When did you last get a feel good moment in a German art movie? Sandra Huller singing Whitney..." (Jonathan Romney, Screen Daily) "Perfect timing, change of emotions, highly relatable to everybody and super German at the same time. Hüller is amazing." (Beatrice Behn, Kinozeit) "Schaut euch Toni Erdmann an, wenn er am 14.07.2016 in die deutschen Kinos kommt. Ende der Ansage." (Jenny Jecke, Moviepilot) "Unafraid to go big, equally unafraid to acknowledge that grand gestures aren't magical cure-alls. Whitney Schnuck! [82]" (Mike D'Angelo, TimeOut) "Tragikomisches Meisterstück." (Michael Sennhauser, SRF) "German comedy is slight, biting little miracle." (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian) "Lovely comedy-drama about a father-daughter relationship & much more. Great writing, acting; very funny." (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "TONI ERDMANN is heart-swelling, hysterically funny, wholly unique. The wait was worth it." (Guy Lodge, Variety) "So machte denn Donnerstag die Runde, Thierry Frémaux habe erzählt, ERDMANN sei einer seiner absoluten Lieblingstitel im diesjährigen Lineup." (Thomas Schultze, Blickpunkt:Film)

[Der Trailer sah grauenerregend aus. Aber ich liebe einfach beide bisherigen Maren-Ade-Filme so sehr. Besonders "Der Wald vor lauter Bäumen" halte ich für eine der besten Komödien aller Zeiten. Riesige Freude über das erdbebenartige Echo aus Cannes. Wenn das jemand verdient hat, dann Maren Ade!]

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★★★★½

"Elle" (Paul Verhoeven): "My 2016 Cannes coup de coeur is the last film in competition, Paul Verhoeven's ELLE, a psychological comedy about rape. Amazing." (Boyd van Hoeij, THR) "Has a premise some will find absolutely impassable, but Huppert's character is so very fantastic." (Alison Willmore, BuzzFeed) "Thought I had this pegged as a deliciously perverse ode to embracing one's true nature. Then the ending befuddled me." (Mike D'Angelo, TimeOut) "Eszterhas meets Chabrol in Paul Verhoeven's Elle: horribly incorrect, with glacial anti-clerical satire. An unexpected hit." (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian) "ELLE is a fullsize-verhoeven: moral ambiguity, cold irony, seamless direction. great fun." (Dominik Kamalzadeh, Standard) "Paul Verhoeven's Elle closes #Cannes2016 competition by whisking us down to hell. Delirious, provocative, pitch-black comedy. Huppert superb." (Xan Brooks, Guardian) "Was simultaneously crossing my legs & laughing during Verhoeven's perverse, black as ****, rape comedy gem (!?) ELLE." (Isabel Stevens, Sight & Sound) "Isabelle Huppert might be our best living actor, and ELLE might be Paul Verhoeven's best film. A dangerous wow." (Guy Lodge, Variety) "It's so good to have him back, and the film, a very unusual and provocative portrait of a rape victim, is so elegant, so finely attuned to emotional and sexual nuance." (Todd McCarthy, THR)

"Raw" (Julia Ducournau): "A cleverly written, impressive made and incredibly gory tale of one young woman’s awakening to the pleasures of the flesh – in all senses of the term." (Jordan Mintzer, THR) "Cannibalism meets freshman year self-discovery drama that's gross and great. Bold, bloody debut." (Alison Willmore, BuzzFeed) "A gory piece that is completely original, thrilling and, in a word, impressive." (Benedicte Prot, Cineuropa) "Best neo giallo in a long time." (Damon Wise, Empire) "Suspiria meets Ginger Snap in a muscular yet elegant campus cannibal horror from bright new talent Julia Ducournau." (Catherine Bray, Variety)

[Endlich wieder ein offenbar gelungener Vertreter der Nouvelle Vague Cruellement]

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★★★★

"La mort de Louis XIV" (Albert Serra): "Essentially a death-chamber piece." (Boyd van Hoeij, THR)

"Personal Shopper" (Olivier Assayas): "Cannes gets its first marmite sensation with Olivier Assayas’s uncategorisable – yet undeniably terrifying – drama about a fashion PA trying to exorcise herself of her dead twin." (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian) "Finally a Cannes film to get really excited about! We've all seen dozens of scary ghost movies. This, trust me, is QUITE DIFFERENT." (Jeffrey Wells, HE) "Assayas never plays the same game twice. Part spiderweb, part Chanel sheath, all silken shiver. Stewart kills again. [A-]" (Guy Lodge, Variety)

"Paterson" (Jim Jarmusch): "Jim Jarmusch’s small, perfectly formed Paterson is one of his best. Tender, funny, quite luminously lovely fable on life & art." (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "I loved Jim Jamusch's PATERSON, and chances are strong that you will, too." (Eric Kohn, indieWIRE) "Jim Jarmusch's PATERSON is a quiet beauty. A shoo-in for the Poem d'Or." (Justin Chang, L.A. Times) "Might be his most existential film, which is saying a lot. Lovely portrait of an artist's sustenance. [73]" (Mike D'Angelo, TimeOut) "A poem in 7 stanzas, repetitions, variations, internal rhymes, endlessly rich, dangerously charming. A-Ha!" (David Jenkins, Little White Lies) "Jarmusch's koan about a bus driver's routine, is a spellbinding lesson in aloneness, and might actually be perfect. I'm floating." (Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph) "PATERSON is droll and lovely: a cool bus driver, a New Jersey town, a book of limpid poem, a quietly moving way with gags. Tonally precise." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) "Jim Jarmusch’s new movie is a quiet delight: the story of a gentle, artistic man and his wife which celebrates small-town life and dreams without patronising." (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian)

"Staying Vertical" (Alain Guiraudie): "Es ist ein intellektueller Bastard, ein verwirrender, herausfordernder 'queerer' Grenzgänger, der gleichermaßen an Bruno Dumont wie an Francois Ozon denken lässt." (Josef Lederle, Filmdienst) "Er bringt seine Fiuren zum Schweben." (Michael Kienzl, Critic.de) "Guiraudie’s touch is sensitive and tender, and makes these moments delicate and beautiful." (David Acacia, ICS) "The Guiraudie of 'Stranger by the Lake' — the cool humanist craftsman — is scarcely in evidence in 'Staying Vertical,' a film that defies common sense in a way that audiences will not take kindly to." (Owen Gleiberman, Variety) "Lightly surrealistic “meditation on” (sorry @sallitt) freedom and responsibility. Singular, windswept. [77]" (Mike D'Angelo, TimeOut) "" gorgeous, unruly beast of a film. Far too wild to take big Cannes2016 prizes." (Xan Brooks, Guardian) "Description made this sound sentimental, but it's a feverishly bizarre movie about men without women that I dug." (Alison Willmore, BuzzFeed) " It's a cryptic tale of erotic longing rich with possible meanings." (Eric Kohn, indieWIRE) "It’s very, very good." (Sophie Monks Kaufman, Little White Lies)

"Slack Bay" (Bruno Dumont): Die Kritiker-Legende Michel Ciment gab im Screen-Daily-Kritikerspiegel die Höchstwertung. Ansonsten gab es ein sehr gemischstes Feedback. Warum sollten meine neuen Lieblinge Dumont und Guiraudie plötzlich auch von einer Mehrheit der Kritikaster geschätzt werden.

"The Red Turtle" (Michael Dudok de Wit): "Quiet a little masterpice." (Eric Kohn, indieWIRE) "Splash meets Cannibal Holocaust meets the Book of Genesis. A marval of artisan craft, but not really my thing." (David Jenkins, TimeOut)

"Neruda" (Pablo Larraín): "So Pablo Larrain has twice slayed in Quinzane with NO and NERUDA, and won big at Berlin with THE CLUB in between. Why no Competition slot?" (Guy Lodge, Variety)

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★★

"Sieranevada" (Cristi Puiu): "Macht Lust auf die nächsten zehn Tage." (Thomas Schultze, Blickpunkt:Film) "Great start with puiu's SIERANEVADA: a rich & desperately funny film about wrong beliefs, anger and a dinner that never starts." (Dominik Kamalzadeh, Standard) "Sieranevada ist durchaus gut genug für eine verdiente Palme. Oder den Jurypreis." (Michael Sennhauser, SRF) "A very long wake as a Romanian family tries and fails to eat dinner. Brilliant and funny." (John Bleasdale, CineVue)

One Is the Loneliest Number ("The Lobster") © Element Pictures

Absteigend aufgelistet sind hier die Cannes-Filme 2015 aus allen Wettbewerben und Nebenreihen, die mich persönlich am meisten interessieren. Die eigene Vorfreude wie auch das Kritiker-Feedback vor Ort sorgen für die Abstufungen, die ich mit Sternen von fünf bis zwei kenntlich mache. Der Ticker wird mehrmals täglich upgedatet:

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Most-Wanted 2015:

01. My Golden Days - Arnaud Desplechin
02. Carol - Todd Haynes
03. Son of Saul - Laszlo Nemes
04. Green Room - Jeremy Saulnier
05. The Lobster - Yorgos Lanthimos
06. The Assassin - Hsiao-hsien Hou
07. Cemetery of Splendour - Apichatpong Weerasethakul
08. In the Shadow of Women - Philippe Garrel
09. Arabian Nights - Miguel Gomes

Kommentar: Die Directors' Fortnight musste retten, was der eher schwach besetzte Wettbewerb nicht einzulösen wusste. Das hatte auch damit zu tun, dass Festival-Chef Thierry Fremaux den französischen Anteil in schwindelerregende Höhen getrieben hatte.

