NEGATIVE SPACE

Ein eigenartig lebloses Programm, wie es das schon seit einigen Jahren nicht mehr gab. Mein geheimer Wunsch, dass die Berlinale einmal mehr Empfehlungen abwerfen würde als Cannes, ist auf so eindringliche Weise in Erfüllung gegangen, dass ich nicht ein bisschen nachhelfen musste. Gerade auch an der Genrefilmefront herrschte tote Hose. Das Fantasy Filmfest wird wohl vorwiegend auf den Sundance-Jahrgang mit "VHS", "Simon Killer" und "Room 237" zurückgreifen müssen. Im Arthouse werden sich unter der Federführung von Robert Koehler, Neil Young und Daniel Kasman noch kleinere Entdeckungen machen lassen. Die Vorfreude auf heiß erwartete Filme wie "Killing Them Softly" oder "Paradies: Liebe" ist mir jedenfalls erst einmal vergangen. Da braucht es Abstand, um wieder Mojo aufzubauen. Aber ganz hauptsächlich richtet sich mein Blick jetzt wieder zurück nach Berlin:

01. Sightseers - Ben Wheatley
02. Ernest & Celestine - Aubier, Patar & Renner
03. Holy Motors - Leos Carax
04. Amour - Michael Haneke
05. Jagten - Thomas Vinterberg
06. Like Someone in Love - Abbas Kiarostami
07. No - Pablo Larraín

"Im Nebel" (Sergei Loznitsa) **
[Wettbewerb]

"A superior, brooding tale of wartime resistance and betrayal. Quiet, compelling, bleak", schreibt Geoff Andrew (Sight & Sound). "Beautifully directed, soul-pummellingly bleak Ukranian war/western hybrid. A notch up from MY JOY", schreibt David Jenkins (Little White Lies). "Much more conventional than MY JOY, and somehow feels simultaneously sparse and bloated. Adaptation issue? (50)", fragt Mike D'Angelo (The A.V. Club). "IN THE FOG is mysterious, compelling and grim", schreibt Peter Bradshaw (Guardian). "Loznitsa makes A Cannes Movie: staggeringly shot, but doomy soldier drama lacks the wit or urgency of WW2 scenes in MY JOY (C+)", schreibt Guy Lodge (In Contention). "Loznitsa's slow cinema Ukranian WWII partisan drama IN THE FOG hits all my buttons at once: loved it", schreibt Nick James (Sight & Sound).

---Entdeckungen---

"Ernest et Célestine" (Directors' Fortnight, Aubier, Patar & Renner): "ERNEST & CELESTINE (by directors of TOWN CALLED PANIC) is one of the most original & delightful animated films I've seen in years", schreibt Colin Geddes (Midnight Madness).

---Bilanzen---

"Final film day, three or four to go, still hoping i'm not at the weakest line-up for half a dozen years", schreibt Nick James (Sight & Sound).

"AMOUR ist der beste Film, aber Reygadas und Carax sind die interessantesten und sollten am Sonntag gewinnen", schreibt Rüdiger Suchsland (Negativ Film).

"Holy Motors" (Leos Carax) ****½
[Wettbewerb]

