Cannes programming wizard Gilles Jacob was very pleased at today's mega-press conference at which the films in Competition in the Official Selection, as well as the companion line-up known as Un Certain Regard were announced. "We've got laughter, tears, strong emotions," he declared, having culled through 428 feature films the world over.
For example, the Selection Committee saw a total of 189 American contenders, of which 116 were first films. Five ended up in "Un Certain Regard." With work from 30 countries gracing the 49th fest, Jacob equates this year's edition with "the pulse of moviemaking in 1996. " The festival poster is a brightly colored bouquet of flowers and the line-up it heralds smells sweeter than it has in years.
Per Jacob, only three Competition films are period pieces: a Missouri metropolis in bootleg days in Robert Altman's "Kansas City", Shanghai in the 1930s in Chen Kaige's "Temptress Moon" and Versailles, circa Louis XVI, in "Ridicule" -- the rest are contemporary.
First-time Cannes participant David Cronenberg will unspool "Crash", which Jacob coyly described as a film that "delivers a series of sexual rites -- and I'm sworn to secrecy beyond that." Advance buzz is excellent, with some positing that the film is "even better than 'Videodrome'."
Admitting to a journalist that he's "never gotten over" having passed up the chance to program "Four Weddings and a Funeral" Jacob emphasized that this year's line-up is heavy on humor.
Mike Leigh's "Secrets and Lies" is described as a "Pagnolian melodrama." Aki Kaurismaki's "The Clouds Escape" strikes Jacob as being "'Umberto D. in the universe of Tati." At 38, Spains's Julio Medem is the youngest director in Competition.
UN CERTAIN REGARD kicks off with Mary Harron's terrific debut, "I Shot Andy Warhol" and concludes with seasoned vet Eric Rohmer's latest installment in his Four Seasons quartet: "Conte d'Ete" (A Summer's Tale). Two American actors will be among those competing for the Camera d'Or (best first film drawn from all sections combined -- Official Selection, Un Certain Regard, International Critics Week, Directors Fortnight, Cinemas en France): Angelica Huston, with the child abuse drama "Bastard Out of Carolina" and Al Pacino's Shakespeare-flavored labor of love, "Looking for Richard."
If Lucile Hadzihalilovic has even a fraction of the off-kilter talent of her romantic associate Gaspard Noe, whose "Carne" landed with an "Eraserhead"- strength thump a few years back, her 52 minute directing debut "La Bouche de Jean-Pierre" (Jean-Pierre's Mouth) may be something to gargle about.
Obviously taken with rising newcomer Liv Tyler's performance in Bernardo Bertolucci's "Stealing Beauty" Jacob contends that "We're going to hear people proclaim 'A star is born' when she walks back down the red-carpeted steps after the screening."
Jacob obviously has a soft spot for two shortish films by Laila Pakalnina: "Pramis" (The Ferry) at 16 minutes and "Pasts" (The Courrier) at 20, which are scheduled to play "Un Certain Regard." (Jane Campion, who won the Golden Palm in 1994 with "The Piano" found herself on the filmmaking map after Jacob premiered HER distinctive short films.)
This is a great year for French films in the Competition," Jacob stated with obvious satisfaction. "We have a total of five and it's the first time in a long time that so many French films have been available for Cannes. We've set aside a lot of space for comedy. The French pictures are rife with satire and humor." The Official Selection sports 20 world premieres. Of the 20 films on display in "Un Certain Regard," eight were directed by women.
The jury, headed by Francis Ford Coppola features two actresses, one cinematographer, a costume designer, a critic, a novelist, two additional directors and one screenwriter.
On May 15th, the 49th International Film Festival will pause to announce how it plans to go about commemorating next year's 50th edition. On May 16th, a program of restored shorts that haven't been shown since Georges Melies made them at the turn of the century will pay tribute to the father of special effects. And on May 17th, a gala concert featuring Ruggero Raimondi and Julia Migenes-Johnson will raise funds to rebuild the recently fire-ravaged Fenice opera house.
"I've just about had it with the kneejerk assessment that arty films are, by definition, tedious and boring and commercial films always aim for the lowest common denominator," Jacob said in conclusion. "We're on the lookout for talent, technical proficiency and audacity, wherever they may be. We're going to try to provide pleasure via intelligent films,".
"Besides," he added, referring to Patrice Leconte's period satire
and David O. Russell's adoption comedy, "a festival director who chooses
to begin his event with a movie called "Ridicule" and wrap things
up with one called "Flirting with Disaster" cannot be said to
lack a sense of humor."
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