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★★★★½

"My Golden Days" (Arnaud Desplechin): "Guy pieces together youth from love letters. Knock-out. Reeling. AD's most completely satisfying work." (David Jenkins, Little White Lies) "Several beautiful moments; mostly felt adrift in its nostalgia until years of emotions coalesce in last 40min." (Blake Williams, Mubi) "A Frencher-than-French tale of deeply-anchored yet partially thwarted romance, MY GOLDEN DAYS is touching, involving and very well acted." (Lisa Nesselson, SD) "Marvelously vivid coming-of-age drama." (Justin Chang, Variety) "Does nothing a coming-of-age tale hasn't done before. Just does it much better. Effortless. [B+/A-]" (Jordan Cronk, Cinema Scope) "An amalgamation of confessions, memories, colors, and genres that define a life in constant reflection. [B+/A-]" (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant) "Best film of Cannes so far? Arnaud Desplechin's MY GOLDEN DAYS, playing in Quinzaine. A sorrowful love letter of a film." (Karsten Meinich, Montages) "Desplechin's MY GOLDEN DAYS is a gorgeous, melancholy wallow in lost love. Also very funny. Lovely, just lovely." (Wendy Ide, The Times) "Bittersweet tale of youth and crazed love, with outstanding skirt falling down scene. Liked it when it was most surprising." (Isabel Stevens, Sight & Sound) "Do we really need yet another great French coming-of-ager? Do we?? Fine. [A-]" (Adam Cook, Movie Mezzanine) "Der beste Film des Festivals bisher und für mich ist das vielleicht sogar der beste Film des Jahres." (Diego Lerer, Microposia)

"Carol" (Todd Haynes): "CAROL is my Cannes #1 so far. Just a dream. As a fan of the book, it distils everything I loved about it and adds touches I never imagined." (Catherine Bray, BBC) "Blue is the Warmest Carol." (Karsten Meinich, Montages) "It hurts to be in love but what a feeling, what a cloud to float upon. Am I overdoing it? I don’t care. Best Picture, Director, Actresses." (Jeffrey Wells, HE) "So far, the two best Cannes 2015 competition movies are beautifully engineered to make you weep: SON OF SAUL and CAROL." (Eric Kohn, indieWIRE) "Is there a director more in control of every frame than Todd Haynes?" (Steven Zeitchik, Arts) "Todd Haynes's CAROL fulfills it's promise for me, full of magnificent tenderness." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) "All I wanted and more -- like stepping into a Hopper painting and finding a devastating romance unfolding in the dark corners." (Alison Willmore, BuzzFeed) "CAROL might be the most exquisitely unhappy film ever made. A pinnacle for all involved." (Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph) "A romantic melodrama without the romance or melodrama (in a good way). Rooney Mara steals the film from under Blanchett's nose." (David Jenkins, Little White Lies) "Hoping, w/time, the great final scene might help me forget how passionless this film is for the 115 minutes leading up to it." (Blake Williams, Mubi) "One of the finest things in the very fine CAROL: its New York winter aquarium atmosphere. A film to get under your skin." (Jonathan Romney, Sight & Sound) "CAROL is the work of an American master in peak form. A delicate balance of semiotics and sentiment. Blanchett, Mara aces." (Scott Foundas, Variety) "Elegant, brilliant, sumptuous – Haynes' CAROL is a well-acted drama, of top quality. Quite small, though, as a story, like 1st act of ADÈLE." (Karsten Meinich, Montages)

"Son of Saul" (Laszlo Nemes): "Formally devastating, thematically pummeling. Makes SCHINDLER'S LIST look like a sunny day at the park. [B+]" (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant) "Most sensory concentration camp movie ever. A tour de force debut from Laszlo Nemes. Amazing camera, sound." (Jason Solomons, BBC) "It's tense and powerful at first, repetitive in the second half. Visceral experience is memorable, but not as strong script wise." (Eren Odabasi, ICS) "Curious how such a handsome first-person Holocaust thriller (for lack of a more appropriate genre) can be so affectless." (Blake Williams, Mubi) "Still numb after SAUL FIA, a holocaust drama where the terror is in peripheral sound and vision. More impressive than moving." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) "Great or not, and it may be, it certainly deserves to be one of the most seriously discussed films in Cannes." (Jonathan Romney, Sight & Sound) "Gruelling-ain't-the-word POV death camp roundelay (with shallow-focus shield) in the COME AND SEE mode. Prizes." (David Jenkins, Little White Lies) "SHOAH meets CHILDREN OF MEN. Terrifying, first-rate thriller." (Eric Kohn, indieWIRE) "Laszlo Nemes' terrifyingly accomplished Holocaust drama SON OF SAUL is the Cannes competition standout so far." (Justin Chang, Variety) "IN THE FOG-gy technique spelunks into hot crucible of carnage, peripheral atrocities. Taxing in a good way. Best Director? [B+]" (Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph) "One of the most searing and penetrating Holocaust films I’ve ever seen, and that’s obviously saying something." (Jeffrey Wells, HE) "It may end up being one of the best movies in Cannes, and is certainly the best film about the Holocaust in a very long time." (Steven Zeitchik, Arts)

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★★★★

"Green Room" (Jeremy Saulnier): "Jeremy Saulnier's THE GREEN ROOM: grim, bloody, remorseless, funny and excellent." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) "My genre break-out of Cannes is Jeremy Saulnier's tight, tense siege horror GREEN ROOM, which was fucking fabulous. Loved every minute." (Catherine Bray, BBC) "Exhilaratingly nasty stuff, full of cleavers, white supremacists and gore. Gallows humour; skylight body count." (Wendy Ide, The Times) "Incredibly violent, punks-versus-skins thriller ups BLUE RUIN's ante with escalating tension and shocking humor. Bravo!" (Aaron Hillis, Village Voice) "GREEN ROOM is a total riot." (Adam Woodward, Little White Lies) "Here at Cannes 2015 we have been royally freaked out by Jeremy Saulnier's GREEN ROOM: a brutal siege-horror thriller about Nazi skinheads." (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian) "If you like films with punk music and pit bulls ripping throats out, this one's for you." (Leslie Felperin, THR) "Love the way Saulnier handles violence — like it's being carried out by people who have never really committed it before. Fun!" (Alison Willmore, BuzzFeed) "Boasts all the virtues folks claimed for BLUE RUIN without the accompanying idiocy. Good gory fun." (Mike D'Angelo, The Dissolve) "Standing ovation for Jeremy Saulnier at late show of GREEN ROOM. And a lot of ewwws and arrghs during the film. Horribly funny." (Kate Muir, The Times)

"The Lobster" (Yorgos Lanthimos): "Premise and first two thirds are deadpan absurdist excellence, then it meanders through a lesser third act. Still pretty swell." (Alison Willmore, BuzzFeed) "THE LOBSTER is an interesting experience because watching it feels sort of like getting boiled alive." (Sasha Stone, AwardsDaily) "Loved the concept and Weisz; disappointed Lanthimos can still only direct actors to do one thing." (Blake Williams, Mubi) "Lanthimos' THE LOBSTER is funny, surreal, bunuelesque. A great film." (Dominik Kamalzadeh, Standard) "Yorgos Lanthimos' LOBSTER completes a zany trilogy about the flaws of organized society. Maybe it's time to move on." (Eric Kohn, indieWIRE) "THE LOBSTER, new movie from DOGTOOTH director, is awesome, a deadpan Orwellian satire of the marriage-industrial complex." (Steven Zeitchik, Arts) "Struggling to find as much real-world resonance as I’d like, but this is much more DOGTOOTH than it is ALPS." (Mike D'Angelo, The Dissolve) "A macabre and often hilarious black comedy which runs out of ideas." (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian) "Makes ALPS look like Sirk. Entirely contingent on PWQ (Personal Wackiness Quotient). Way, *way* off the chart for me." (David Jenkins, Little White Lies) "The body-snatchers won; then what? Fab ideas in early going, Buñuelian verve and wit. But dwindles. More Colman! Farrell vg." (Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph) "Bound in the carapace of its own surrealism." (Jonathan Romney, Sight & Sound) "Buñuel for a post-Tinder world. Nerve-twingeingly funny, meticulously composed. Colin Farrell is In Bruges-good." (Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph) "A potential revelation for critics and audiences...who have never seen a Marco Ferreri movie." (Scott Foundas, Variety) "Black absurdist comedy. Funny and utterly baffling. I loved it." (John Bleasdale, CineVue) "It's purely conceptual, entirely pleasureless cinema. Not for me. [D-]" (Adam Cook, Movie Mezzanine) "The budget boost and all-star cast has done nothing to dilute the trademark weirdness of the Hellenic duo." (Lee Marshall, SD) "Yorgos Lanthimos's first English-language feature is a wickedly funny, unexpectedly moving satire of couple-fixated society." (Guy Lodge, Variety) "Kongeniale Parabel über die Dialektik von Bindung und Freiheit." (Josef Lederle, Filmdienst)

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★★★½

"The Assassin" (Hsiao-hsien Hou): "Hou’s THE ASSASSIN a wuxia like nothing else: impenetrable plot, visually stunning, great martial arts of credible kind. Palme?" (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "The wuxia graded to gleaming, abstract perfection. One of the most beautiful films I've seen. [A]" (Jordan Cronk, Cinema Scope) "Hou evokes Jancsó's THE RED AND THE WHITE with this fractured, honorable, striking anti-war film." (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant) "One of the most beautiful films i've ever seen: Hou Hsiao Hsien's THE ASSASSIN, a slow, hard to follow, painterly ninja tale." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) "BARRY LYNDON of Kung Fu movies. Slow, the most beautiful film of the festival and fascinating." (John Bleasdale, CineVue) "Hou's ASSASSIN is transportive, intoxicating cinema of a high order: You don't just watch this movie, you live inside it. Masterful." (Scott Foundas, Variety) "Hou Hsiao-hsien's first wuxia masterfully blends the genre's essence and his own style. (9/10)" (Derek Elley, Film Business Asia) "The slowest martial-arts film in the East and one of the best films of Cannes 2015." (Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice)

"Cemetery of Splendour" (Apichatpong Weerasethakul): " I won't mince words: This is a masterpiece. Transfixing from from frame one. [A]" (Jordan Cronk, Cinema Scope) "CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR is a whispering tragedy, subtly overflowing with emotion. Stunning. [A]" (Adam Cook, Movie Mezzanine) "Legiac and longing tour of one spiritual world with ties to so many more. As above, so below. [A-]" (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant) "Ambitious, ambiguous poem of memory, dream, myth & politics should wow fans & mystify others." (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "The remake of THE POLTERGEIST I never knew I needed. Never change, Joe." (Blake Williams, Mubi) "Political sci fi via Celine & Julie-style exploration of dreams, fantasy, myth, legend, cinema, ghosts… and it's breathtaking." (David Jenkins, Little White Lies) "More readily parsed and less visually ravishing than his best films. Mysterious on the surface level only." (Mike D'Angelo, The Dissolve)

"In the Shadow of Women" (Philippe Garrel): "Maybe PG's funniest film (is that saying much?) Also nakedly confessional, beautifully played. Very great." (David Jenkins, Little White Lies) "I'll stand up for this as being Garrel's vampire movie (last shot confirmed this feeling). Modest and light." (Blake Williams, Mubi) "Has the textures and trappings of a nouvelle vague relic from the 1960s." (Allan Hunter, SD) "A deeply felt infidelity drama shot through with irony." (Boyd van Hoeij, THR) "IN THE SHADOW OF WOMEN is an intimate & deeply felt drama from Philippe Garrel, with a slight comic edge—but always gentle." (Adam Cook, Movie Mezzanine) "Infidelity drama w/ sex elided in favor of self-induced pain/severe irony. Jealously, indeed. [A-]" (Jordan Cronk, Cinema Scope) "Relationship drama like only the French can make, not very deep, but affecting and observant." (Marc van de Klashorst, ICS)