"I am dizzy in love with HOLY MOTORS. If that was the only film I saw here, it would have been worth the trip", schreibt Dew McWeeny (HitFix). "Der geistig wendigste Film in der Competition. Fantastische Rollenspiele mit Denis Levant und Ode ans Maschinelle", schreibt Dominik Kamalzadeh (Standard). "Lengthiest applause I've heard for a Cannes movie so far: Leos Carax's HOLY MOTORS now. Wackiest movie I've ever seen in Cannes", schreibt Eugene Hernandez (indieWIRE). "Holy shit (88)", schreibt Mike D'Angelo (The A.V. Club). "HOLY MOTORS is just mad enough to win the Palme D'Or", schreibt Peter Bradshaw (Guardian). "Rejoice! HOLY MOTORS is beautiful, inscrutable, frightening, idiotic, ecstatic, makes POLA X look like THE KING'S SPEECH. Best in Comp? Oui", schreibt Guy Lodge (In Contention). "HOLY MOTORS wins Palme d'WTF at Cannes. Life, death, accordions, monkeys. Carax, always a bit nutty, finally flies off the rails. HOLY MOTORS is balls-to-the-wall crazy, beautiful and unbelievably strange", schreibt Eric Kohn (indieWIRE). "Leos Carax's HOLY MOTORS is more or less wholly pretentious, self-indulgent doodling on film history/representation. But maybe it may be forgiven for the sheer, crazed power of Denis Lavant's multi-character performance, if not for Kylie's song", schreibt Geoff Andrew (Sight & Sound). "Leos Carax's HOLY MOTORS is better than the Resnais, but half execrable farce, half exhausted invention; a real mad curio", schreibt Nick James (Sight & Sound). "Send Denis Lavant the Cannes best actor prize right now for HOLY MOTORS. His credit is "Denis Lavant X 11"; it's Lon Chaney Jr. revived. MOTORS is easily in a place by itself as the most alive and imaginative film so far in the Cannes competition. Carax is back", schreibt Robert Koehler (Variety). "Mit zunehmender Dauer wird der Film immer unwiderstehlicher. Ein unerwarteter Palmenanwärter", schreibt Thomas Schultze (Blickpunkt:Film). "Exhilarating, opaque, heartbreaking and completely bonkers – HOLY MOTORS is a deliciously preposterous piece of filmmaking that appraises life and death and everything in between, reflected in a funhouse mirror", schreibt Megan Lehmann (THR). "The brilliant accordion scene in HOLY MOTORS is precisely why I come to Cannes", schreibt Damon Wise (Empire). "Wer sich das Bewusstsein erweitern lassen möchte, sollte Leos Carax' HOLY MOTORS sehen: irre, weise, komisch, schön", schreibt Wenke Husmann (Zeit). "Thank you life, Thank you love, Thank you leos. I want to be your wife, your son, your father, I want to cry in your arms until death comes", schreibt Cedric Succivalli (ICS). "Es ist ein grossartiges, vergnügliches, zuweilen grusliges Wechselspiel, das Leos Carax veranstaltet. Und der Film vibriert vor Energie, die Einfälle und Ideen jagen sich", schreibt Michael Sennhauser (SRF). "Just got out of Leos Carax's HOLY MOTORS. Holy moley! Holy Eva Mendez, Kylie Minogue and Michel Piccoli! Dali/Bunuel/Carax live large", schreibt Jeffrey Wells (Hollywood Elsewhere).

---Entdeckungen---

"Sightseers" (Directors' Fortnight, Bill Wheatley): THR's Neil Youngs bisherige Nummer eins mit 21/28 Punkten, noch vor "Augustine", "Hold Back", "Moonrise Kingdom" und "La Playa DC".

---Bilanzen---

"In Cannes competition, there is Carax' HOLY MOTORS & Reygadas' POST TENEBRAS LUX, & then everything else. Imagination is what sets these apart", schreibt Robert Koehler (Variety).

"Like Someone in Love" (Abbas Kiarostami) ***½
[Wettbewerb]

"LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE is the strangest, most profoundly ambiguous, mystifying and perhaps freshest competition film", schreibt Geoff Andrew (Sight & Sound). "Female soul/body/mind as formality object, male denial of that tradition, & the consequences. Titanic (A)", schreibt Glenn Heath Jr. (Slant Magazine). "I honestly really dug this. Has an interesting comical charm to it, incredibly refined direction", schreibt Alex Billington (FirstShowing). "But what is Kiarostami's point here, other than to toy with his audience?", fragt Sasha Stone (AwardsDaily). "Upscale art houses and admirers of the Palme d’Or laureate will be the major clients of this tenderhearted and melancholic work, provided its propos are not lost in translation", schreibt Jordan Mintzer (THR). "I kinda loved this. A copy of CERTIFIED COPY? A joke without punchline? Need to see again & again …", schreibt David Jenkins (Little White Lies). "Er ist voller komischer Momente", schreibt Michael Sennhauser (SRF). "Kiarostami manages to tell a somewhat interesting story in the most aggravating way possible", schreibt Ryland Aldrich (Twitch Film). "Abbas Kiarostami's Tokyo-set drama is beautifully shot and acted, but the curtain comes crashing down too abruptly (**)", schreibt Peter Bradshaw (Guardian). "An unofficial twin to COPY, sharing its playful preoccupation with identities mistaken and assumed, it's a more austere and less intellectual work", schreibt Guy Lodge (In Contention). "he great surprise of Cannes thus far. The movie is infused with a jazzy melancholy. But it's also a kind of screwball comedy, and kind of a noir", schreibt Karina Longworth (L.A. Weekly). "The more you delve, the more resonance you find; the problem is that Kiarostami fails to embed the film’s visual, aural and symbolic games in a narrative that satisfies on the level of story and character", schreibt Lee Marshall (Screen Daily). "it has become the first film for quite some time that, as I watched it proceed, I never knew moment to moment where it would go. It is a rare experience indeed to have cinema blindside you, hold you in vague anticipation, be ambushed and misdirected"; schreibt Dani Kasman (Mubi.com).

---Entdeckungen---

"White Elephant" (Directors' Fortnight, Pablo Trapero): "Adore Pablo Trapero's movies and WHITE ELEPHANT is one of his most powerful. Jeremie (CLOCLO) Renier is becoming my fave actor 2012", schreibt Alan Jones (FrightFest).

