Live from Cannes: Boos for 'Palermo Shooting'
Filed under: Cannes, Festival Reports, Cinematical Indie
Well, folks, I think we've just seen what may end up being the worst film at Cannes this year, Wim Wender's Palermo Shooting. I didn't like Serbis, but I stuck it out to the wretched end of Palermo Shooting out of some masochistic desire to see just how bad it was going to get. Man, I'm disappointed.
I had high hopes for this film, with the stills of Dennis Hopper, who has the misfortune to play Death in the film, looking like an extra from a bad vampire movie, but the poor guy is given some of the worst lines ever written for a film. When he deadpans, "I'm sick of playing the bad guy," and then segues into a bizarre rant on digital versus analog photography, you wonder if he's secretly bemoaning his decision to take a role in this film.
The film's lead, Campino (from the band Die Toten Hosen) is certainly easy on the eyes, but his acting makes Jean Claude Van Damme look like a serious actor. The one thing the film has going for it is its excellent soundtrack, including Nick Cave, who's one of my favorite musicians, but the music alone just isn't enough to save the film. It was resoundingly booed at the press screening tonight, with boos turning to derisive laughter at the closing title card -- "To Ingmar and Michaelangelo." Dear God. One can well imagine Bergman and Antonioni spinning in their respective graves.
It took a two-hour plus dinner with a great group of folks at La Pizza to cleanse our collective film viewing palletes. James will have a review up shortly with his dissection of the film. I need to finish writing up my review of Adoration, then take a long, hot bubble bath to wash the stench of Palermo Shooting away. Oy.
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
Directors We Love: Jim Jarmusch
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
Shelf Life: Fight Club_thumbnail.jpg)
Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
_thumbnail.jpg)