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★★★
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★★½

"Amy" (Asif Kapadia): "This documentary about the late British soul singer is an overwhelmingly sad, intimate – and dismaying – study of a woman whose talent and charisma helped turn her into a target." (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian) "Problematic." (David Jenkins, Little White Lies) "Gruesome exploitation movie. Mostly detestable." (Jenny Jecke, Moviepilot) "I saw AMY back at home and couldn't get it out of my head for days. A brilliant kaleidoscopic tragedy of wasted great talent." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) "AMY is a tremendous piece of work, very inspired in its use of voiceover interviews + sense of a life lived in the camera's unblinking gaze." (Scott Foundas, Variety) "Die Doku über Amy Winehouse ist miserabel. Zwei Stunden unveröffentlichte Bilder von ihren Alkohol- und Heroin-Konsum zeigen. What the fuck." (Diego Lerer, Microposia) "Kapadia's doc portrait-as-oral history approach once again suits a tragic subject, though this felt like it could have been tighter." (Alison Willmore, BuzzFeed)

"One Floor Below" (Radu Muntean): "Radu Muntean's teasing psychological slow-burner ONE FLOOR BELOW shows that Romanian cinema still has the edge in Dostoyevskian drama." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) "The Romanians do it again! Out of competition but Radu Muntean’s ONE FLOOR BELOW is probably best film I’ve seen so far." (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "A very fine if not exactly groundbreaking film about perspective and distance." (Leslie Felperin, THR) "Quietly builds into a devastating portrait of a weak man and the weak society he represents, both of which have lost their moral compasses." (Lee Marshall, SD) "Muntean's ONE FLOOR BELOW is a very confident and subtle psychological drama. The best I've seen here so far." (Eren Odabasi, ICS)

"A Tale of Tales" (Matteo Garrone): "Liked one tale out of three. I think. It's hard to be sure given how poorly and pointlessly they're intercut." (Mike D'Angelo, The Dissolve) "Garrone's bizarre, baroque fabulist folly TALE OF TALES: like a bloated remake of DAS SINGENDE, KLINGENDE BÄUMCHEN." (Jonathan Romney, Sight & Sound) "Matteo Garrone's film is fabulous in every sense and Toby Jones has a shout at Best Actor." (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian) "Garrone's INTO THE WOODS, only vastly better shot. Less perverse than expected, but quite entrancing." (Justin Chang, Variety) "Well I loved loved loved TALE OF TALES. Power of imagination and story. Great." (Sasha Stone, AwardsDaily) "Packed to the (sea monster's) gills with gorgeous, evocative, unfamiliar fairy tale imagery, but doesn't cohere into a whole." (Alison Willmore, BuzzFeed) "For all its atmospheric riches, TALE OF TALES is a tale told by an idiot, signifying nothing save that Matteo Garrone is a good director." (Jeffrey Wells, HE) "Strange, original, uneven but still impressive follow-up to REALITY, a memorable cinematic experience." (Lee Marshall, SD) "Python meets Pasolini in this horrific, hilarious - and very grown up - fairy tale anthology." (Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph) "Finally a jolt of life. Surreal/nutty collision of deconstructed archetypes/sincerity. A dream with a fever." (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant) "It's grotesque and gory, fantastical but with a human core. As all fairy tales should be." (Marc van de Klashorst, ICS)

"Our Little Sister" (Hirokazu Koreeda): "The film is quiet, understated and gentle, allowing the audience to take pleasure in teasing out its narrative subtleties, and presented with wonderful freshness and clarity." (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian) "A generous spirited, pristinely shot and, quite frankly, somewhat dull effort." (Leslie Felperin, THR) "Cozy, understated drama about four sisters in a seaside town that drifts into the sentimental a little more than I liked." (Alison Willmore, BuzzFeed) "Ultra-subtle & a tad too cheery for its own good." (Eric Kohn, indieWIRE) "Kore-eda's OUR LITTLE SISTER a typically sweet (& sour) Ozu-inflected tale of siblings' prospects with men, work, each other etc." (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "An intimate, warm embrace of a film, it radiates joy and harmony despite playing out entirely in the shadow of a difficult father's death." (Dave Calhoun, TimeOut) "Enchanting film, which channels the Japanese master Ozu Yasujiro at the same time as it lovingly recreates the world of Hollywood 1940s family melodramas like MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS and LITTLE WOMEN. (Nick Roddick, Sight & Sound) "Lovingly crafted small-scale family drama is full of characters you won't want to leave behind. Heartbreaking." (Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph) "Kore-eda Hirokazu is at the top of his game in this graceful rondo of family manners." (Derek Elley, Film Business Asia)

"My Mother" (Nanni Moretti): "Splendid work by Buy, Turturro, Lazzarini in Moretti's warm, funny, very moving MI MADRE." (Scott Foundas, Variety) "Nanni Moretti’s MIA MADRE is surely his finest since THE SON'S ROOM. Again beautifully understated, and with very funny Turturro." (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "Moretti strikes perfect balance of drama and comedy, Buy magnificent. Last 15 minutes really affecting." (Marc van de Klashorst, ICS) "This festival is rather lachrymose in its choices. MIA MADRE yet another sweet contemplation of death. It's thin but we'll done." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) "Nanni Moretti's warm and witty MIA MADRE is his best since THE SON'S ROOM and John Turturro is on terrific form." (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian) "MIA MADRE is great. Applause. Not a dry eye in the house." (Sasha Stone, AwardsDaily) "MIA MADRE alternates between joy and sadness, dream and reality, touching drama and smart satire with exceptional ease and grace. Masterful." (Eren Odabasi, ICS)

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★★

"Inside Out" (Pete Docter & Ronaldo Del Carmen): "Best Pixar since UP, even w its manic WRECK-IT RALPH tendencies. Strong plea for a full emotional life." (Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune) "Not UP or WALL-E level daring, but still a gratifyingly inventive, clever return to form for Pixar with a nicely realized theme." (Alison Willmore, BuzzFeed) "It's easily animated feature front runner. Will make shitloads of dough. More FINDING NEMO than WALL-E." (Sasha Stone, AwardsDaily) "Best Pixar in years." (Jonathan Romney, Sight & Sound) "Original, joyfull, funny: the new Pixar movie INSIDE OUT is a triumph!" (Christian Jungen, NZZ)

"Sicario" (Denis Villeneuve): "Emily Blunt literally token female in Villeneuve's SICARIO. Mann-lite, lots of brooding process without ever knowing what's at stake." (David Jenkins, Little White Lies) "America the cowardly, America the ugly, America the land of wolves and silencers. Deakins MVP. Bleak and sleek. [B/B+]" (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant) "Bleak and bloody brilliant. Denis Villeneuve gives the drug war its French Connection. Benicio Del Toro towers." (John Bleasdale, CineVue) "Can Denis Villeneuve please stop making movies that feature women? Or people?" (Jenny Jecke, Moviepilot) "Despite portentous air, ultimately more silly thriller than mythic statement on dark times. But Blunt, Del Toro, Brolin all terrif." (Alison Willmore, BuzzFeed) "Whoa. Did Denis Villeneuve just take Michael Mann's crown? SICARIO is a muscular, brutal action thriller." (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian) "I think I took about six breaths during the entirety of Denis Villeneuve's blistering SICARIO." (Scott Foundas, Variety) "SICARIO is very effective, black-hearted suspense. Silly if you think about it; best not to. Brolin, Del Toro let loose." (Dave Calhoun, TimeOut) "People are calling this conventional; it’s actually quite radical. [83]" (Mike D'Angelo, The Dissolve)

"Youth" (Paolo Sorrentino): "Youth is a warm, poignant, and expectedly ravishing follow up to Bellezza. Surprises in every scene, leaves deep emotional impact." (Eren Odabasi, ICS) "Paolo Sorrentino's YOUTH is a minor indulgence, tweaked with funny ideas and images, beset with a heavy sentimentality." (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian) "Sorrentino’s YOUTH is about effects of ageing on memory, bodies, hopes & relationships. Fun - though I wish he’d use less music." (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound)

"Maryland" (Alice Winocour): "The surprise of Cannes 2015 thus far: Alice Winocour's superb DISORDER, which is all sorts of psychologically complicated and studly." (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant) "Sets up many familiar narrative elements and proceeds to sidestep them all. Tough, muscular filmmaking. [B/B+]" (Jordan Cronk, Cinema Scope) "MARYLAND also showcases sharp, who'da-thunk-it genre chops from Alice Winocour. Hollywood would do well to get her number." (Guy Lodge, Variety) "Hollywood does better with this sort of sleekly packaged suspense." (Todd McCarthy, THR)

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???

"Night Fare": "Favourite film in the Cannes market so far? Julien Seri's NIGHT FARE that's TAXI DRIVER meets MANIAC COP, with a fab twist ending." (Alan Jones, FrightFest)

Der andere Trier: Eisenberg in "Louder Than Bombs" © Motlys

Das 68. Filmfestival von Cannes findet vom 13. bis 24. Mai statt.

Festivaldirektor Thierry Frémaux reizt das französische Kontingent mit vier Wettbewerbsfilmen (darunter der neue Jacques Audiard-Film "Dheepan") voll aus. Wenn man den französischen Eröffnungsfilm "La Tête haute", der außer Konkurrenz gezeigt wird, noch hinzunimmt, ist das ein starker Fokus auf die eigenen Talente. Augenfällig auch, dass alle drei Cannes-tauglichen Italiener (Morettis Neuer wird schon in der Trade Press besprochen) zum rechten Zeitpunkt fertig wurden und somit einen breiten europäischen Block bilden. Auch wenn Yorgos Lanthimos' letzter Film "Alpeis" kein Meisterwerk war und die ganz große Euphorie abgeklungen ist, bin ich doch sehr gespannt auf seinen Wettbewerbsbeitrag "The Lobster". Die Handlung um eine dystopische Zukunftsvision, in der Singles eingesperrt und dazu gezwungen werden, innerhalb einer 45 Tage-Frist den passenden Partner zu finden, klingt schon mal interessant. Auch dem Australier Justin Kurzel traue ich viel zu. Sein Serienkillerfilm "Snowtown" landete 2011 auf meiner persönlichen Top Ten. Und obwohl seine Schauspieler jetzt Michael Fassbender und Marion Cotillard heißen, reizt mich seine "Macbeth"-Verfilmung vorerst nur wenig, weil ich Shakespeare-Adaptionen per se nicht sonderlich spannend finde. Das kann sich jedoch schnell ändern, wenn ich die ersten Bewegtbilder sehe.