"Rengaine" (Directors' Fortnight, Rachid Djaïdani): "New highlight of the Quinzaine is the dynamic and smart RENGAINE, recalling at points the energy of HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREETS", schreibt Robert Koehler (Variety).

---Bilanzen---

"Halbzeit-Bilanz: Zu viel Altherrenkino (Haneke, Kiarostami), zu wenig Frisches. Beste Filme bisher: JAGTEN und PARADIES: LIEBE", findet Christian Jungen (NZZ).

Todd McCarthys bisheriger Favorit heißt wie bei so vielen AMOUR, aber er mochte auch MOONRISE KINGDOM, RUST & BONE und JAGTEN.

Karina Longworth gibt ihre Sicht der Dinge in einem Radio-Interview. So richtig-richtig begeistert ist sie noch von keinem Film, aber sie mochte sehr MOONRISE KINGDOM und LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE.

"Amour" (Michael Haneke) ****½
[Wettbewerb]; dt. KS: 20.09.

"My review of AMOUR will be up soon. No surprise as to the star rating. Even five doesn't do it justice", schreibt Peter Bradshaw (Guardian). "Sad and beautiful, LOVE may be Haneke at his most human", schreibt Drew McWeeny (HitFix). "Loved Haneke's AMOUR. The movie answers the question: what defines love. Beautiful, surprising... I may have to amend the best film so far from RUST & BONE to AMOUR. Good lord. What a movie", schreibt Sasha Stone (AwardsDaily). "The five stars are out for Michael Haneke's AMOUR. Also my waterproof mascara", schreibt Kate Muir (The Times). "AMOUR is two hours long. Sublime and refined and honest and sensitive, but old age and withering away with diapers is not for sissies", schreibt Jeffrey Wells (Hollywood Elsewhere). "Fest's first masterpiece: Haneke's LOVE. Rich, honest, deeply moving study of coping with intimacy, illness, death. Perfection", schreibt Geoff Andrew (Sight & Sound). "Haneke leaves twists and turns alone and offers the purest, cleanest, most truthful experience of aging to death you'll ever see in AMOUR", schreibt David Poland (The Hot Blog). "Sober, tender, incredibly controlled, one of the few films ever to really look old age in the face", schreibt Jonathan Romney (The Independent). "Hanekes AMOUR sieht beim Sterben zu, und ist zugleich sein emphatischster Film bisher. Ein makelloses Werk", schreibt Dominik Kamalzadeh (Standard). "Starts out surprisingly lovely, then turns Haneke-grueling. But always deeply felt & beautifully acted, if singleminded (77)", schreibt Mike D'Angelo (The A.V. Club). "Haneke's emotionally unrestrained and very French chamber piece AMOUR shows Trintignant and Riva off as astonishing actors", schreibt Nick James (Sight & Sound). "Unmoved by Haneke's AMOUR; good performances though", schreibt Damon Wise (Empire). "To me, liking that film is like eating stale, bland bread and calling it the best meal you've ever had. Nothing to it, forgettable", schreibt Alex Billington (FirstShowing). "Typically steely, meticulous look at decay and the prison of the human body. Unbearably sad, also perversely uplifting", schreibt David Jenkins (Little White Lies). "the best film at Cannes so far; a CRIES & WHISPERS for the Dignitas generation. Rigorous, unsparing, superbly played. Sounds like a perfume, smells like death", schreibt Xan Brooks (Guardian). "Not one to reduce to a Tweet, but Haneke's AMOUR is staggering. Incredible compassion, reserve, resolve. Trintignant is wonderful", schreibt Dave Calhoun (TimeOut Film). "Diesmal lässt Haneke seine Pianistin sterben, in einem zähen Kammerspiel (**½)", schreibt Christian Jungen (NZZ). "Haneke, bei dem man oft das Gefühl habe, er sei an der Menschheit verzweifelt, macht sich selber Hoffnung in der Hoffnungslosigkeit", schreibt Michael Sennhauser (SRF). "A film like LOVE reminds you of the folly of festivals. Went straight to SAPPHIRES afterward, resented having Haneke's spell broken", schreibt Justin Chang (Variety). "Magnificent in its simplicity and its relentless honesty about old age, illness and dying, AMOUR is a deliberately torturous watch, one that is going to weed the master’s fan club of the lightweights", schreibt Deborah Young (THR). "It's his most conventional movie about death, and the most poignant", schreibt Eric Kohn (indieWIRE). "Does LOVE sound hard to watch? At times, it is. Yet it’s also transfixing and extraordinarily touching, perhaps the most hauntingly honest movie about old age ever made", schreibt Owen Gleiberman (Entertainment Weekly). "I emerged from the film chilled to the bone, anxious to talk to my boyfriend and get a bowl of warm soup in my system. Which is its own kind of visceral emotional response", schreibt Karina Longworth (L.A. Weekly). "Believe the hype: Haneke’s AMOUR meticulous & devastating, though question is whether non-Haneke fans will still be thrown by its...Haneke-ness", schreibt Steven Zeitchick (L.A. Times). "An unflinching yet supremely elegant examination of the final stages of life, unerringly acted by French greats Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva", schreibt Todd McCarthy (THR). "Michael Haneke wird älter – und immer noch besser. Sein neuer Film AMOUR ist meisterlich", schreibt Josef Lederle (Filmdienst). "Ein Meisterwerk. Das bisher Beste im Wettbewerb. So ein trauriger Film! Aber auch ein so schöner Film", schreibt Rüdiger Suchsland (Negativ Film). "By Sunday morning the festival had its first masterwork and an overwhelming critical favorite: A tender, wrenching, impeccably directed story of love and death", schreibt Manohla Dargis (New York Times).

