As Cannes has drawn to a close, it’s time to reflect on the past twelve days, taking stock of the festival, the films, the fetes and the faux pas.

It would be a shame if this edition were remembered for the controversy sparked by Lars von Trier’s botched attempt at provocateur levity and inability to dig himself out of a hole, but controversy did indeed surround this festival from start to finish.

Even before the first posters went up or the red carpet was rolled out over the Palais steps, the selection of Xavier Durringer’s “The Conquest,” the first French film ever to dramatize the life of a sitting French president, was already making waves in French cirles.

Add to that the Dominique Strauss-Kahn affair which booted the Festival off the front pages of France’s broadsheets, the (albeit far from the Riviera) revelation that a certain former Governator had a child with a member of his household staff which indeed affected the film biz given Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s decision to put his movie projects on hold – and then of course the Dane who became “persona non grata.”

Just after the news broke of the DSK scandal (and sitting in a chair the fest’s invisible man Terrence Malick had just vacated), I asked festival president Gilles Jacob how he felt about Cannes being chased off page one and he shrugged, “You know, in 1983 the Pope had been shot and nobody knew if he was dead or alive. That was opening day of the festival and we weren’t on the front page” and it didn’t matter.

Although we all go into such a tunnel in Cannes where it often feels like Martians could literally take over the rest of the world and we on the Croisette would be none the wiser, this year the real world seemed to seep in more than ever.  Ah, technology. Then again, as Jacob told me, “I had to inform a lot of people (about DSK). You’d be surprised how many people still weren’t aware,” this was about 36 hours after it had happened and indeed it was on the front page of every paper at every newsstand but not necessarily in every hotel up and down the Croisette.

Most film biz folks attending the festival have their noses buried in the trades (Screen, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety) each morning or are reading Deadline (and Wiretap newsletters!) on their Blackberrys, iPhones and iPads. Or, they’re at the movies, or schmoozing at ritzy lunches, or making deals across coffee tables at the Carlton Hotel. So, the DSK scandal was lost on at least some in Cannes despite its very Franco-American relationship.

The one unavoidable source of controversy, the one on everyone else’s lips as soon as it left his own, was of course Lars von Trier.

I hope for Thierry Fremaux, whom I respect enormously, that the legacy of this 64^th edition isn’t forever the von Trier episode.

Speaking with indieWire over the weekend, Fremaux had this to say about the episode:

I think that “Melancholia” is a great film, maybe his best. Everything was going very well. Lars von Trier was in very good shape. He was happy. The press conference was very enjoyable for me. Then, suddenly, he made that provocation. It shows you how things can turn down very quickly. Anyway, Lars von Trier has been very stupid, an idiot, but he’s not anti-Semitic. However, on these matters, it’s hard to say something and go back. So the board of the festival had to do something, and this is what they decided. Of course, I would like the filmmakers to think about the fact that Cannes has a big ego, and reflects a lot of things, so they have to be careful. But [filmmakers] are not political men. They don’t have the habit of making a speech that’s perfect, like a politician’s. They’re artists—extravagant, provocative. Among them, the most provocative of all is named Lars von Trier. More than anything, it’s sad because in a way he killed his own movie.

It was a singular selection made up of films by directors who got people excited and with movies people really wanted to see and which even the normally cynical and oh-so-hard-to-please Cannes audience and critics for the most part really enjoyed.

There was spectacle and serious art, feel-good, frissons and lots of action. And of course some rocking parties.

Fremaux recently told Pete Hammond at Deadline that some folks told him this was the best festival in 30 years. I’ve only been to 14 so I can’t speak for that, but I don’t remember quite such a smooth year in terms of films and general ambiance in a long time.

When I spoke to Jacob earlier this week he told me that there was always a see-saw effect but that this year we were on an up. Last year, he said, people were down. But, we agreed that it’s hard to judge a selection in the present. Kind of like that “King’s Speech” versus “Social Network” argument – ie the movie that should win the Oscar is the one people will remember 20 years from now…

So, perhaps time will tell if this becomes the year Terrence Malick returned to the spotlight (his film at least if not the director himself), the year audiences remembered the joy of black-and-white silent movies, the year it only rained once, the year the whole shebang came back to form – or the year of von Trier.

(As for the ultimate Palme d’Or winners, there are a handful that will indeed be remembered.)