Nachtrag (23.04.): Mit dem ergänzten Nicloux-Film "The Valley of Love" sind es jetzt sogar grenzensprengende fünf französische Wettbewerbsbeiträge.

Wettbewerb:

THE ASSASSIN - Hou Hsiao Hsien
CAROL - Todd Haynes
CRONIC - Michel Franco
DHEEPAN - Jacques Audiard
THE LOBSTER - Yorgos Lanthimos
LOUDER THAN BOMBS - Joachim Trier
MACBETH - Justin Kurzel
MARGUERITE AND JULIEN - Valérie Donzelli
MIA MADRE - Nanni Moretti
MON ROI - Maïwenn
MOUTAINS MAY DEPART - Jia Zhang-Ke
OUR LITTLE SISTER - Hirokazu Kore-eda
THE SEA OF TREES - Gus Van Sant
SICARIO - Denis Villeneuve
A SIMPLE MAN - Stéphane Brizé
SON OF SAUL - László Nemes
THE TALE OF TALES - Matteo Garrone
THE VALLEY OF LOVE - Guillaume Nicloux
YOUTH - Paolo Sorrentino

Highlights 2014: Foxcatcher, Goodbye to Language, Two Days One Night, Leviathan, Wild Tales, Saint Laurent, Clouds of Sils Maria, Winter Sleep, Timbuktu

In der wichtigsten Nebenreihe und Talentschmiede für den offiziellen Wettbewerb, Un Certain Regard, werden die Entdeckungen der letzten Jahre eigentlich meistens jenseits der großen Namen gemacht. Die bekanntesten Filmemacher sind sicherlich die beiden ästhetisch gestrengen Rumänen Radu Muntean ("Tuesday, After Christmas") und Corneliu Porumboiu ("Police, Adjective"). Auch der melancholische Japaner Kiyoshi Kurosawa ("Kairo") ist ein alter Bekannter. Instinktiv würde mich der Isländer Grimur Hakonarson ("Rams") wegen des Seltenheitswertes interessieren.

Nachtrag (23.04.): Durch die Ergänzungen stark aufgewertet worden, zumal Regisseure wie Weerasethakul oder Mendoza eigentlich den Sprung in den offiziellen Wettbewerb bereits geschafft hatten.

Un Certain Regard:

"Alias Maria" (Jose Luis Rugeles Gracia)
"Cementry of Slendour" (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
“The Chosen Ones” (David Pablos)
"Don't Tell Me the Boy Was Mad" (Robert Guediguian)
“Fly Away Solo” (Neeraj Ghaywan)
“The Fourth Direction” (Gurvinder Singh)
“The High Sun” (Dalibor Matanic)
“I Am a Soldier” (Laurent Lariviere)
“Journey to the Shore” (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
"Lamb" (Yared Zeleke)
“Madonna” (Shin Suwon)
“Maryland” (Alice Winocour)
“Nahid” (Ida Panahandeh)
“One Floor Below” (Radu Muntean)
“The Other Side” (Roberto Minervini)
“Rams” (Grimur Hakonarson)
“The Shameless” (Oh Seung-uk)
"Sweet Red Bean Paste" (Naomi Kawase)
"Taklub" (Brillante Mendoza)
“The Treasure” (Corneliu Porumboiu)

Highlights 2014: Bird People, White God, Jauja, Force Majeure, Amour fou

Mit den ersten beiden veröffentlichten Titeln ("Arabian Nights", "My Golden Years") hat die autarke Directors' Fortnight bereits mehr Staub aufgewirbelt als im letzten Jahr mit dem gesamten Programm. 2014 punktete eigentlich nur Bruno Dumonts TV-Serie "Kindkind". Thierry Frémaux mag 2015 keinen Platz für die beiden Kritikerlieblinge Gomes und Desplechin gefunden haben. Umso mehr Strahlkraft verleihen diese cineastischen Schwergewichte jetzt der Nebenreihe. Und ich freue mich ziemlich auf den nächsten Jeremy Saulnier-Film ("Blue Ruin"), der irgendetwas mit Patrick Stewart und Neonazis zu tun haben soll.

Directors' Fortnight:

"In the Shadow of Women" (Philippe Garrel)
"Arabian Nights Trilogy" (Miguel Gomes)
"My Golden Years" (Arnaud Desplechin)
“Allende, mi abuelo Allende” (Marcia Tambutti)
“The Brand New Testament” (Jaco van Dormael)
“The Cowboys” (Thomas Bidegain)
“Embrace of the Serpent” (Ciro Guerra)
“Fatima” (Philippe Faucon)
“Green Room” (Jeremy Saulnier)
“The Here After” (Magnus von Horn)
“Much Loved” (Nabil Ayouch)
“Mustang” (Deniz Gamze Erguven)
“Peace to Us in Our Dreams” (Sharunas Bartas)
“A Perfect Day” (Fernando Leon de Aranoa)
“Songs My Brothers Taught Me” (Chloe Zhao)
“Yakuza Apocalypse: Great War of the Underworld” (Takashi Miike)
“Dope” (Rick Famuyiwa)

Die Critics' Week ist meistens für ein, zwei Geheimtipps gut. Und sie beherbergt dieses Jahr die bislang einzige deutsche Co-Produktion aller Cannes-Reihen. Aber fast selbstverständlich zu erwähnen, dass dieser Film, nämlich "Mediterranea", von keinem Deutschen, sondern von einem Italoamerikaner gedreht wurde.

Critics' Week:

“The Anarchists” (Elie Wajeman)
“Les deux amis” (Louis Garrel)
“La Vie en grand” (Mathieu Vadepied)
“Degrade” (Arab and Tarzan Abunasser)
“Krisha” (Trey Edward Shults)
“Mediterranea” (Jonas Carpignano)
“Ni le ciel, ni la terre” (Clement Cogitore)
“Paulina” (Santiago Mitre)
“Sleeping Giant” (Andrew Cidivino)
“La tierra y la sombra” (Cesar Acevedo)

Highlights 2014: It Follows, The Tribe, The Kindergarten Teacher

Bei den reihenlosen Event-Filmen stellt sich die Frage, wie schwach der neueste Pixar geworden sein muss, dass er nicht einmal mehr Cannes eröffnen kann. Böse formuliert. Mit Woody Allen habe ich eigentlich seit seinem starken dritten Frühling ("Vicky Cristina Barcelona", "Midnight in Paris") schon länger wieder abgeschlossen. Und wenn man dem Netz-Buzz Glauben schenken will, soll man für George Miller noch mal ein Türchen aufmachen, weil er angeblich zu seinen Wurzeln zurückgekehrt ist. Ich bleibe da skeptisch, weil der Australier zu lange die Donnerkuppel nicht mehr betreten hat und seit Jahrzehnten Filme für die ganze Familie dreht. Ich lasse mich gerne positiv überraschen.

Out of Competition:

“Amnesia” (Barbet Schroeder)
“Asphalte” (Samuel Benchetrit)
“L’esprit de l’escalier” (Pabla Lucavic)
“Hayored lema’ala” (Elad Keidan)
“Inside Out” (Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen)
“Irrational Man” (Woody Allen)
“The Little Prince” (Mark Osborne)
“Mad Max: Fury Road” (George Miller)
“Oka” (Souleymane Cisse)
“Panama” (Pavle Vuckovic)
“A Tale of Love and Darkness” (Natalie Portman)

Die drei Mitternachtspremieren schauen allesamt nach viel Spaß aus. Warum Gaspar Noe hierhin verbannt wurde, wird sein dreistündiger Erotikfilm "Love" zeigen müssen. Aber wie die Amy Winehouse-Doku und der koreanische Genrefilm sind das jeweils Projekte, die jetzt schon meine vollste Aufmerksamkeit haben.

Midnight Screenings:

“Amy” (Asif Kapadia)
"Love" (Gapar Noe)
“Office” (Hong Won-chan)

Anaïs Demoustier in "Bird People" © Archipel 35

Entweder waren die Filmkritiker auf Drogen oder aber der diesjährige Cannes-Wettbewerb wirklich reichhaltig an guten bis sehr guten neuen Filmen. Es scheint immer ein qualitativer Vorteil für ein großes Festival zu sein, gezwungenermaßen auf Hollywoodfilme verzichten zu müssen und sich lieber um die weltweite Talentförderung zu kümmern. Es ist eine gute Mischung aus Schwergewichten und Newcomern geworden. Und selbst Runners-Up-Filme wie "Saint Laurent" oder "Foxcatcher" haben so viel Buzz erzeugt, dass ich sie jetzt sofort sehen will.

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Most-Wanted 2014:

01. It Follows - David Robert Mitchell
02. Bird People - Pascale Ferran
03. Wild Tales - Damián Szifron
04. Jauja - Lisandro Alonso
05. Two Days, One Night - Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
06. Leviathan - Andrey Zvyagintsev
07. Winter Sleep - Nuri Bilge Ceylan
08. Force Majeure - Ruben Östlund
09. Amour Fou - Jessica Hausner
10. Adieu au Langage - Jean-Luc Godard

Runners-Up: Timbuktu, Maidan, The Wonders, Welcome to New York, Saint Laurent, Foxcatcher

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★★★★★

"It Follows" (David Robert Mitchell): "A wonderful genre mash-up (Dante, Carpenter, Argento) with heart, soul, and allegories to spare. Pure fun. [B+/A-]" (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant) "Brilliant, sui generis art-horror which extends a creepy amount of empathy towards its characters." (David Jenkins, Little White Lies) "It's a cult favorite in the making." (David Poland, Movie City News) "Wow! IT FOLLOWS might be my favourite Cannes 2014 film so far. The real deal: scary, beautiful, spine-tingling." (Catherine Bray, BBC) "It's a total riot. Teen sex politics take monstrous, humanoid form. Best teen horror in a decade." (Charlie Lyne, Ultra Culture) "A whole horror film based around the shot I find most scary -- something walking straight at the camera. Was cowering." (Alison Willmore, Filmspotting SVU) "I don't wish to overdo the hype today, but IT FOLLOWS is the absolute, spine-tingling business." (Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph) "Superbly creepy premise packs metaphorical punch, isn't executed quite as inventively as I'd hoped. But AIIEEE! [74]" (Mike D'Angelo, The Dissolve) "IT FOLLOWS is the genre hit at Cannes, unusual story, and very scary." (Alan Jones, FrightFest) "The only thing that could hamper it is a couple of full frontals, but otherwise this should be a perfect date movie." (Marc van de Klashorst, ICS)

[Ich habe David Robert Mitchells Film "The Myth of the American Sleepover" (was für ein Titel!) ein bisschen geliebt und mich deshalb wahnsinnig gefreut, dass er in der Critics' Week wieder aufgetaucht ist. Schönes Comeback nach vier Jahren!]

