Hey folks, Harry here with "Tonight". "Tonight" is a French reader that decided to chime in with comments on the "highlights" of Cannes for him. And his winner is a bit different than what you'll hear from the likes of Todd McCarthy or Roger Ebert... For him, INTERSTELLA 5555 was the film that should've won Cannes, and who really cares if it wasn't in competition? Heh. Here ya go...
Hello, Harry,
Every year I tell myself I'm gonna write a review of some kind of what I've seen in Cannes. But I never do.
There's just too much to talk about and I'm far too tired from my diet of sea, sex and sun... But this year was so poor on the film front that I feel I can make an effort.
About me : I'm french with parent's appartment on the Croisette near the festivities...
So, this year you have some (but few) good films: The barbarian invasions, Mystic River, The Mother, Young Adam, Swimming pool, American Splendor
Then you have 2 great movies: DOGVILLE and ELEPHANT
And finally, you have perfection: Interstella 5555
Interstella 5555 was shown at the director's fortnight. It says it's directed by Takerushi Kazuhisa and Daisuke Nishio. It's a japonese cartoon telling the story of four musicians from another galaxy kidnapped by a greedy Earth manager and it's 67 minutes long.
That's what they say, what I say is that it's the amazing collaboration of the french group Daft Punk with Leiji Matsumoto (Galaxy Express 999, Captain Harlock). Remember the video clips of "One more time" , "Digital Love", "Harder,Better, Faster, Stronger" from Daft Punk's Discovery album?
Well, the whole album (14 great songs) has been "illustrated" in the same vein! It's an animated musical! And it's the best thing ever! I'm bias because it puts together an album I totally love and the animation of my youth (the guys from Daft Punk are from my generation and we used to see Mazinger and Captain Harlock as kids on TV).
Just go see it!
DOGVILLE seems to be the best of Lars von Trier for me. I'll have to see it again to get a better opinion because it was so moving to me that I couldn't really control my brain at the end of the show. I'm a big fan of von Trier's work since "Breaking the waves" but in it, as well as "The Idiots" and "Dancer in the dark", I always felt a bit manipulated at some point and it made the experience a tad murky.
But Dogville is pure. It's like a good book, a good play and a good movie, all in one. I won't say more. You already had an acurate critique on your site.
ELEPHANT is poetic, light, blissful, bitter, frightning... It's very real and inclusive and yet every frame looks like a painting. The young actors are a tad too good looking (compared to reality) but you can't complain about eye candy, can you? It says more about Columbine than the documentary last year. Especially because it lets you fill in the blanks instead of manipulating you.
Again a beautiful movie!
Otherwise you have
"the barbarian invasions": follow up of "the decline of the american empire", big crowd pleasure. You laugh, you cry (a lot!) You learn about getting old, dying, being a drug addict, in a very "cheerful" way.
"Mystic River" is a classic movie more interesting for its actors than its scenario.
"The mother": director of "Notting Hill" changing style and making a movie about a granny who discovers that it's never to late to enjoy giving blow-jobs to a hunky carpenter... Quite good.
"Young Adam", where you see Ewan Mc Gregor's dick yet again... A classic movie. Very well act. And a sex scene with custard and HP sauce...
"Swimming pool": a mix of "Under the sand" and "8 women". It's fun, intriguing if a little bit too cute.
"American Splendor": quirky, fun, if you liked "Crumb" and "Ghost World".
To sum up, go see Interstella 5555, your life depends on it.
You can call me...Tonight.
