CANNES Film Festival


The city of Cannes, France exudes glamour any day of the year. Its turquoise, yacht-laden waters, chic boutiques and infamously luxurious hotels mark the city as an indispensable stop along the French Riviera. But from May 15–26 this year, Cannes’ trademark opulence overflowed with Hollywood flair as celebrities, filmmakers and cinephiles descended from every corner of the globe to get a taste of exciting new films, directors and artistic trends in what has become the film industry’s compulsory annual pilgrimmage to the south of France. This year’s film offerings certainly didn’t disappoint.EVA LONGORIA at De Rouille et D'os Premiere

Inside Llewyn Davis

The recipient of this year’s Grand Prix prize, Inside Llewyn Davis brings the Coen brothers back to the spotlight after the lukewarm reception of A Serious Man. The film traces the life of its eponymous protagonist, a young folk singer in the 1960s struggling to make ends meet as he navigates failed relationships and broken friendships in an effort to score an audition with a prominent record label manager.

Llewyn pushes past the Coens’ usual cartoonish and exaggerated characters to deliver writing and performances that are funny, accessible, charming and most importantly — human. Oscar Isaac brings Llewyn to life in such an unassuming and authentic way that one wonders whether the musician he plays might have actually existed among the myriad of talent that emerged from Greenwich Village in the 60s.

Likewise, the supporting characters uphold the Coens’ quirkiness without forgoing the story’s heart. While Carey Mulligan is the perfect levelheaded foil to Isaac’s airiness, John Goodman  plays an unforgettable aristocratic wanderer that emphasizes how losing one’s direction in life is a problem which affects everyone regardless of social standing.

The music in the film mystifies and uplifts and fans of folk will bask in its glow while non-believers will undoubtedly find themselves converted to music’s power. Ultimately the film offers a feel-good yet philosophical look at the life of a musician disguised as a feel-good flick.

Venus in Fur

With Venus in Fur, director Roman Polanski reasserts his talent for nuance and his mastery of illustrating on-screen power dynamics between characters.

If the 20-minute standing ovation he received at the Lumiere Theatre in Cannes is any indication, the film will shock, provoke and entertain for years to come.

Adapted from David Ives’ award-winning play of the same name, Venus in Fur depicts one night in a deserted theater in France. Exhausted from a day of disappointing auditions, writer-director Thomas (Mathieu Amalric) reluctantly allows Vanda, a last-minute arrival (Polanski’s wife Emmanuelle Seigner) to audition. While Thomas is exasperated with her flamboyance at first, he slowly finds himself charmed by her uncanny grasp of the role, embracing the play’s intricate exploration of sadomasochism in the 19th century.

Polanski directs with confidence and a theatricality that is never static or trite, infusing a simple two-character narrative with such an organic, gripping style that viewers can’t help but be enthralled. There are hints of Tim Burton in the cinematography and in Alexandre Desplat’s eccentric score, but ultimately Polanski makes the film his own, building on his natural propensity to surprise and amuse, this time within  a very basic set.

The film’s play with self-reflexivity, power struggles and role reversals will keep spectators wondering who is in control long after the closing credits, while the double entendres in every line of dialogue will doubtless generate equal parts confusion and laughter.

The cherry on top is Seigner’s performance, a tour de force exercise in acting that captures the mysterious nature of femininity with precision and beauty. She effortlessly alternates between cluelessness and authority, redefining the role of a femme fatale.

Nebraska

Blurring the line between comedy and drama is one of the festival’s few uplifting films, Nebraska. Beautifully written and paced, director Alexander Payne (Sideways) delivers his most personal and moving work yet.

Nebraska follows the antics of David (Will Forte) and his elderly father Woody (Bruce Dern) as they travel from Montana to Lincoln, Neb., to claim a seemingly bogus sweepstake prize Woody received in the mail.

Filmed in black-and-white (and notoriously difficult to fund as a result), Nebraska embodies elements of Napoleon Dynamite and The Last Picture Show by instilling humor into the ordinary and the everyday. The choice of black and white illustrates the dreariness of life even as it imbues the mundane landscape with a timeless beauty.

The performances are all top-notch, from Dern’s riveting portrayal to June Squibb’s heart-warming, hilarious and even shocking performance as his wife Kate. This is one film that can easily slip under the radar and unfortunately is likely do so due to its subject matter and artistic ambitions.

 

Cannes serves as a platform for showcasing the cutting edge in cinema as an art form and the best of this year’s offerings put particular emphasis onfleshing out the emotional depth of the human experience and translating into film. The efforts of major directors like Polanski and the Coen Brothers are an encouraging sign that such character-focused complexity will become a point of emphasis for films in the future.