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★★★★½

"Bird People" (Pascale Ferran): "Pretty special. Never knew what was round the next corner. Playful spirit of Renais, but also its own thing." (David Jenkins, Little White Lies) "Hated the last three minutes (which are crucial); adored everything else. Truly extraordinary. Read nothing. [80]" (Mike D'Angelo, The Dissolve) "First half entirely dismal, then goes from boring to bananas in one, well, swoop. Kissed by magic, but can I forgive the rest?" (Guy Lodge, InContention) "BIRD PEOPLE would have been DESTROYED in competition. Smart move Thierry!" (Cédric Succivalli, ICS) "Possibly the wackiest film yet: Pascale Ferran's BIRD PEOPLE, an ennui feather fantasy with shades of THE WITCHES." (Isabel Stevens, Sight & Sound) "Still a courageous, original number that has something in common with a certain unconventional, magical-realist strand of South-East Asian cinema as practised by Apichatpong Weerasethakul or Pen-Ek Ratanaruang." (Lee Marshall, Screen Daily)

"Wild Tales" (Damián Szifron): "It's the best thing I've seen here so far, and the best Argentinian export since NINE QUEENS. So dark. So funny." (Drew McWeeny, HitFix) "Argentine black comedy anthology WILD TALES was a terrific surprise -- kinetic, darkly funny, much fun." (Alison Willmore, Filmspotting SVU) "Wickedly funny Argentinean social satire breezes through 6 deranged stories like Buñuel on crack." (Eric Kohn, indieWIRE) "Etwas wirklich Vergleichbares zu diesem Film aus Argentinien habe ich in Cannes noch nie im Wettbewerb gesehen." (Michael Sennhauser, SRF) "Such a terrific film." (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian) "Damian Szifron’s WILD TALES is easily the best Cannes film thus far. Angry, Almodovar-esque, black humor, Argentinian class rage, etc." (Jeffrey Wells, Hollywood Elsewhere) "A standout. WILD TALES is loose-limbed, rowdy and exhilarating -- in its vibrant lunacy, and with its cartoonishly brash violence, it's a little bit Almodovar, a little bit Tarantino." (Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice)

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★★★★

"Jauja" (Lisandro Alonso): "JAUJA is very Alonso (existential/symbolic quest arc) but also feels completely new. Seriously racking by brains for a more beautiful movie." (David Jenkins, Little White Lies) "Alonso's APOCALYPSE NOW, or MAN OF THE WEST, or THE SEARCHERS, or L'AVVENTURA. Still trying to right myself." (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant) "Strangest film here yet: Lisandro Alonso's JAUJA. Lots of walking in the desert (very Alonso). But then... Not your average Viggo vehicle." (Jonathan Romney, Screen Daily) "Lisandro Alonso's stripped-back John Ford western set in Pasolini-like moonscapes in Argentina, is a beautiful conceit." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) "Lisandro Alonso's JAUJA is a sublime mind-bender." (Isabel Stevens, Sight & Sound) "Of the Cannes movies I've yet to cover I loved Lisandro Alonso's JAUJA. Stunningly beautiful & tough to categorize." (Eric Kohn, indieWIRE)

"Two Days, One Night" (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne): "A remarkable film about pity and heartless people; the best portrait of the financial crisis." (Isabel Stevens, Sight & Sound) "Uber-juicy moral tale abt dignity & work. Their UMBERTO D.? Cotillard small, fab; premise forced." (Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph) "Very moving, suspenseful, insightful, superbly acted tale of threatened job loss." (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "That the Dardennes basically made one of the great 1930s Hollywood melodramas in 2014 makes me immensely happy. [A]" (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant) "Au hasard Cotillard: These guys may yet sell me on this whole 'humanism' thing. [84]" (Mike D'Angelo, The Dissolve) "The Dardennes' TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT is so very good — Marion Cotillard as a woman coming around to her right to fight for her job." (Alison Willmore, Filmspotting SVU) "Impassioned, exciting, magnificently acted - the Dardenne brothers could actually be on for Palme no.3." (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian) "The Dardennes' TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT - bracing, political, moving as ever, and honed to perfection." (Jonathan Romney, Screen Daily) "Dardennes deserve to do the Palme d'Or hat-trick for TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT. Certainly best in show for me." (David Jenkins, Little White Lies) "Tender, socially textured, Cotillard/Rongione really click. But not sure I've ever *believed* a Dardennes film less. [B/B-]" (Guy Lodge, InContention)

"Leviathan" (Andrey Zvyagintsev): "Absolutely loved LEVIATHAN, a great fiery blacksmiths of a movie, knocking human beings into twisted shapes. Possible winner?" (Xan Brooks, Guardian) "Easily the heaviest, saddest, most pulverizing & beautifully shot film of the Cannes Film Festival. I don’t see how the jury can deny it." (Jeffrey Wells, Hollywood Elsewhere) "Novelistic-in-best-sense tableau of personal, political corruption. Stony allegory, ribald comedy. Le Palme, s'il vous plait. [A-]" (Guy Lodge, InContention) "Das church, politicians, and police = spiders. Citizens = barrels smashing up against a rocky shore. Thunderous. [B+]" (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant) "A new Russian masterpiece." (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian)

"Winter Sleep" (Nuri Bilge Ceylan): "WINTER SLEEP invokes Chekhov, Dostoyevsky, Shakespeare and Voltaire, and it fully belongs in their elite company." (Scott Foundas, Variety) "Ceylan's WINTER SLEEP is a largely a fireside debate film that merged Lear with Chekhov and is frankly hard work to watch. Patchily great." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) "Chekhovian seems to be favoured for WINTER SLEEP. I found bits of Middlemarch and Bergman in there, but massively lacks Bergman's energy." (Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph) "Lecture more than drama. Meat puppets more than characters. An old school endurance test. Alas, did very little for me." (David Jenkins, Little White Lies) "Nuri Bulge Ceylan’s WINTER SLEEP a hugely ambitious Chekhovian intimate epic: astute grasp of human motivation, perversity, need." (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "Word surgeons operating on a flatlined marriage in an icy purgatory. 'Your altruism brings tears to my eyes.' [A]" (Glenn Heath Jr., Slate) "Epic portrait of a prick, shot in an amazing location. Admirable, w/a magnificent lead perf, but sooo grueling. [55]" (Mike D'Angelo, The Dissolve) "NBC goes full Bergman while still managing to make us laugh every now and then and it's an absolute triumph." (Cédric Succivalli, ICS) "Well above rest of competition." (Michel Ciment, Positif) "WINTER SLEEP ist wieder einmal einer jener Filme, deren grausame Schönheit lange genug nachwirkt, um sie zu einem Teil des eigenen Lebens zu machen." (Michael Sennhauser, SRF)

"Force Majeure" (Ruben Östlund): "A sardonic, serious, funny, precision-controlled psycho-comedy-drama inspired by the selfishness of our survival instincts, Swedish director Ruben Ostlund’s fourth feature is his best yet." (Lee Marshall, Screen Daily) "FORCE MAJEURE is a taut, acerbic comedy of human behaviour delineated with razor-sharp precision by its top notch cast." (Catherine Bray, BBC) "Visually stunning even in its most banal moments and emotionally perceptive almost to a fault, the film stands to complicate many a romantic arthouse date." (Peter Debruge, Variety) "The gears & mechanisms of marriage/trust are more fragile than a loose snow pact... barely. Formally brilliant. [A-]" (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant)

"Amour Fou" (Jessica Hausner): "A complex and exquisitely filmed exploration of a man's desire to find a woman willing to die with him." (Boyd van Hoeij, THR) "Elegantly executed in a manner reminiscent of Eric Rohmer." (Allan Hunter, Screen Daily) "Jessica Hausner upped the ante in the Un Certain Regard section with a film that should be regarded as the festival's first true masterpiece." (Marc van de Klashorst, ICS) "Among its many virtues, Jessica Hausner's droll, designtastic period suicide romcom AMOUR FOU boasts a surefire contender for the Palme Dog." (Guy Lodge, InContention) "A delightfully eccentric period drama from Jessica Hausner which looks like a moving Vermeer painting." (Isabel Stevens, Sight & Sound)

"Adieu au langage" (Jean-Luc Godard): "ADIEU AU LANGAGE is my favorite Godard (and I've seen ALL of them) in 25 years (namely since Nouvelle Vague in 1990)." (Cédric Succivalli, ICS) "GOODBYE TO LANGUAGE will probably resist almost everything that can be said on twitter, except maybe that it is funny." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) "Breathtaking audio-visual alchemy comin' atcha in glorious "3D". Plus dog lols." (David Jenkins, Little White Lies) "Eye-searing, defeaning, fragmented, discordant reminder that JLG is the John Zorn of cinema." (Jonathan Romney, Screen Daily) "Roxy the dog is all things big and small. Neon splinters, playful superimpositions, shit jokes. Amazing." (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant) "Eigensinnig, enigmatisch, genial." (Rüdiger Suchsland, Negativ Film)

"Timbuktu" (Abderrahmane Sissako): "Jihad is about as effective as cutting the grass with a machine gun. Brutal, uncompromising, funny, & damning. [B+/A-]" (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant) "Does a good job for a long while of hiding its essential nature—social-justice tract—behind loose-limbed funkiness. [59]" (Mike D'Angelo, The Dissolve) "TIMBUKTU is downbeat but also quite funny; unlike other movies about jihadists, situates tragedy in richly developed community." (Eric Kohn, indieWIRE) "Competition off to a fine start with Sissako's TIMBUKTU." (Justin Chang, Variety) "I've never seen a film that combines, quiet fury, humour, and tragic symbolism so compellingly as TIMBUKTU. Great start to comp." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) "Cannes kicks off very well with Abderrahmane Sissako’s TIMBUKTU: very moving, nicely measured account of jihadist persecution in Mali." (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "It's a masterful work of humanism." (Jay Weissberg, Variety) "Sad, sensual TIMBUKTU responds to repression with wit and fury." (Guy Lodge, InContention) "It's a brilliant portrait of a place ruled by religion and a people traumatised by division." (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian) "Each cut in the film feels like a small reveal, moving with a motivation for revelation. And what better way to start a festival than that?" (Daniel Kasman, Mubi.com) "TIMBUKTU keeps growing on me since noon. 4 stars for the Ioncinema panel." (Cédric Succivalli, ICS)