"Jagten" (Thomas Vinterberg) ***½
[Wettbewerb]

JAGTEN is a hyperintense drama about a kindergarten teacher accused of child molestation (****½)", schreibt Christian Jungen (NZZ). "JAGTEN is crude, electric, gripping. Has audience bucking like broncos", schreibt Xan Brooks (Guardian). "Thomas Vinterberg's JAGTEN is his best film since FESTEN: tense, expertly constructed, superbly shot", schreibt Peter Bradshaw (Guardian). "Mads Mikkelsen gives one of his best ever performances in Thomas Vinterberg's THE HUNT; a very powerful (if a little undercranked) drama", schreibt Damon Wise (Empire). "Infuriating, frustrating. A film about lies, full of lies. Wanted to punch many of the characters. Too long. Ugh", schreibt Alex Billington (FirstShowing). "Unbearable tension of man wrongly accused of paedophilia - holds up in Vinterberg's THE HUNT; the implausibilities don't matter", schreibt Nick James (Sight & Sound). "THE HUNT is a taut, intelligent well acted drama about innocence persecuted, but ley down by implausible scenes", schreibt Geoff Andrew (Sight & Sound). "THE HUNT is Cannes Comp surprise so far: for once, a good film from this highly erratic director, with stunning Mads Mikkelsen", schreibt Robert Koehler (Variety). "Worst in show. A jumped-up, cynical TV movie with chronic lack of ambition & zero insight into human psychology", schreibt David Jenkins (Little White Lies). "Very average child abuse accusation drama. Imagine it happens and it does. Simplistic. Mostly compelling thoug", schreibt Dave Calhoun (TimeOut Film). "Continuing on from his impressive work in A ROYAL AFFAIR, which premiered in Berlin, this is a tremendous year for Mads Mikkelsen", schreibt David Rooney (THR). "THE HUNT keeps growing on me. Vinterberg is back at his FESTEN level. Mads Mikkelsen a serious candidate for Best Actor", schreibt Cedric Succivalli (ICS). "Ein Ausnahmefilm", schreibt Thomas Schultze (Blickpunkt:Film). "The witch-hunt basis of the story is woefully familiar, but visually, the film is excitingly alive, making even its most malign plot developments worth getting past", schreibt Todd McCarthy (THR). "Akzeptiert man diese Prämisse, ist JAGTEN spannend, bewegend, humorvoll", schreibt Josef Lederle (Filmdienst). "FESTEN director Thomas Vinterberg makes a storming comeback with this superbly thrilling drama about a kindergarten teacher accused of wrongdoing (****)", schreibt Peter Bradshaw (Guardian). "Don't believe the anti-hype;Vinterberg's film's a finely-tuned, human, riveting drama (4/5)", schreibt James Rocchi (MSN Movies).

---Entdeckungen----

"Student" (Un certain regard, Darezhan Omirbaev): "At the end, dream and the reality of the narrative overlap and never are clarified, creating a profoundly moving ending of questioning, at once hopeful and despairing, one that sees a tremendous significant even in small dreams, if that is all one has for now", schreibt Daniel Kasman (Mubi.com).

