alain resnais Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Nothing like a little war movie to bookend a day at the Cannes Film Festival. Lines began forming at the crack of dawn to see the first screening of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds this morning, and, still, many were shut out. (Erik Davis rounded up the first reactions from those who did manage to gain admittance.) Evening brought the glamour, as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie led a parade of celebrities down the fabled red carpet for the black-tie and gown gala presentation. As a cherry on top, Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell screened at midnight.

Films Sold. Amazingly -- or maybe not, when you consider all the free publicity it's already accrued -- Lars Von Trier's highly controversial and divisive Antichrist sold to IFC Films. The company says they will release the same version as the one screened in Cannes, according to indieWIRE. Specific release plans were not announced, but expect it this fall, in order to capitalize on the buzz. Also, I suggest a poster highlighting Willem Dafoe's previous, religiously-titled movie: "From The Last Temptation of Christ to ... Antichrist!"

Much less controversially, IFC also picked up Ken Loach's Looking for Eric, which the company describes as the director's "most accessible, crowd pleasing film." More details at indieWIRE.

Key Screenings. Competition: Alain Resnais' drama Wild Grass, starring Mathieu Amalric (the reviews so far, collected by David Hudson at IFC's The Daily, range from reserved to rave). Un Certain Regard: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's supernatural-tinged drama Nymph (Todd Brown at Twitch reviews), Luc Mullet's Land of Madness. Directors' Fortnight: Axelle Ropert's The Wolberg Family (a small town mayor's obsession with his family), Ho Tzu Nyen's Here (a middle-aged man deals with life as a patient in a medical institution).

If the merest suggestion of watching a "Jackie Chan movie" sends you scurrying from the room, I don't blame you. The trailer for Rush Hour 3 makes me shudder; in general, his Hollywood films have reinforced the idea that he is a glorified stunt man who is happy to be a goofy, athletic straight man to his co-stars. Even his best Hong Kong films, which far exceed his Hollywood output in both quantity and quality -- and which I personally adore -- leave some indie film fans cold.

My pick of a rather thin week is a little different: Crime Story leaves out most of the action in favor of tension and high powered dramatics. Available for the first time in the US in its original Cantonese-language version, Crime Story features Chan as a detective in a kidnapping case battling a ticking clock and police corruption. It's Chan's best dramatic performance in a picture that simmers with unease. Be sure to watch the new Dragon Dynasty version -- with some nice extras including a commentary featuring director Kirk Wong -- and not the inferior previous release from Buena Vista, which only has an English dub.

A new film from an old master, Alain Resnais' Private Fears in Public Places earned praise from Cinematical's Jeffrey M. Anderson, who put it in perspective: "Resnais is responsible for several official masterworks, Night and Fog (1955), Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959) and Last Year at Marienbad (1961) among them. While Private Fears may not live up to their innovation and brilliance, it shows a steady hand and an eye for adapting a stage play into a movie that actually moves." The film received a "metascore" of 77 out of 100 from Metacritic. The DVD is coming out from IFC First Take and appears to be completely bare of any extras, so a rental may suffice.

I saw Michael Moore's Sicko (1 screen) yesterday. But rather than talk about Moore's good points and bad points, or the nature of propaganda, or the broken health care system, or liberals vs. conservatives, I'd like to pick one small moment from the film and expand upon it. After surveying the French health care system and finding it good, Moore asks why the American government and American media want us to hate France so much. "Is it because they're afraid we'll like it?" he wonders?

He has a point. The anti-France sentiment of the last decade or so is based mostly on stupid insults and jokes about surrendering (see last year's brain-dead Flushed Away for an example). It's the type of stuff the class bully comes up with and everyone just goes along. But if we stop for a moment and use our common sense, the French have it pretty good. Aside from the free health care depicted in Sicko, and their apparent longevity (despite their taste for wine, cigarettes and fatty foods), they've got one of the most beautiful cities in the world, great food, landmarks, music, and some of the finest filmmakers in the world.

The Venice Film Festival may be in (rumored) financial trouble, and facing a possible challenge from an upstart fest in Rome but it nevertheless retains the power to draw the big names, both to its jury and its screens. Though its director insist the focus of this year's festival (which will run from August 30-September 9) will be on European films, the group of American projects expected to debut in Venice is pretty darn impressive. According to Variety, David Lynch's Inland Empire (once rumored to be bowing at Cannes) has been confirmed for the festival -- it'll be screening out of competition -- and Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia (YAY!), Woody Allen's Scoop (Have you seen the trailer? Yawn.), Home of the Brave, Children of Men, and World Trade Center are all assumed to be on the slate as well.

In addition to the American products, Kenneth Branagh's The Magic Flute has been confirmed, and The Golden Door (an Italian film about Ellis Island) and Petites peurs partagées, the latest from the legendary Alain Resnais, are also likely to screen. The festival will also feature a tribute to Roberto Rossellini, who would have turned 100 this year; the tribute will include screenings of newly restored prints of his films (Open City, without flecks of white all over it? Holy awesome.)