Fremaux told me before the festival that this was going to be lighter, “Last year was a little morose, a little melancholy, and this year is very optimistic, full of hope. It’s going to be a celebration” (that melancholy was sure an interesting choice of words…) “We’ll be able to have some fun,” he had said. I did see him out at a couple of parties pre-von Trier so I hope he at least had the chance to have some fun himself.

For other takes on the week and a half that was, check out Todd McCarthy here, Pete Hammond here, Anne Thompson here and Steven Zeitchik here.

Otherwise, Cannes blogging is over for another year and I’m back on Wiretap full-time (many thanks to my back-up Kinsey who covered with much aplomb during the Fortnight). Merci et à très vite!

Posted by Nancy at 8:14 am

Terrence Malick‘s “The Tree of Life” won the Palme d’Or on Sunday evening. In keeping with his traditionally reclusive nature, Malick did not take the stage himself to accept the award. Instead, producers Dede Gardner and Bill Pohlad accepted. Pohlad noted that the director is “infamously and notoriously shy and low profile and quite humble…but I know he would be thrilled with this award.”

Malick previously won the best director award in 1979 for “Days of Heaven.”

(Many people I spoke to throughout the week predicted the prize would indeed go to “Tree of Life” despite its mixed reception. They obviously knew something.)

The Grand Prize was shared by Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia” (giving less weight to the notion that a late screening date augurs badly – although even the director noted he had feared the jury would be too tired to appreciate the film so close to the end of the fest) and the Dardenne brothers’ “The Kid With a Bike.” The Dardennes narrowly missed scoring a record three Palme d’Ors for best film by sliding into the Grand Prize category.

Danish helmer – no not that one – Nicolas Winding Refn won the directing award for “Drive.” Winding Refn took out his iPhone to read off a list of people he wanted to thank including the jury for their good taste, his mother for always telling him he was a genius and star Ryan Gosling for lending his weight to help get the film made.

That other Danish director did not go quietly into that good night, however, as the best actress award went to Kirsten Dunst for Lars von Trier’s “Melancholia.”

“Wow, what a week it’s been for me,” she laughed. She also thanked the fest for “still allowing the film to be in competition” and von Trier himself  “for the opportuntity to be so brave in this film.”

Jean Dujardin (my personal favorite) won the best actor prize for Michel Hazanavicius‘ “The Artist,” the black-and-white silent movie that had the Croisette abuzz with happy feet. The French star received a resounding ovation when he took the stage – and did a quick shuffle.

The Jury Prize went to a very emotional Maïwenn for “Poliss,” a French picture about life in the special victims unit of the Paris police.

Best screenplay was awarded to Joseph Cedar for “Footnote,” which he also directed.

Critics’ Week title “Las Acacias” from Pablo Giogelli was named the best feature debut and awarded the Camera d’Or prize. The film previously won the ACID/CCAS prize in the sidebar.

Watch the video of the ceremony here.

I’ll be back in a little while with a wrap.

Posted by Nancy at 3:12 pm

Radu Milhaileanu‘s “The Source” and Nuri Bilge Ceylan‘s “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia” are the last two of the competition films to screen today, Saturday.

The former, from the acclaimed director of such films as “Train of Life,” “Live and Become” and “The Concert,” sees a group of Maghreb women launch a “love strike” over the dangerous task of fetching water from a mountain spring. In one of the first reviews to go up, Variety calls it an “overwrought fable (that) proves a difficult concoction to swallow.” However, the trade allows that the “colorful, lushly designed Arabic-lingo pic might seduce undiscriminating audiences and ride the coattails of current interest in the North African revolutions to achieve limited play outside the co-production countries.”

Of Ceylan’s “Anatolia,” Variety offers: “Beautifully crafted, ultra-rarefied pic won’t expand the audience for the Turkish auteur’s work, though festgoers will again appreciate Ceylan’s marvelous eye and surprising reserves of humor.”

(While Ceylan is undoubtedly a filmmaker worth knowing, a friend of mine was off to see it last night intoning, “Just what you need when you’re completely bleary-eyed after ten days of back-to-back screenings: a 2 hour and 37 minute film that probably has four pages of dialogue…”)

Meanwhile, although Screen more or less enjoyed Paolo Sorrentino‘s English-language debut, “This Must Be the Place,” labeling it “like the Coen Brothers on acid,” indieWire appears to differ, saying it’s “an uber-campy Sean Penn performance, a gratingly quirky soul-searching plot, and character motives that barely make any sense. It’s far too much of a godawful mess to merit serious moral scrutiny.”