"No" (Pablo Larraín) ***
[Directors' Fortnight]

"Larrain's Pinochet trilogy reaches riveting closure with 80's ad satire. Don Draper, stonewashed: obviously sly, unexpectedly stirring (A-)", schreibt Guy Lodge (In Contention). "Precisely the kind of film you want to find here -- bracing, funny, real, brilliant", schreibt James Rocchi (MSN Movies). "Standing ovation for Pablo Larrain's terrific NO, powerful drama of '88 Pinochet referendum with great Gael Garcia Bernal", schreibt Eric Kohn (indieWIRE). "Loved Pablo Larrain's NO here in Cannes 2012 - why isn't that in competition", schreibt Leslie Felperin (Variety). "It seems strange to say this to a director who has become a stalwart of the Latin American arthouse scene, but this is one film where Larrain and his scriptwriter might have benefitted from making this a tighter US-style commercial product", schreibt Lee Marshall (Screen Daily). "And so NO is both a crowd-pleasing, satisfying narrative entertainment and a highly sophisticated conceptual object -- perhaps the ultimate Situationist movie", schreibt Karina Longworth (L.A. Weekly).

"Beyond the Hills" (Cristian Mungiu) **
[Wettbewerb]

"A total knockout. The festival has finally kicked off", schreibt David Jenkins (Little White Lies). "Long-winded let-down suggests CM's talents are more suited to writing scripts than to adapting (5/10)", schreibt Neil Young (THR). "EYOND THE HILLS is flawed and breaks faith with its fear of evil a few times, but it's a couple of aisles ahead of the rest", schreibt Nick James (Sight & Sound). "Another accomplished film content to just keep doing one thing from start to finish. Super intense though", schreibt Mike D'Angelo (The A.V. Club). "Composition impeccable; construction wanting. Compelling, never surprising, relaying tension where 4 Months coiled it (B)", schreibt Guy Lodge (In Contention). "Cristian Mungiu's "Beyond The Hills" is a long downerish Bresson film about faith, monastic denial, love, insanity, exorcism & the evil one. Very austere, monastic, forbidding. Vaguely creepy, chilly, very slow & deliberate, disturbing but doesn't really pay off. And yet it does", schreibt Jeffrey Wells (Hollywood Elsewhere). "Cristian Mungiu's BEYOND THE HILLS, about human love v love of God, most coherent, gripping competition film yet. Again too long", schreibt Geoff Andrew (Sight & Sound). "BEYOND THE HILL is long, mad and upsettingly brilliant", schreibt Peter Bradshaw (Guardian). "Cristian Mungiu's BEYOND THE HILLS is a hugely accomplished disappointment", schreibt Justin Chang (Variety). "Cristian Mungius Film unter orthodoxen Christen ist ein langatmiges, seltsam hohles Manöver, eine Kunstanstrengung ohne Mehrwert", schreibt Dominik Kamalzadeh (Standard). "Mungius' film is a slow but captivating contemporary drama that looks like a period piece", schreibt Christian Jungen (NZZ). "Die 150 Minuten bleiben im Gedächtnis. Und der Schatten von Tarkovski hängt über den Erinnerungen", schreibt Michael Sennhauser (SRF). "Something of a disappointment. The initially fascinating, ambiguous relationship between the two young women is overwhelmed by the hysteria spawned by her unflaggingly intense presence at the monastery", schreibt Karina Longworth (L.A. Weekly). "We know, in a word, that we’re going to be watching a movie that’s like THE EXORCIST made by Robert Bresson. If only it had been", schreibt Owen Gleiberman (Entertainment Weekly). "Ungeheuer souverän im Einsatz seiner Mittel", schreibt Thomas Schultze (Blickpunkt:Film). "I have heard estimable critics invoke such landmarks of religious cinema as THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC and DAY OF WRATH as points of reference. But, in my view, such comparisons only put the ultimate shortcomings of the new film into more stark relief", schreibt Todd McCarthy (THR).

---Entdeckungen---

"The Tall Man" (Market, Pascal Laugier): "It is as heartbreakingly terrifying, cleverly constructed, superbly acted, thought provoking and equally multi-levelled. I absolutely adored its depth and range, its visual dexterity and bravura imagery, its breathless twists and warped sense of morality. And, yes, its ode to Dario Argento’s 3 Mothers", schreibt Alan Jones (FrightFest).

"Moonrise Kingdom" (Wes Anderson) ***½
[Wettbewerb]; dt. KS: 24.05.