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★★★

"Maidan" (Sergei Loznitsa): "Ukrainian revolution doc MAIDAN is astounding, terrifying and beautiful by turns. One of the best films here." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) "MAIDAN is a staggering, you-are-there immersion into the epicenter of the Ukrainian Revolution. One of the best of Cannes." (Scott Foundas, Variety) "I think this was my favourite film in the festival so far." (Leslie Felperin, THR)

"The Wonders" (Alice Rohrwacher): "Manchmal aber passiert es, dass ein Film etwas tief in einem anrührt, dass etwas zu schwingen anfängt und eine Wärme und Gelassenheit ausstrahlt, die die Welt für Augenblicke geradezu aufhebt." (Josef Lederle, Filmdienst) "A personal, intimate riffing on Rohrwacher's own childhood, celebrating the wonderful strangeness of families – equally capable of love and destructiveness, happiness and despair, often all at the same time." (Dave Calhoun, TimeOut) "Alice Rohrwacher’s honey gatherer family drama THE WONDERS is full of nice touches and ideas, though not all of them come off." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) "The film is a really touching mixture of fairy tale, coming-of-age story, and socio-economical commentary, and ultimately a sad lament for a way of living that is on a rapid decline in Europe." (Marc van de Klashorst, ICS) "A rich, strange mix of coming-of-age film and troubled modern pastoral." (Lee Marshall, Screen Daily)

"Welcome to New York" (Abel Ferrara): "Abel Ferrara plays the DSK scandal as jolting, trashy panto. Depardieu electrifying." (Xan Brooks, Guardian) "Abel Ferrara's WELCOME TO NEW YORK is every bit as troubling as BAD LIEUTENANT. But also extraordinary, and Depardieu's LAST TANGO IN PARIS." (Jamie Graham, Total Film) "Depardieu wins the Palme D'Orgasm for one of many ridiculous scenes in WELCOME TO NEW YORK." (Eric Kohn, indieWIRE) "Savagery gets what it wants, when it wants. If that doesn't work, fuck it. There's always tomorrow. [B+/A-]" (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant)

"Saint Laurent" (Bertrand Bonello): "The elegant fit and woozy feel of a life worn down by ambition, ego, and pills. There will be Frenchies. [B/B+]" (Glenn Heath Jr., Slate) "Bonellos SAINT LAURENT ist ein faszinierendes zeitbild über die kommodifizierung der mode mit helmut berger als spätem ysl." (Dominik Kamalzadeh, Standard) "Bonello's SAINT LAURENT is a ravishing object, esp. in its Proustian final third. Helmut Berger sublime as the old SL." (Scott Foundas, Variety) "Found SAINT LAURENT half brilliant and half intolerable. Luxe, indulgent, beautiful, very long. Time-jumping final part is splendid." (Alison Willmore, Filmspotting SVU) "A diffuse and uneven look at the life of one of France's greatest designers." (Boyd van Hoeij, THR) "Bertrand Bonello’s SAINT LAURENT an impressionistic, even arty narrative says little about designer, less about others. Long too." (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "Subject unworthy of director (his snakes and his collection of cool '45s), but loved opaqueness of context. Decent." (David Jenkins, Little White Lies)

"Mr. Turner" (Mike Leigh): "A masterpiece of subtlety." (Sasha Stone, AwardsDaily) "Mike Leigh's MR TURNER is the quirkiest biopic ever! Looking stunning, Tim Spall, Dorothy Atkinson & Marion Bailey are perfection." (Alan Jones, FrightFest) "Wow. MR. TURNER might be the best thing Mike Leigh's ever done." (Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph) "Grating, grunt-riddled epic rife with social/class interests but weighed down by plodding, meandering pace. [C+]" (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant) "Big, big fan. Salty, sad movie about death's bleak influence on art, life and love. Maybe Iron Mike's best." (David Jenkins, Little White Lies) "Much more a conventional biopic than TOPSY-TURVY, but featuring the same delectable wealth of period detail. [68]" (Mike D'Angelo, The Dissolve) "Audaciously plot-lite, terrific score & a tough, touching Tim Spall." (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "Loved MR TURNER. A film in love with Victorian language, marine painting, art as hard work and the bad back consequences." (Nick James, Sight & Sound)

[Die nachgestellten Bilder sehen atemberaubend aus, die überwiegend britischen Kritiker sind bei ihrem Heimat-Auteur total aus dem Häuschen, aber mich sprechen weder die Persönlichkeit des Biopic noch Mike Leighs Gesamtwerk sonderlich an.]

© Lagency / Taste, Paris

Die deutsche Schlagzeile wird lauten: Kein deutscher Regisseur im Wettbewerb von Cannes. Da das aber der Normalzustand ist, bedarf es eigentlich nicht mehr einer künstlichen Aufregung. Obwohl mich schon sehr interessiert, warum Fatih Akin so kurz vor der Verkündung seinen Film zurückgezogen hat und wann Christian Petzolds "Phoenix" auf der Strecke blieb, so dass es nicht einmal für die Un Certain Regard-Reihe reichte. Wenn keine Ergänzungen mehr erfolgen, scheint mir das mit nur 18 Filmen der dünnste Cannes-Wettbewerb seit langer, langer Zeit zu werden. Der Feminismus-Counter zählt genau zwei Frauen in der prestigeträchtigsten Reihe. Aber mein Blick wandert sowieso mehr in die Un Certain Regard-Liste, nachdem sie uns letztes Jahr so reichhaltig beschenkte ("The Missing Picture", "Der Fremde am See", "Bastards", "Norte"). Da könnte man sich filmpatriotisch über Wim Wenders freuen, wenn man sich denn nicht noch so gut an das "Palermo Shooting"-Debakel erinnerte. Jean-Luc Godard lebt, sogar im Wettbewerb, auch wenn er sich offenbar von der gesprochenen Sprache verabschieden will. Kein Wettbewerb für Cine-Hipster aka US-Blogger, überwiegend gute alte Auteur-Schule. Viel Frankreich, was ich gut finde. Lasst das Stöbern beginnen!

Competition:

LEVIATHAN - ANDREY ZVYAGINTSEV
WILD TALES - DAMIAN SZIFRON
TIMBUKTU - ABDERRAHMANE SISSAKO
LE MERAVIGLIE - ALICE ROHRWACHER
FOXCATCHER - BENNETT MILLER
JIMMY’S HALL - KEN LOACH
MR TURNER - MIKE LEIGH
FUTATSUME NO MADO - NAOMI KAWASE
THE HOMESMAN - TOMMY LEE JONES
THE SEARCH - MICHEL HAZANAVICIUS
ADIEU AU LANGAGE - JEAN-LUC GODARD
CAPTIVES - ATOM EGOYAN
MOMMY - XAVIER DOLAN
DEUX JOURS, UNE NUIT - JEAN-PIERRE & LUC DARDENNE
MAPS TO THE STARS - DAVID CRONENBERG
WINTER SLEEP - NURI BILGE CEYLAN
SAINT LAURENT - BERTRAND BONELLO
SILS MARIA - OLIVIER ASSAYAS

Out of Competition:

GRACE OF MONACO - OLIVIER DAHAN (Opening Film)
GUI LAI - ZHANG YIMOU
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 - DEAN DEBLOIS

Un Certain Regard:

PARTY GIRL (Opening Film)
JAUJA - LISANDRO ALONSO
LA CHAMBRE BLEUE - MATTHIEU AMALRIC
INCOMPRESA - ASIA ARGENTO
TITLI - KANU BEHL
ELEANOR RIGBY - NED BENSON
BIRD PEOPLE - PASCALE FERRAN
LOST RIVER - RYAN GOSLING
AMOUR FOU - JESSICA HAUSNER
CHARLIE’S COUNTRY - ROLF DE HEER
SNOW IN PARADISE - ANDREW HULME
DOHEE-YA - JULY JUNG
XENIA - PANOS KOUTRAS
RUN - PHILIPPE LACÔTE
TURIST - RUBEN ÖSTLUND
HERMOSA JUVENTUD - JAIME ROSALES
THE SALT OF THE EARTH - WIM WENDERS & JULIANO RIBEIRO SALGADO
FANTASIA - WANG CHAO
HARCHECK MI HEADRO - KEREN YEDAYA

Directors' Fortnight:

ALLELUIA by Fabrice DU WELZ
NEXT TO HER (AT LI LAYLA) by Asaf KORMAN
GIRLHOOD (BANDE DE FILLES) by Céline SCIAMMA
CATCH ME DADDY by Daniel WOLFE
COLD IN JULY by Jim MICKLE
FIGHTERS (LES COMBATTANTS) Thomas CAILLEY
GETT - THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALLEM, Ronit & Shlomi ELKABETZ
THE STORY OF PRINCESS KAGUYA by Isao TAKAHATA
A HARD DAY (KKEUT-KKA-JI-GAN-DA) by Seong-Hun KIM
EAT YOUR BONES (MANGE TES MORTS) Jean-Charles HUE
NATIONAL GALLERY by Frederick WISEMAN
LI’L QUINQUIN (P’TIT QUINQUIN) by Bruno Dumont
PRIDE by Matthew WARCHUS
QUEEN AND COUNTRY by John BOORMAN
REFUGIADO by Diego LERMAN
THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE by Tobe HOOPER
THESE FINAL HOURS by Zach HILDITCH
TU DORS NICOLE by Stéphane LAFLEUR
WHIPLASH by Damien CHAZELLE

Critics' Week

“Making Love” (Djinn Carrenard)
“Breathe” (Melanie Laurent)
“The Kindergarten Teacher” (Nadav Lapid)
“Darker Than Midnight” (Sebastiano Riso)
“Gente de bien” (Franco Lolli)
“Hope” (Boris Lojkine)
“It Follows” (David Robert Mitchell) *
“Self Made” (Shira Geffen)
“The Tribe” (Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy)
“When Animals Dream” (Jonas Alexander Arnby) *
“Hippocrate” (Thomas Lilti)

Midnight Screening:

THE ROVER - DAVID MICHOD
THE SALVATION - KRISTIAN LEVRING
PYO JEOK - CHANG

Special Screening:

EAU ARGENTÉE - MOHAMMED OSSAMA
MAIDAN - SERGEI LOZNITSA
RED ARMY - POLSKY GABE
CARICATURISTES – FANTASSINS DE LA DÉMOCRATIE - STEPHANIE VALLOATTO
LES PONTS DE SARAJEVO, film chorale

Nach absteigender persönlicher Wichtigkeit und dem Sternesystem geordnet: von ★★★★★ (Must-See) bis ★ (zur Kenntnis genommen, mein Interesse könnte aber nicht geringer sein). Und mit Blick auch über den Wettbewerb hinaus in die Nebensektionen und den Marché du Film, wenn es denn Entdeckungen gibt:


"I found that Berlin 2012, which had Tabu and Barbara, was a stronger festival than Cannes 2013 and that’s never something I thought I would say, because Cannes generally is seen as being so far above other festivals."

