Filmspotting's Cannes Winners Marathon
As 2009 comes to a close, I'm scrambling to see as many films released this past year while they are still somewhat relevant. I've seen 130, but I have 113 left. As such, the last couple of months have unfortunately been fairly insulated, not allowing me to continue to build my overall cinema knowledge and check off the boxes on my mental list of past movies I need to see to call myself a true film geek.
Thankfully, I've been pretty disciplined as I continue to follow the Filmspotting podcast's many marathons. 2009 saw Marathons 16-19 which included Angry Young Men (British New Wave), The New Hollywood, Kurosawa and finally Cannes Winners. Today, on New Year's Eve, I finally finished the last film on my own version of Filmspotting's Cannes Winners Marathon--Gus Van Sant's Elephant. I say "my own version" because Elephant was not one of the films that Adam Kempanaar and Matty Robinson included. The two of them have been at this whole film geek thing for a lot longer than I have, so I like to add at least one film to each marathon so I can catch films that I should see but haven't yet.
I looked at what films have received the Golden Palm at Cannes over the last thirty years to add my own choices. First of all, I eliminated the five that Filmspotting chose (When Father Was Away on Business, Farewell My Concubine, Taste of Cherry, Dancer in the Dark, The Son's Room). Then, I decided that I'd watch the three most recent that I haven't seen. I knew that I was about to watch the 2009 winner (The White Ribbon); I'd seen and enjoyed 2008's The Class; 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days from 2007 is one of my all-time favorite movies; I've already experienced 2006's Golden Palm film The Wind That Shakes the Barley. That brought me to 2005, 2004 and 2003, years that I consider part of an era I refer to as "Pre-Blog." So, my three additions, all of which were films that I had always wanted to see, were the Dardenne Brothers' L'Enfant, Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 and Gus Van Sant's Elephant.
Now I've seen every Golden Palm winner from this past decade (2002- The Pianist, 2001- The Son's Room, 2000-Dancer in the Dark). Here are some brief thoughts on each of the films on my version of Filmspotting's Cannes Winners Marathon.
When Father Was Away on Business (1985) *** Directed by Emir Kusturica
My tweet:
When Father Was Away on Business (1985)- Too heavy-handed to deserve the Golden Palm. Lacks necessary narrative focus. *** out of 5
Other thoughts:
I'd heard of When Father Was Away on Business. As a matter of fact, I think I might have rented it as a kid, but I'm sure I never watched it all the way through. Kusturica's take on the fall of communism in Yugoslavia through the eyes of a little boy helped me understand the kind of film that tends to win the Golden Palm at Cannes. It was heavy, depressing and very European in its sensibilities. Personally, I felt the story was going in two different directions with the boy and his strange relationships as opposed to the father with his strained relationships. It was a risk to have such a complicated story filtered through the eyes of a child, and I'm not sure that it paid off completely.
Labels: 1980s, Drama, Three Stars, Filmspotting's Cannes Winners Marathon, Foreign Film, Serbo-Croatian
Taste of Cherry (1997) ****1/2Directed by Abbas Kiarostami
My tweet:
Taste of Cherry (1997)- Simple & somewhat trite exploration of the value of life. Compelling with a fascinating meta-conclusion ****1/2 of 5
Other thoughts:
This one I hadn't heard of before, and the only exposure to Kiarostami I'd ever had was seeing his name as a possible future Filmspotting marathon. Before watching, I saw that Roger Ebert only gave one star when reviewing the film over ten years ago. He found it empty and manipulative. Late at night on a weekday, I inserted the DVD expecting to watch the beginning and then fall asleep. Surprisingly, this deliberately paced, simple Iranian fable kept me completely invested and utterly entertained. A man wants to commit suicide and embarks on a trip to find someone that would be willing to either bury him if he takes enough pills to successfully die or rescue him from the hole he dug if somehow he survives. There's a lot of talking, a lot of silence and absolutely nothing else, except for one of the strangest endings in the history of cinema. Though some conversations are more interesting than others, overall Kiarostami masterfully explores the value of one's life in a straightforward, satisfying way. Also, the story behind the making and presentation of Taste of Cherry is itself pretty amazing. This was one of the real gems of the marathon.
Labels: 1990s, Drama, Four and a Half Stars, Filmspotting's Cannes Winners Marathon, Foreign Film, Persian
Farewell My Concubine (1993) ****Directed by Chen Kai Ge
My tweet:
Farewell My Concubine (1993)-Life imitates opera in an uneven, yet visually enthralling epic. **** out of 5
Other thoughts:
Literally, it took me two weeks to get through this gorgeous, sprawling Chinese epic. In a way, this film is as grand as the Chinese opera which provides its namesake. Unfortunately, its ambition gets in the way of its overall cohesion. The first hour of Farewell My Concubine is the best stretch of cinema I saw in the entire marathon; yet, the last two hours go in many different directions, including an attempt to comment on the Japanese occupation of China, making the final product come off too busy and complicated. That being said, there's some breathtaking stuff within, which does make Farewell My Concubine worth the significant effort it takes to make it through.