"Three courses of dessert, smothered in Desplat. Appealing blush, witty accents, but, as ever, all love and no passion (C+)", schreibt Guy Lodge (In Contention). "Cannes eases itself in with the smooth, genteel, jocular MOONRISE KINGDOM, Wes Anderson at his most romantic and my fave of his", schreibt Nick James (Sight & Sound). "Balance between pre-adolescent ardor and adult disappointment a bit wobbly, but mostly delightful in RUSHMORE vein (75)", schreibt Mike D'Angelo (The A.V. Club). "60s fugitive teen romance. Clever, cartoony, cameo-heavy whimsy, helped out emotionally by Britten music", schreibt Geoff Andrew (Sight & Sound). "Although all the performances are mannered and sometimes doll-like, there is a fairytale charm about MOONRISE KINGDOM that could even earmark it as one of his best", schreibt Damon Wise (Empire). "MOONRISE KINGDOM is drowned in Rockwellian nostalgia, filmed through yellow cellophane, and very, very funny", schreibt Kate Muir (The Times). "It's so full of a joyous love for the medium and smart without being clever-clever. Its childishness, sense of innocence and eye for fun all make it a very easy film to love", schreibt Dave Calhoun (TimeOut Film). "On one level, this is THEY LIVE BY NIGHT with 12-year-olds", schreibt Todd McCarthy (THR). "Interesting, disturbing...interesting. Embeds. But the navel-gazing ultimately wears thin. Marinating in youth etc.", schreibt Sasha Stone (Awards Daily). "Whimsical, but also another beautiful Anderson film about grief. Critics saying 'more of the same' didn't see last shot", schreibt James Rocchi (MSN Movies). "A warm, heartfelt look at first love and community, MOONRISE KINGDOM is Anderson at his best", schreibt Drew McWeeny (HitFix). "MOONRISE KINGDOM was a great opener for Cannes 2012 - elegant, eccentric and charming", schreibt Peter Bradshaw (Guardian). "The enchanting sweetness of director Wes Anderson’s 2009 foray into animation, FANTASTIC MR. FOX, has been transplanted into his return to live-action filmmaking, MOONRISE KINGDOM, a delicate period love story whose slightness is mitigated by its deep feeling", schreibt Tim Grierson (Screen Daily). "The biggest coup here is that Anderson has finally managed to anchor his trademark whimsy with a sincere and heady romanticism", schreibt David Jenkins (Little White Lies). "Cutesy, quirky and resolutely inconsequential. Cannes opens with a whimper not a roar", schreibt Xan Brooks (Guardian). "Achieves a pitch-perfect rendition of Anderson's storytelling approach", schreibt Eric Kohn (indieWIRE). "KINGDOM was lovely -- like a childhood dream with more fastidious art direction", schreibt Boyd van Hoeij (Variety). "A parti-coloured, spun-sugar BADLANDS, choreographed just-so along a narrow parapet of cute (7/10)", schreibt Neil Young (THR). "Shot on Super 16mm, the visible grain giving the image a wonderfully tactile depth and life, MOONRISE KINGDOM is, in a lot of ways, the ur-Wes Anderson film", schreibt Karina Longworth (L.A. Weekly). "MOONRISE KINGDOM proves that FANTASTIC MR FOX was salubrious for Anderson, but he piles on too much stuff in latter half", schreibt Robert Koehler (Variety). "Da mag man einen Regisseur eigentlich überhaupt nicht, sitzt entsprechen kühl abwartend im Kino und plötzlich findet man etwas von ihm total super. Toll, schön, dass einem das noch passiert", schreibt Rüdiger Suchsland (Artechock). "So cheers for a Cannes director who has infused his technical mastery with radiant life. In the Museum of the World of Wes Anderson, the dolls are dancing", schreibt Richard Corliss (Time Magazine). "MOONRISE KINGDOM ist ein großartiger, enigmatischer Film, dessen programmatische Abkehr von jeder psychologischen Ausdeutung der Interpretation einiges abverlangt: bezwingend, betörend – und rätselhaft", schreibt Josef Lederle (Filmdienst). "Wo Andersons Manier zuletzt in THE DARJEELING LIMITED zum Manierismus erstarrte, findet er in MOONRISE KINGDOM wieder eine glückliche Balance", schreibt Christoph Huber (Die Presse). "Das ist ein ganz anderes, eigentlich schönes, anrührendes Amerikabild, was hier geträumt wird", sagt Katja Nicodemus (Zeit). "MOONRISE KINGDOM is refreshingly light and airy, an easy to watch melody of a movie", schreibt Eric Vespe (Aintitcool-News).

Nikki Finkes weißbärtiger Oscarblogger Pete Hammond erinnert an die sagenumwobene Trefferquote von Cannes bei den letzten Oscars. Gleichzeitig sei natürlich auch die Erwartungshaltung gestiegen, weil sich so zahlreich wie lange nicht mehr US-Filme im Wettbewerb tummeln würden. +++ FrightFest-Chef Alan Jones arbeitet schon: "REC 4 storyline revealed by Filmax: Angela Vidal, REC reporter, taken to an oil tanker high security facility for quarantine." Na wenn das nicht spannend und nach den nächsten Fantasy Filmfest Nights klingt. +++ Der Sight & Sound-Herausgeber Nick James erwartet ein reichhaltiges Festmenü. +++ SECUESTRADOS-Filmemacher Miguel Angel Vivas verkauft im Cannes-Market seinen neuen Thriller "I Will Die Tonight". Das Poster lässt die nächste Adrenalinhatz schon erahnen. +++ In Contention stellt die Wettbewerbsfilme einzeln vor. +++ So unterschiedlich packen die Kritiker: spartanisch (Guy Lodge), spartanischer (David Jenkins) & am kuscheligsten (Sasha Stone). +++ Erste kleinere Hiobsbotschaft: Wieder schickt der britische Guardian nicht die besten Männer (Peter Bradshaw, Xan Brooks), sondern schiebt die High-Society-Biene Jason Solomons vor. Auf dass Bradshaw und Brooks trotzdem ihren Teil im Cannes Diary beisteuern dürfen.