(Alexander Horwath, Film Comment)


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Most-Wanted 2013:

01. Blue Is the Warmest Colour - Abdellatif Kechiche
02. Jeune et jolie - Francois Ozon
03. Stranger by the Lake - Alain Guiraudie
04. The Last of the Unjust - Claude Lanzmann
05. Borgman - Alex van Warmerdam
06. Bastards - Claire Denis
07. Tore tanzt - Katrin Gebbe
08. Blind Detective - Johnnie To
09. Inside Llewyn Davis - Joel & Ethan Coen
10. Nebraska - Alexander Payne

Kommentar: Fünf Franzosen unter den ersten sechs Most-Wanted-Kandidaten. Frankophil for life. Nuff said. Ansonsten war Cannes wieder mal eine ganz große Vorfreude-Vernichtungsmaschine.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

★★★★½

"Blue Is the Warmest Colour": "Meanwhile, queue for BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR is a total clusterfuck. Guess word got round about the 20-minute lesbian oral sex scene." (Guy Lodge, InContention) "I did not know there was a three hour erotic film playing in Cannes. I thought it was about a 16th century guy who is broken on the wheel." (Sasha Stone, AwardsDaily) "Kechiche's LA VIE D'ADELE a beautifully acted, very well observed account of a young woman's first lesbian relationship. Prizes?" (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "Terrific performances, astonishing intensity, one of the few authentic emotional experiences in competition." (Jonathan Romney, Sight & Sound) "A masterpiece of first love, sexual awakening, family, food, art...in a word, life." (Scott Foundas, Variety) "God, did I love BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR. Still need to absorb it, but it may be my favorite film at the festival." (Tim Grierson, Screen Daily) "Brilliantly acted, beautifully scripted, sexually frank coming of age epic is definite Palme contender." (Eric Kohn, indieWIRE) "Best explicit French teen lesbian coming of age drama. Ever." (Jason Solomons, Guardian) " (A-) Acutely aware of lies we tell inadvertently out of fear. Epic themes, tenderly focused in scope." (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant) "BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR is the best of the competish films I've seen and certainly Kechiche's best." (Boyd van Hoeij, THR) "The second hour of Blue is the Warmest Color is so, so good. As for the rest of it..." (Karina Longworth, Free Agent)

★★★★

"Jeune et jolie": "Splendid Ozon with a riveting performance by Marine Vacth. The competition couldn't have started better." (Cedric Succivalli, ICS) "Vivre Sa Vie version 2013. Sleek, involving but Ozon at his most clinical." (Jonathan Romney, Sight & Sound) "Francois Ozon's JEUNE ET JOLIE well acted but slight tale of a teen taking to prostitution. Lacks depth and ends implausibly." (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "Ozon, in quieter mode, with alternately sweet & naughty YOUNG & BEAUTIFUL. Slight but anchored by strong lead performance." (Eric Kohn, indieWIRE) "66. Character study of teen hooker inititally seems banal, but banality proves to be its secret weapon." (Mike D'Angelo, The A.V. Club) "EMMANUELLE played as a socially concious teen angst drama. And every bit as dull as that sounds." (David Jenkins, TimeOut London) "Marine Vacth offers more than frank sex scenes. There's a steeliness in her eyes, tempered by vulnerability, that's deeply saddening. She's hard and experienced beyond her years; but she's also lost and deeply unhappy." (Dave Calhoun, TimeOut London) "Youthful uncertainty seamlessly transforms into power by way of risky experimentation, Stunning lead perf." (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant) "In JEUNE ET JOLIE bewegt sich eine 17-Jährige auf Abwegen. Doch bei Ozon ist sogar das Ekelhafte ein wenig schick." (Dominik Kamalzadeh, Standard) "A fascinating contemplation of adolescent sexuality that will be a starmaking platform for its young lead Marine Vacth." (David Rooney, THR) "The young, beautiful Marine Vacth, one of those gazelles who routinely drift into French films with vacant expressions and bared breasts, plays the title character." (Manohla Dargis, N.Y. Times)

★★★½

"Stranger by the Lake": "It's strangely reminiscent of William Friedkin’s Cruising—another movie about gay decadence and serial killers, albeit one with a different agenda." (Jordan Mintzer, THR) "Bucolic Hitchcockian gay cruising comedy murder mystery neo-noir romance. Delightful." (David Jenkins, TimeOut London) "Really enjoyed Stranger By The Lake; dark XXX-rated gay infatuation story, leavened with dry humour." (Damon Wise, Empire) "lain Guiraudie's STRANGER AT THE LAKE among best films í've seen so far. Odd mix of suspense, gay sex, comedy and poetic fable." (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "Though it contains explicit scenes of gay sex, this is essentially an absorbing and intelligent exploration of queer desire spiced up with thriller elements." (Boyd van Hoeij, Variety)

"The Last of the Unjust": "Claude Lanzmanns Film 'Le dernier des injustes' ist ein Meilenstein." (Cristina Nord, taz) "Mit 87 hat Claude Lanzmann offensichtlich nichts von seinem Furor eingebüsst. Und nur wenig von seiner zuweilen egozentrischen Energie." (Michael Sennhauser, SRF) "Ein einzigartiges Dokument." (Jan Schulz-Ojala, Tagesspiegel) "Vor 'Le Dernier des Injustes' verblasst das meiste aus dem Cannes-Normalprogramm [...] wie hätte die Jury den Hauptpreis nicht an Lanzmann geben können, wenn er Fremaux nicht gebeten hätte, außer Konkurrenz zu laufen." (Hanns-Georg Rodek, Welt) "The Last of the Unjust is dense with revelations." (Eric Kohn, indieWIRE) "A powerful reflection on the beginning of Hitler’s Final Solution is seen through the intelligent, sardonic eyes of an aged eyewitness." (Deborah Young, THR)

"Borgman": "Basic anti-bourgeois surrealism, with little real-world resonance that I can detect. Forgettably intriguing." (Mike D'Angelo, The A.V. Club) "BORGMAN is a sharp and devious home invasion satire that only loses momentum towards the end." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) "oldly sinister-droll punishment-of-luxury zwart-comedie is a #Cannes2013 Comp wildcard delight." (Neil Young, THR) "Just got BORGMANed and it was a devil of a fun time. Director Alex van Warmerdam has wit in spades. Jan Bijvoet quite sympathetic." (Ryland Aldrich, Twitch Film) "Dutch comp movie Borgman played like a comedic Funny Games. Absurd, surreal and - extended run time aside - delicious." (James Graham, Total Film) "Alex van Warmerdam's BORGMAN an intriguing but slightly frustrating Dutch, darkly comic variation on THEOREM. Elegantly crafted." (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "First competition UFO today: BORGMAN. Lovely poker-faced black comedy." (Jonathan Romney, Sight & Sound) "Insidious, nastily funny Dutch thriller BORGMAN is one of my favourite films at Cannes so far." (Guy Lodge, InContention) "Was der Holländer Alex van Warmerdam mit Borgman hier in Cannes auftischt, ist frischer und böser als alles andere, was bisher im Wettbewerb lief." (Michael Sennhauser, SRF)

★★★

"Bastards": "Thought Bastards was one of best films I'd seen in Cannes & Behind the Candelabra one of the worst;According to Twitter I have it backwards." (Karina Longworth, Free Agent) "Narcotic noir deconstruction is one of the best at Cannes 2013." (David Jenkins, TimeOut London) "In BASTARDS every shot and cut was that of a real artist, even if something intangible is missing from the revenge storyline." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) "(B+) Ingenious concealment of double-track narrative arrests more than narrative itself? Erotica for Denis-Godard-Staples faithful. 'Intruder'-level, really, with whatever thrills and limitations that might imply for you. An insult that it's not in Comp." (Guy Lodge, InContention) "Ein verschachtelter, fragmentarischer, seltsam zerrissen wirkender Film um Familienabgründe." (Dominik Kamalzadeh, Standard)

"Tore tanzt": "Tore Tanzt is intense and gripping, with solid indie credentials. A U.S. distribution deal with Drafthouse was finalized in Cannes on screening day." (Stephen Dalton, THR) "By comparison, FUNNY GAMES looks like a teddy bear’s picnic." (Lee Marshall, Screen Daily)

"Blind Detective": "There were moments here where I seriously thought, 'could it get any better than this?'. The man is a genius." (David Jenkins, TimeOut London) "A serial-killer thriller wrapped in an unruly slapstick comedy with generous servings of food porn, Blind Detective is a deranged and delirious smorgasbord of a movie." (Justin Chang, Variety) "(B+): High octane comedy/romance within a loony & surreal procedural. Nuttiest, messiest love story in years." (Glenn Heath Jr., Slate) "Manic Johnnie To crime comedy is a total flop, in which nothing seems to work." (Derek Elley, Film Business Asia)

"Inside Llewyn Davis": "Ein unglaublich schöner Film." (Dominik Kamalzadeh, Standard) "(A-) Comedic & meandering melancholy of missing out on opportunity, passion, love, & history. Wonderful." (Glenn Heath Jr., Slate) "The best of the fest so far sees the Coen brothers meditate on mediocrity and modernity in the 1960s New York folk scene." (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian) "(7/10) Comic/oneiric character-study ever-anchored by Oscar Isaac's star-making performance." (Neil Young, THR) "The most (1st?) truly warm-hearted Coen brothers film; a tender, unsentimental salute to the unsung singer." (Xan Brooks, Guardian) "The Coens give the pomposity of folk music a real pounding. Strange, gloomy and delightful." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) " It's as perfectly & completely realized a Coen Brothers film as I’ve ever seen, but it’s about less being a lot more." (Jeffrey Wells, Hollywood Elsewhere)

"Nebraska": Payne muss man für sich selbst entdecken. In Cannes offenbar nur Stümper, die es verstehen, den Appetit zu verderben. Vielleicht haben sie aber auch alle Recht und Payne macht genau da weiter, wo er bei "The Descendants" aufgehört hat.