Labels: 1990s, Drama, Four Stars, Filmspotting's Cannes Winners Marathon, Foreign Film, Mandarin
Dancer in the Dark (2000) **1/2Directed by Lars von Trier
My tweet:
Dancer in the Dark (2000)-Novelty doesn't excuse sadism and mindless manipulation. I will say that Bjork is amazing. **1/2 out of 5
Other thoughts:
After reading so much about this year's Antichrist, and then finally deciding that I do not want to put myself through the experience of watching it any time soon, I became totally intrigued with Lars von Trier. I'd never seen any of his films, and the only one I was familiar with was Dancer in the Dark. Now, I like musicals, and Bjork peaks my interest quite a bit. Almost immediately, I fell in love with her lovable, simple, determined character, and I was totally digging the haunting music and dance sequences. It felt like a Broadway musical on ecstasy. Then von Trier puts this woman through total hell and never relents one bit. By the end, the songs became perfunctory and the staging of the dance numbers started looking really lame and amateur. Towards its harrowing conclusion, Joel Grey of all people makes an appearance which sealed the deal for me. Yeah, I get it that von Trier doesn't give a damn what people think of his movies. For me, that means nothing. Dancer in the Dark, though not without its moments of greatness, rests on the border between cinema and anti-cinema, and that's not okay with me.
Labels: 2000, Musical, Drama, Two and a Half Stars, Filmspotting's Cannes Winners Marathon
The Son's Room (2001) ***Directed by Nanni Moretti
My tweet:
The Son's Room (2001)-Forward momentum by way of fragmented scenes produces a nice drama that's perhaps a bit too syrupy and shallow. ***/5
Other thoughts:
Apparently, Moretti is a beloved filmmaker in Europe. He wrote, directed and starred in The Son's Room, which is a nice little movie, but it eludes me how it won the Golden Palm. The direction and screenplay are average at best, and the story is the stuff that television movies are made for. Though the acting, especially by Moretti himself, is quite impressive, it's not nearly enough to carry The Son's Room to greatness. In 2009, Moretti co-wrote and starred in a similar film called Quiet Chaos. That one also deals with the grieving process, but it's a complete mess in terms of its tone. The Son's Room ultimately does hold together but just barely.
Labels: 2001, Drama, Three Stars, Filmspotting's Cannes Winners Marathon, Foreign Film, Italian
Elephant (2003) ****1/2Directed by Gus Van Sant
My tweet:
Elephant (2003)- High school hell. All w/in are victims. Nothing glorified, yet questions left unanswered. Chilling. ****1/2 out of 5
Other thoughts:
As a high school teacher and someone that was fascinated by the Columbine killings, Elephant really shook me up. I'd read about Cassie Bernall, and I've been inspired by Rachel's Challenge, both of which made this daring examination of school shootings hit home for me. It was all too easy to blame the Columbine shooters by coming up with an easy reason (violent video games or music lyrics) why they did what they did in order to make sense of such evil. Elephant drives home the chilling fact that atrocities perhaps can't be explained away that easily. Though he betrays authentic character presentations with a few moments of cliched stereotyping, Van Sant wisely allows the audience to connect with these teens by allowing us to simply exist alongside them in the ordinary hour before some will die and some will live. Often this involves simply walking down the long hallways of this huge school that will never be the same again. This is one of the more disturbing cinematic experiences of my life, and that's an unabashed compliment.
Labels: 2003, Drama, Four and a Half Stars, Filmspotting's Cannes Winners Marathon
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) ****1/2Directed by Michael Moore
My tweet:
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)- Moore at his best and most audacious. He convinced me that W. was a complete and total moron. ****1/2 out of 5
Other thoughts:
This is the movie that Moore was born to make. Here, he lets his liberal vitriol spew completely with an all too convincing look at the Bush administration's criminal neglect and culpability over what happened on September 11th. I'm glad that I didn't see it when it came out. Back then, I was still a bit of a neo-conservative. Also, I was an obnoxious, immature 23 year-old who wouldn't have been open to Moore's presentation of such damning evidence. Before Fahrenheit 9/11, I disliked Bush as a president, but I sort of liked him as a person--after, not so much.
Labels: 2004, Documentary, Four and a Half Stars, Filmspotting's Cannes Winners Marathon
L'Enfant (2006) ****1/2Directed by Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
My tweet:
L'Enfant (2006)-Kids having kids forced to take responsibility for their miserable lives. Perfect Dardenne fodder. ****1/2 out of 5
Other thoughts:
Before seeing L'Enfant, I recently saw my first Dardenne Brothers film, The Son, which is easily one of the ten best films I've seen released this decade. L'Enfant is very similar in style and scope, and though it's fantastic, it's not quite as good. You might think subject matter as heightened as a young father who decides to sell his baby for money might come off a bit unbelievable; yet, the situation within L'Enfant plays out in a troublesomely plausible manner. The parents of this poor baby are so very young and so very naive. The audience lands right in the middle of their world, and let me tell you from the experience of watching L'Enfant, it's not pretty. Never have I wanted to smack a movie character harder in my life. It's been an absolute pleasure being introduced to two remarkable films from the much-lauded Dardenne Brothers. Despite the fact that I imagine most of their other films are similarly depressing as hell, I can't wait to see more.
Labels: 2006, Drama, Four and a Half Stars, Filmspotting's Cannes Winners Marathon, Foreign Film, French
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