Ouch, maybe there is something to that theory of films screening late in the festival after all…

Posted by Nancy at 10:15 am

Belgian director Bouli Lanners got a pretty cool birthday present on Friday night. “The Giants,” his coming of age adventure tale, won two prizes at the Directors’ Fortnight closing ceremony the same day the director turned 46.

Although the Fortnight is ostensibly a non-competitive section, supporting partners of the sidebar award prizes each year. Lanners’ “Giants” won both the SACD prize and the Art Cinema Award.

In its recent review, Screen called the film “a joyous heartwarmer with an endearing Mark Twain meets Ken Loach vibe.”

Lanners is a veteran actor who has made three features to date. Each of the triumverate of pictures has now either won or been nominated for major awards.

Also currying favor with the Fortnight was Karl Markovics‘ “Breathing” which took the Label Europa Cinemas award.

The Austrian film follows a troubled young man who sets out on a search for his real mother. Variety calls it: “a small but perfectly formed slice of stylized social realism.”

Posted by Nancy at 4:18 am

We’ve hit the home stretch here in Cannes where the final films are screening in competition and the first prizes are being handed out.

On Thursday, Pedro Almodovar returned to the Croisette with “The Skin I Live In,” his first collaboration with Antonio Banderas in 22 years. Japanese master Takashi Miike‘s “Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai” also screened.

Today, Paolo Sorrentino‘s Sean-Penn-in-eyeliner road movie, “This Must Be the Place” is being unveiled along with Nicolas Winding Refn‘s Ryan Gosling-starrer “Drive.”

There is a belief in the industry that being programmed at the end of the festival does not bode well for a film’s chance at prizes. But both the Almodovar and the Winding Refn were well-received by critics here and here. The Miike is reviewed here and notices for the Sorrentino should be posted shortly.

Tomorrow, the last two pics: Radu Mihaileanu‘s “The Source” and Nuri Bilge Ceylan‘s “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia” will screen.

In the meantime, the first prizes were awarded on Thursday night.

Click over for the Critics’ Week winners

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Nancy at 5:02 am

People really are in a spending mood in Cannes. After ten days which saw business bounce back to healthy levels, movie folk gave back last night. On Thursday, amFar held its annual Cinema Against AIDS benefit at the Hotel du Cap out in Antibes. In a record, the 17^th running of the charity event raised $10 million.

Elizabeth Taylor, who passed away recently and who was a stalwart amFar supporter, was honored during the evening. Two Taylor-themed lots – a limited-edition Herb Ritts photo taken of her in Malibu in 1991 and an Andy Warhol painting of her went for a combined $550,000.

I’ve been invited to the event once and that one year I couldn’t attend (I do not remember why). I suppose if I made an effort or a fuss to be on the press guest list I could – and I’m sure it would be pretty fabulous – but by the second Thursday of Cannes I am usually completely burnt out. I’ll have to think about it for next year – and start lobbying early!

In the meantime, my friend Pete Hammond over at Deadline has all the celeb sightings and a report from the swanky affair here.

Posted by Nancy at 4:59 am

More trouble is afoot for Lars von Trier. The Cannes board of directors on Thursday released a statement declaring the director a “persona non grata” at the festival.

The statement followed von Trier’s comments yesterday during the “Melancholia” press conference where he said he was a Nazi and that he sympathized with Hitler, a little bit.

Von Trier’s film, however, has not been removed from the Competition, Screen says the press office confirmed.

“Melancholia” had its premiere last night but any chance of winning a Palme d’Or later this week very likely flew right out the window after yesterday’s stunning spectacle in front of dozens of international journalists.

I spent a bit of time with some rather successful and inflential French producers last night and the general consensus was that the red carpet should have been cancelled for the premiere and that the film should be pulled from competition. Gilles Jacob, president of the festival, was said to be utterly dismayed at what von Trier had expressed.

The director did apologize yesterday after the festival itself released a statement saying it had been “disturbed” by von Trier’s remarks.