JAGTEN, Thomas Vinterberg ("Submarino")
1x Cannes ["Das Fest", 1998]
PARADIES: LIEBE, Ulrich Seidl
1x Cannes ["Import/Export", 2007]
ON THE ROAD, Walter Salles
2x Cannes [u.a. "Die Reise des jungen Che", 2004]
POST TENEBRAS LUX, Carlos Reygadas
3x Cannes [u.a. "Stellet licht", 2007]
VOUS N'AVEZ ENCORE RIEN VU, Alain Resnais
4x Cannes [u.a. "Hiroshima mon amour", 1959]
MUD, Jeff Nichols ("Take Shelter")
Debüt im Wettbewerb
BAAD EL MAWKEAA, Yousry Nasrallah (Ägypten)
Debüt im Wettbewerb
BEYOND THE HILLS, Cristian Mungiu
1x Cannes ["4 Monate, 3 Wochen, 2 Tage", 2007]
THE ANGELS' SHARE, Ken Loach
11x Cannes [u.a. "Looking for Eric", 2009]
LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE, Abbas Kiarostami
4x Cannes [u.a. "Copie conforme", 2010]
TASTE OF MONEY, Sangsoo Im
1x Cannes ["The Housemaid", 2010]
IN ANOTHER COUNTRY, Sangsoo Hong ("The Day He Arrives")
2x Cannes [u.a. "Eine Kinogeschichte", 2005]
LAWLESS, John Hillcoat ("The Proposition")
Debüt im Wettbewerb
LIEBE, Michael Haneke
5x Cannes [u.a. "Die Klavierspielerin", 2001]
REALITY, Matteo Garrone
1x Cannes ["Gomorra", 2008]
KILLING THEM SOFTLY, Andrew Dominik
Debüt im Wettbewerb
THE PAPERBOY, Lee Daniels ("Precious")
Debüt im Wettbewerb
COSMOPOLIS, David Cronenberg
3x Cannes [u.a. "Crash", 1996]
HOLY MOTORS, Leos Carax ("Die Liebenden von Pont-Neuf")
1x Cannes ["Pola X", 1999]
MOONRISE KINGDOM, Wes Anderson
Debüt im Wettbewerb
RUST & BONES, Jacques Audiard
2x Cannes [u.a. "Un prophéte", 2009]
IM NEBEL, Sergei Loznitsa
1x Cannes ["My Joy", 2010]

Wie fasste es Time Out Film zusammen: "22 films. Lots of Aussies and Yanks. No women. A pair of similarly named Koreans. two teenage vampires. Brad Pitt." Nuff said? Auf dem Papier - wie eigentlich immer - ein starker Cannes-Jahrgang. Potenziell skandalfrei, was bedeutet, dass Lars von Trier keinen neuen Film fertig hatte. Potenziell etwas arty-farty, was nur darauf hinweist, dass Quentin Tarantinos "Django Unchained" wohl bei Marco Müllers Rom-Einstand seine Weltpremiere feiern wird. Potenziell natürlich enttäuschend, weil es keinen neuen Paul Thomas Anderson-Film gibt. Wenn man sich dann aber nur kurz an "There Will Be Blood" zurückerinnert, doch irgendwie nicht wirklich. Ein sehr interessantes Gesamtpaket, das für jeden Filmkritiker oder Cineasten da draußen genug Anknüpfungspunkte bietet. Ich bin sehr gespannt auf Andrew Dominik. "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" war 2007 mein Lieblingsfilm. Haneke und Seidl werden natürlich spannend. Thomas Vinterberg macht einen großen Sprung, nachdem er mit "Submarino" auf der Berlinale für tot erklärt wurde. Und dass es Xavier Dolan "nur" in die so genannte zweite Liga, nämlich die Un certain regard-Reihe, geschafft hat, verwundert auch ein wenig. Und wer wusste schon, dass David Cronenberg einen Sohn namens Brandon hat, der offenbar ein so talentierter Filmemacher geworden ist, dass Cannes nicht um ihn herumkam. Bei Jurypräsident Nanni Moretti würde ich übrigens spontan auf Ken Loach als Goldenen Palmen-Gewinner tippen, obwohl er mit "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" bereits einmal gewonnen hat. Es schockiert indes, dass es angesichts solcher Namen wie Francois Ozon, Olivier Assayas oder Laurent Cantet in der Verlosung "nur" drei Franzosen letztlich in den Wettbewerb geschafft haben.