"The Dance of Reality": "This year's Paperboy award for urinating-on-the-hero goes to Jodorowsky's Le Danza de le Realidad. Just one of its many treasures." (Xan Brooks, Guardian) "Madballs. Like 1900 on bluies. Rough around the edges & naff CG, but a brassy romp." (David Jenkins, TimeOut London)

★★½

"The Immigrant": "(B+/A-) Fifty shades of Gray. Silent romance with words, not that the leads need them. Nykvistian imagery. Floored by finale." (Guy Lodge, InContention) "Possibly a masterpiece--think Kazan, Coppola, Davies." (Robert Koehler, Variety) "A dull, listless, soft-pedalled look at immigant experience in 20s New York. Joaquin Phoenix not good." (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "Scratch the good-looking, emotionally charged surface of James Gray’s period take on the love triangle theme he has already explored in Two Lovers and you find a rather stagey melodrama with religious overtones." (Lee Marshall, Screen Daily)

"La jaula de oro": "It's tough, suspenseful, compassionate - surely in line for a UCR prize." (Peter Bradshaw) "Very impressed by Mexican UCR entry LA JAULA DE ORO, which I went into totally blind. A rare shot of crisp traditional storytelling at Cannes." (Guy Lodge, InContention)

"Tip Top": "A work of mad-eyed genius. A lopsided policier like you've never seen. Huppert & Kibberlain are off the chart." (David Jenkins, TimeOut London) "Facetious, arch French meta-thriller, with Huppert overdoing it wildly. Yes, she can do that too. A resounding 'Bof'." (Jonathan Romney, Sight & Sound) "(B+/A-): Utterly batshit. Most anti-procedural you could imagine, strangely political in themes of outrage repressed." (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant) "Huppert als Polizistin, der das eigene Blut schmeckt." (Dominik Kamalzadeh, Standard)

"Salvo": "SALVO rocks. First good film in Cannes." (Robert Koehler, Variety) "SALVO is an enjoyable italian minimialist B-movie thriller about an assassin and a blind girl with nice touches in Critics Week." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) "A moody and extremely sensorial debut." (Boyd van Hoeij, Variety) "Salvo manages to distill an authentically unsettling atmosphere that speaks volumes about the state of modern-day Sicily." (Jordan Mintzer, THR) "Done with a passion and intensity which, however, would be more effective if the characters had more depth and the whole thing didn’t feel so stretched." (Lee Marshall, Screen Daily)

★★

"A Touch of Sin": "The most involving of his films (for me)... 4 tales of money, violence and exploitation in the new China." (Jonathan Romney, Sight & Sound) "Jia Zhangke's A TOUCH OF SIN a powerful quartet of loosely linked tales of power, money and violence in today's China. Very fine." (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "Hmm, well that was... different. 4 chapter shaggy dog death saga. Superficially mainstream, still very oblique." (David Jenkins, TimeOut London) "59. Big chance of pace, 4-parter w/loads of explicit violence. Individual stories compel; juxtaposition a bit tract-y." (Mike D'Angelo, The A.V. Club) "(A-) Four wandering souls weathered by contradiction, broken by corruption, & possessed by weaponry. Beguiling." (Glenn Heath Jr., Slant) "A Touch of Sin never ceases to impress. Jia's postcards depict a country in the grip of corruption, social and economical violence." (Cedric Succivalli, ICS) "Zu den wichtigsten Regisseuren der Gegenwart hat sich der Chinese hochgearbeitet, weil er etwas erzählen kann, was schwer zu fassen ist: Wandel." (Christoph Huber, Die Presse)

Only Lovers Left Alive
Klingt ordentlich: "Achingly sad and ravishingly beautiful, Only Lovers Left Alive is a rare gift from our most youthful sixty-year-old filmmaker: an autumnal work that is also a rejuvenating one." (Dennis Lim, Artforum)

"The Past": "(B+) Not a melodrama so much as an anatomy of one. Exacting, beautifully acted. Woolly last act: fairness almost a dramatic debit? (Guy Lodge, InContention) "I’ve rarely felt as riveted & absorbed by the complexities & recriminations of a family’s domestic history as I was by The Past. Socko." (Jeffrey Wells, Hollywood Elsewhere) "Enveloping drama gets better & better as builds to tiny stunning moment in final scene. Wow." (Eugene Hernandez, indieWIRE) "Farhadi's The Past will be tough to beat for the Palme. Exceptional." (Sasha Stone, AwardsDaily) "Asghar Farhadi's THE PAST an overlong domestic drama: too many revelations and red herrings despite keen attention to detail." (Geoff Andrew, Sight & Sound) "Emotionally shattered after Asghar Farhadi's brilliant The Past. Bejo, Rahim, and Mosaffa superb." (Kate Muir, The Times) "It's a huge disappointment: meandering, melodramatic and heavy-handed." (Dave Calhoun, TimeOut London) "The Past was pretty great: authentic and assured family drama." (Damon Wise, Empire) "It has many of A Separation’s strengths — the acute observation of complex characters in a story that keeps unpacking surprises — but they have become familiar. They lack the revelatory wallop of the first film." (Richard Corliss, Time Magazine) "Ein erstes Meisterwerk [...] und ein echtes Ereignis." (Thomas Schultze, Blickpunkt:Film)

★

"Norte, the End of History": "If you're in Cannes and just saw North, the End of History, you're free to pack up and go home because it won't get much better than that." (Wesley Morris, Boston Globe) [Für die cinephilen Hardbodies, die auf Vierstündiges von den Philippinen stehen]

"The Selfish Giant": "Though it's early days, so far THE SELFISH GIANT is the best film here." (Nick James, Sight & Sound) "It's a brilliant and soul-scouring fable about scrap men and scrap children; two outcast generations doomed to forever sift through life’s rubbish dump." (Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph) "It's a powerful and moving contemporary fable about friendship, greed and exploitation and likely to be compared with the compassionate drama of Ken Loach at his very best." (Mark Adams, Screen Daily) "If I'd seen THE SELFISH GIANT this morning and not several weeks ago, it'd be my film of the fest so far. Go check it out, Croisette Set." (Guy Lodge, InContention) "If the Ozon was French Film, this is British Film. And not in a particularly good way. Boilerplate social realism." (David Jenkins, TimeOut London) "Less original than the Arbor (if you've seen Loach, Dardennes, Arnold etc) but bracing, tender." (Dave Calhoun, TimeOut London)

"The Bling Ring": "Sorry haters Bling Ring is great." (Sasha Stone, AwardsDaily) "TeamBlingRing." (Karina Longworth, Free Agent) "The Bling Ring just doesn't sing." (Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice)

"Only God Forgives": "ONLY GOD FORGIVES. And even that's being generous, really. Worthless." (Justin Chang, Variety)

Man hat Positives von Takashi Miikes letztem Film "For Love's Sake" gehört. Dass es jetzt aber zum zweiten Mal in kurzer Zeit - zuletzt 2011 mit "Harakiri" - zu einem Wettbewerbs-Slot reicht, überrascht. Toll ist Francois Ozons Comeback, nachdem im letztes Jahr bereits sein Film "Dans la maison" weltweit wieder Anerkennung fand. Große Lust auf die Amis (Coens, Gray und Payne), sehr wenig Lust auf den Refn. Und der niederländische Kandidat zieht mich irgendwie magisch an, obwohl ich weder etwas zum Projekt noch zum Filmemacher weiß. Die anderen Asiaten waren bisher nie meine Hausnummer, bin aber gespannt, was Polanski und Farhadi abgeliefert haben. Letztlich bin ich der Falsche, um das Ganze richtig einzuordnen. Aber viel weniger als letztes Jahr kann aus Cannes dieses Mal eigentlich nicht abfallen. Das wird geil werden, wenn MacGruber die Croisette entlangschreitet. Und ausreichende Genreware (Canet mit Gray-Drehbuch, To) scheint auch am Start zu sein.

Wettbewerb:

THE GREAT GATSBY - Baz Luhrmann
UN CHATEAU EN ITALIE - Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS - Joel & Ethan Coen
MICHAEL KOHLHAAS - Arnaud Despallieres
JIMMY P. - Arnaud Desplechin
HELI - Amat Escalante
LE PASSE - Asghar Farhadi
THE IMMIGRANT - James Gray
GRISGRIS - Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
A TOUCH OF SIN - Jia Zhangke
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON - Kore-eda Hirokazu
LA VIE D’ADELE - Abdellatif Kechiche
SHIELD OF STRAW - Takashi Miike
JEUNE ET JOLIE - Francois Ozon
NEBRASKA - Alexander Payne
VENUS IN FUR - Roman Polanski
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA - Steven Soderbergh
ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE - Jim Jarmusch
LA GRANDE BELLEZZA - Paolo Sorrentino
BORGMAN - Alex Van Warmerdam
ONLY GOD FORGIVES - Nicolas Winding Refn

Un Certain Regard:

THE BLING RING - Sofia Coppola
OMAR - Hany Abu-Assad
DEATH MARCH - Adolfo Alix Jr.
FRUITVALE STATION - Ryan Coogler
LES SALAUDS - Claire Denis
NORTE, HANGGANAN NG KASAYSAYAN - Lav Diaz
AS I LAY DYING - James Franco
MIELE - Valeria Golino
L’INCONNU DU LAC - Alain Guiraudie
BENDS - Flora Lau
L’IMAGE MANQUANTE - Rithy Panh
LA JAULA DE ORO - Diego Quemada-Diez
ANONYMOUS - Mohammad Rasoulof
SARAH PRÉFÈRE LA COURSE - Chloé Robichaud
GRAND CENTRAL - Rebecca Zlotowski
TORE TANZT - Katrin Gebbe
WAKOLDA - Lucia Puenzo
MY SWEET PEPPER LAND - Hiner Saleem

Out of Competition:

ALL IS LOST - J.C. Chandor
BLOOD TIES - Guillaume Canet

Midnight Screenings:

BLIND DETECTIVE - Johnnie To
MONSOON SHOOTOUT - Amit Kumar

Director's Fortnight (u. a.):

THE DANCE OF REALITY - Alejandro Jodorowsky
THE CONGRESS - Ari Folman
AIN'T MISBEHAVIN - Marcel Ophüls