Today’s statement from the festival is below:

“The Festival de Cannes provides artists from around the world with an exceptional forum to present their works and defend freedom of expression and creation. The Festival’s Board of Directors, which held an extraordinary meeting this Thursday 19 May 2011, profoundly regrets that this forum has been used by Lars Von Trier to express comments that are unacceptable, intolerable, and contrary to the ideals of humanity and generosity that preside over the very existence of the Festival.

The Board of Directors firmly condemns these comments and declares Lars Von Trier a persona non grata at the Festival de Cannes, with effect immediately.”

Posted by Nancy at 10:03 am

Following Lars von Trier‘s incendiary comments at the “Melancholia” press conference this morning, the Cannes Film Festival said it was “disturbed about the statments” and had “asked him to provide an explanation for his comments.”

In the Festival’s missive it said: “The director states that he let himself be egged on by a provocation. He presents his apology. The direction of the Festival acknowledges this and is passing on Lars von Trier’s apology. The Festival is adamant that it would never allow the event to become the forum for such pronouncements on such subjects.”

According to Screen, von Trier said in his apologetic statement: “If I have hurt someone this morning by the words I said at the press conference, I sincerely apologize. I am not antisemitic or racially prejudiced in any way, nor am I a Nazi.”

Posted by Nancy at 12:43 pm

Lars von Trier, the enfant terrible of Denmark (and the Croisette), arrived in Cannes today in even more outlandish form than usual, stunning journalists at a press conference with comments about sympathizing with Hitler (“a bit”) and wanting to make a 4-hour porn film with “very, very unpleasant sex” starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Tobey Maguire.

As The Guardian notes:

The nazism remark, which was jestingly made in response to a question about his German roots, would probably spell career suicide if uttered outside the rarefied atmosphere of the Cannes film festival (and may yet).

The press conference has to be seen to be believed (or understood, given the winks, tones, hestitations and reactions). Watch it here if you have 38 minutes to spare. The porn stuff is early, but he really digs himself in at around the 35-minute point.

Otherwise, below is a smattering of the Danish auteur’s more choice remarks:

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Nancy at 10:15 am

UPDATED:

The (self-imposed) criteria are simple: It doesn’t count if I only see them from super-far away or on bigscreens. I have to have come within at least 10 feet of them.

May 18:

Gaspar Noé in the wee small hours at the Wild Bunch/”7 Days in Havana” party at the Chatêau du Suquet (I’m actually friendly with him, so this one is sort of a gimmee…)

May 17:

Ryan Gosling on the Carlton Terrace searching high and low for someone before sitting at a table near the street side, being joined by his mates, getting up and walking around again discussing a story with another guy standing next to my chair…and smoking a cigarette;

Michelle Rodriguez DJ’ing in a fabulous dress at the party for official selection documentary “The Big Fix”;

Jason Mraz doing a three-song set at the same “Big Fix” party

May 16:

Luc Besson eating lunch in the very far corner of the Majestic Beach;

Michel Gondry and Jamel Debbouze at a press conference for a new amateur film installation they are partnering on outside Paris;

Brad Pitt inside the press conference for “Tree of Life” and outside signing autographs;

Jean Dujardin, star of crowd-pleasing competition film “The Artist” (he’ll always be “Brice de Nice” to me) at a villa party for the film

May 15:

Christopher Dodd, the former Connecticut senator who is now the MPAA chief, at a cocktail reception at the Majestic;

Kanye West after his concert on the Carlton beach;

Fisher Stevens (again!) at the Kanye event who told me he was making a documentary about Woody Allen

May 13:

Fisher Stevens in a straw hat on the Croisette and then later in an elevator at the Marriot with a  giant camera slung over his shoulder;

Matthew McConaughey arriving at the Majestic Hotel – wearing a shirt (!) and red loafers with silver buckles

May 9-11:

Karl Lagerfeld leaving the Majestic Hotel in the passenger seat of a convertible Bentley (his branded Diet Coke bottles are all over the place);

Harvey Weinstein on his way into the building where his company offices are this year;

Owen Wilson posing for pics and surrounded by three bodyguards during the intermission between Wednesday’s opening night ceremony and the “Midnight in Paris” screening;

Adrien Brody – a couple of minutes later – leaning against a wall in the Lumière lobby and chatting with a young woman;

John C Reilly animatedly talking to folks outside a restaurant on one of the side streets

And more to come…

Posted by Nancy at 5:27 am