Links: - Cannes, - Peter Bradshaw, - Guy Lodge, - Variety

Gestern wirkte es noch wie ein verspäteter Aprilscherz, als auf Twitter eine Liste die Runde machte, die angeblich alle Wettbewerbsfilme von Cannes kennen würde. Die raffiniertesten Blogger machten sich daraus immerhin den Spaß, auch wenn das nicht die echte Liste wäre, eine ernste Meinung dazu abzugeben. Heute wiederum berichtet sogar ein Branchendienst wie Blickpunkt:Film, dass die Liste in der Tat echt sei. Für einen kurzen Augenblick habe es einen Fehler auf der Homepage des wichtigsten Filmfestivals der Welt gegeben, der zu dieser - wenn es denn stimmt - sensationellen Vorveröffentlichung geführt habe. Zwei Wochen vor Thierry Fremauxs berüchtigter Pressekonferenz! Grund genug auch für Movies & Sports, einen genaueren Blick darauf zu werfen:

"MOONRISE KINGDOM," Wes Anderson ["Fantastic Mr. Fox"]
"APRES LA BATAILLE," Yousry Nasrallah ["Scheherazade Tell Me a Story"]
"BIG HOUSE," Matteo Garrone ["Gomorra"]
"COSMOPOLIS," David Cronenberg ["A Dangerous Method"]
"UN GOUT DE ROUILLE ET D'OS," Jacques Audiard ["Un prophete"]
"ELEFANTE BIANCO," Pablo Trapero ["Carancho"]
"GEBO ET L'OMBRE," Manoel de Oliveira ["The Strange Case of Angelica"]
"LE GRAND SOIR," Gustave Kervern & Benoit Delépine ["Mammuth"]
"IL EST DIFFICILE D'ETRE UN DIEU," Alexei Guerman ["Paper Soldier"]
"IN ANOTHER COUNTRY," Hong Sang-soo ["The Day He Arrives"]
"THE LAND OF HOPE," Sono Sion ["Crime of Romance"]
"LAURENCE ANYWAYS," Xavier Dolan ["Les amours imaginaires"]
"A LIAR'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY," Bill Jones, Ben Timlett & Jeff Simpson
"MAIN DANS LA MAIN," Valérie Donzelli ["Declaration of War"]
"THE MASTER," Paul Thomas Anderson ["There Will Be Blood"]
"MISHIMA," Koji Wakamatsu ["Caterpillar"]
"NO," Pablo Larrain ["Post mortem"]
"PIAZZA FONTANA," Marco Tullio Giordana ["The Best of Youth"]
"PIGEON ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXIST.," Roy Andersson
"THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES," Derek Cianfrance ["Blue Valentine"]
"PROVIZORIU," Cristian Mungiu ["Tales from the Golden Age"]
"RHINOS SEASON," Bahman Ghobadi ["No One Knows About Persian Cats"]
"STOKER," Park Chan-wook ["Thirst"]

Kein Deutscher, nicht mal Michael Haneke oder Ulrich Seidl, dieses Mal auch kein Woody Allen oder Terrence Malick, die mit in der Verlosung waren. Dafür gäbe es mit Hong Sang-soo, Sono Sion, Koji Wakamatsu und Park Chan-wook eine starke Asienpräsenz. Neben dem bekannten Eröffnungsfilm "Moonrise Kingdom" von Wes Anderson wären einige weitere festgesetzte Kandidaten wie David Cronenbergs "Cosmopolis", Xavier Dolans "Laurence Anyways" und "Provizoriu", der neue Film des Goldenen Palmen-Gewinners Cristian Mungiu, am Start. Über die Franzosen und Italiener müsste ich mich erst einmal einvernehmlicher informieren. Aber natürlich gäbe es riesige Freude, wenn Paul Thomas Andersons neuer Spielfilm "The Master" wohl rechtzeitig fertig würde. Manoel de Oliveira, der Jopi Heesters von Cannes, lebt immer noch und schafft es hiernach zurück in den Wettbewerb. Und am bizarrsten mutet wahrscheinlich trotz Anwesenheit von Roy Andersson dieser Monty Python-Film an, der möglicherweise sogar eine Doku sein könnte.

Links: - Blickpunkt:Film, - "It's All Lies"