Just around the corner

67th Cannes Film Festival has drawn to a close

2014 has nearly reached its halfway point. In that time films have landed and sunk, swam to acclaim and been awash with controversy, boo’s and laughter, a stroking of the chin and a hand reaching for the last popcorn in the bag. I can’t say that the year has shown its true colours as of yet but it has had me doing all of the above, culminating in a smorgasbord of ideas, countries and beautiful people (other than the annual ‘The Room’ screening). What can be certain and uncertain all at the same time is what lies ahead. It can’t be seen what effect they will have (fascinatingly good or fatuously misguided?) but these films hold a curiosity all unto their own.

‘Mary is Happy, Mary is Happy’ (Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit)

First came ‘The Social Network’ (2010), placing Facebook firmly in people’s consciousness as the dawn of a new generation; a generation that has replaced the face to face with a keyboard at a coffee shop and laughter with a three letter word. It’s also a generation that is handicapped by the need to be connected at a push of a button or swipe of screen (that’s why Spike Joneze’s ‘Her’ (2013) resonates so deeply in my mind). Thai director Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit’s ‘Mary is Happy, Mary is Happy’ (2014), about a real-life twitter feed incorporated into a tale about the final year of high school student, promises, as he stated in a recent interview with Sight and Sound (June 2014), to be something all together more abstract and less straight forward; “As the writer, I’m in control of Mary’s thoughts, yet I am also being controlled by Mary’s tweets”. This process of adapting tweets, about what someone sees and thinks, seems to be perfectly suited to a medium indebted to that simple philosophy. Along with the directors other film ‘36’(2014)- about photographer’s defunct hard drive being the only connection she has to location scout she once knew- also out this year, Nawapol seems to be distinguishing himself as a filmmaker of the internet age and one with some very interesting things to say.

Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection (and many others)

The reason I have chosen one of the 70’s and 80’s most underground filmmakers is simple; despite being pushed into general obscurity-praised by some, derided by others-it’s the first time for the new generation of film aficionados (including myself) to see newly restored digital prints of the directors work, work that hasn’t been available in a full collection in the UK until now and, with the trend in revaluating works becoming the norm (William Friedkin’s 1970’s flop ‘Sorcerer’ is just the most recent film in the growing trend), it’s only fitting that we can now bring back the forgotten back into filmic debate and consciousness. To me it’s a similar excitement that one would get if news broke of one of Hitchcock’s lost films were unearthed on one quiet Sunday morning, the chance to see something for the first time that, until now, we had only read about in the history books.

Other collections that are fast approaching are the ‘Werner Herzog Collection’ from the BFI, an extensive look at 18 of the director’s films from earlier in his career including many of his most praised works such as ‘Fitzcarraldo’ (1982) and ‘Aquirre, Wrath of God’ (1972). Throughout the coming months, Mark Cousins ‘A Story of Children and Film’ will be presenting a selection of other worldly treats across the UK, some for the very first time, and, as of this moment, may be your only chance to catch films from Iran’s Mohammad Ali Talebi or spend an evening with the children of ‘Long Live the Republic’ or a day with ‘Hugo and Josephine’

The 67^th Cannes Film Festival: “That’s a wrap everyone”

As of writing the Cannes Film Festival has just finished. Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s ‘Winter’s Sleep’ was awarded the Palme d’or, the disgraced ‘Grace of Monaco’ walked the red carpet to much booing and hissing from the press (and Grace Kelly’s family) and the Palm Dog (the best award at Canne?), awarding the best four legged performances of the festival, took place for its 4^th consecutive year. Walking through the films that have been playing in and out of competition, its hard not to feel slightly elated with all that we will have to look forward to; Cronenbergs ‘Maps to the Stars’, Mike Leigh’s ‘Mr Turner’, Bennett Millers Oscar bound ‘Foxcatcher’, Oliver Asssyas ‘Clouds of Sils Maria’; an eclectic mix that wets the appetite.

However, outside the safety net of recognizable art house talent (Goddard, the Dardenne brothers etc.), it’s the work of yet un-established or lesser-known talents that has garnered the most attention; if there’s one thing that critics love it’s the shock of the new and that new being very, very good. 25-year-old Xavier Dolan’s ‘Mommy’ won the Jury Prize (third place) tying with Jean Luc Goddard with ‘Goodbye to Language 3D’. With this being his fifth feature in so many years the prolific, auteur driven director is fast becoming a director to be reckoned with. Through his short career already he has, with insight, wit and technique, tackled heavily autobiographical subjects in ‘I killed my mother’, transgender politics in ‘Lawrence Anyways’ and a tale in debt to Hitchcock in the extremely well accomplished ‘Tom at the Farm’, a film about the cultural and generational gap that is apparent when Dolan’s character returns to his deceased lovers family farm, only to find out that they were not aware of their sons sexual orientation. With ‘Mommy’, everyone will be watching to see what’s next, and, by his track record, we wont have to wait long to find out.

Lastly of this list, Andrei Zvyagintsev’s ‘Leviathan’ has been proclaimed to be the real winner of the festival for some; a striking satire on Russia’s fragile political state, reportedly with equal amounts of humor and horror. The director is no stranger to Canne, with his previous film ‘Elena’ winning the Special Jury Prize award and winning, quite rightly by many of the films supporters, the best screenplay award at Canne this year. Much like this years Palme d’or winner, it may not be long until we see “Palme d’or winner” being added to his list of accolades.

It’s comforting to know (at least to my mind) that the year is in very confident hands, molding into what may even become a ‘quote unquote’ Vintage year. I don’t know whether any of its going to be any good; who knows, I may be jumping the gun and Grace of Monaco might actually be some misunderstood masterpiece.