Cannes 2019

dws1982
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Cannes 2019

Post by dws1982 »

I've spent too much of my Spring Break working on this instead of things I should've been doing, like cleaning the house, yard work, etc.

This is by no means exhaustive, but t was certainly exhausting. (Partially because I sidetracked this post into another exploration--and hopefully forthcoming post--about film festivals and Oscar races.)

Cannes 2019
Previous Winners
Hirokazu Kore-Eda's follow-up to Shoplifters, called The Truth, stars Juliette Binoche and Catherine Deneuve, although there does seem to be a question as to whether or not it will be finished in time. If it is finished, it’ll probably get a high profile premiere.

Like Kore-Eda, Apichatpong Weerasethakul is finishing a film in a country and language other than his own. This one was made in Colombia, and stars Tilda Swinton.

Terrence Malick has been in post-production on Radegund for so long that two of the actors have died. Malick's star has dimmed a bit with the films he’s put out since The Tree of Life, but this was (reportedly) a return to more traditional, mainstream filmmaking. I read a news item yesterday that indicated that Malick has screened some footage of the film for Cannes organizers, and that they want the film to play at Cannes, but they’re unsure if he’ll deliver a final cut in time. Reportedly the film’s investors (not sure that this has distribution yet) are trying to exert some control to get Malick to finalize the film. Although Malick is a fluent German speaker, and although he used a mostly German cast, this film is reportedly in English.

Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood will be a good excuse to get a high-profile, mainstream American film premiere at Cannes. Probably a sure thing for a competition spot.

The Dardenne Brothers have a new film called Ahmed. They used to win something at Cannes every time they made a film, and while their past few films haven't quite done that well, they're still probably a lock for a competition spot.

Ken Loach has a new one called Sorry We Missed You. His films aren't for me, not even remotely, but if he sends one to Cannes, he almost always gets in, so I'm sure he will.

Abdellatif Kechiche has a new film called Mektoub, My Love: Canto Due. This is a follow-up to a film he made that screened at Venice in 2017 (it reportedly wasn't finished for Cannes that year), and supposedly part of a trilogy. Normally I would think a recent Cannes winner would be a very good shot for a competition spot at Cannes for follow-up films (although not always: Cannes turned down Vera Drake), but given that Kechiche was pretty openly disdainful of his Cannes win (specifically, he was insulted that it was shared with he actresses) and even pawned his Palme D'Or, I'm not sure. He’ll get mad if he loses, and get mad if he wins, so why invite him to the party?

Claude Lelouch has quietly made a sequel to A Man and A Woman, which shared the top prize at the 1966 festival. I believe Lelouch has said that if he, Trintignant, and Aimee are unhappy with the film, he won't release it, but I suspect we'll be seeing it in some form or another at Cannes this year.

Obviously won't be in competition, but Francis Ford Coppola has gone back to the editing room again on Apocalypse Now to produce what he's calling the Final Cut. It's remastered, new sound mix, everything. It's premiering a few weeks before Cannes at Tribeca, but I suspect it'll be a shoo-in for one of those Cannes Classics screenings, especially since it's the 40th anniversary of it playing at Cannes.

Cannes Regulars
James Gray's Ad Astra is still scheduled for a late May release, so it should definitely be finished in time. I've read some speculation that the Disney/Fox merger could hurt the film's prospects of playing Cannes, although I'm not sure why.

Almodovar has a new film opening in Spain this week, starring Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas. Unless it's seen as a toss-off (like I'm So Excited!) it's probably got a good shot at a competition spot.

Xavier Dolan deliberately did not send his last film to Cannes, supposedly because he was unhappy with the way the press treated him the last time he was there. But then they didn't treat him any better when he premiered his film at Toronto, so he's reportedly got a new one he's hoping to premiere at Cannes. Maybe try Venice if it doesn't work out? Or maybe make better movies?

Elia Sulieman probably doesn't work regularly enough to be counted as a Cannes regular but his last two films were both in competition, and he has a new one this year. Cannes usually likes for their competition lineup to be geographically diverse, and Palestinian films are rare enough that it's notable on that basis alone.

Jim Jarmusch has a zombie movie with Adam Driver in the can. I know a zombie movie doesn't sound like a Cannes thing, but Jarmusch did have a vampire movie at Cannes just a few years ago.

Bruno Dumont has made another movie about Joan of Arc. No word if it takes the same approach as The Childhood of Joan of Arc, or if it'll be a more traditional drama, or even if it'll be finished in time.

Arnaud Depleschin doesn't always get his movies in competition at Cannes, but he has several times, even for some of his weirder films (Jimmy P), so I would rate him at least a 50-50 prospect for his new film, called Oh Mercy.

I'm hesitant to call Marco Bellocchio a competition regular. On one hand, he's had a lot of films in competition, going back almost forty years. But on the other hand, he's had several go Un Certain Regard, or to other festivals entirely. At any rate, he's got a new movie, Il traditore.

I guess you could call an actress a Cannes regular. I think Kirsten Stewart one at this point. Against All Enemies is not from a major name director, but she's playing Jean Seberg, in a film that deals with her FBI troubles.

Also, a true Cannes regular, Isabelle Huppert, who has probably been in more competition films than anyone else, is working just as hard as always. One films she has is directed by Ira Sachs, who has never actually been to Cannes, but who is the kind of respected filmmaker who usually finds himself there at one point or another. Another, called Luz, is directed by Flora Lau, who actually had a film in Un Certain Regard a few years back.

I'm probably not the one to ask about Atom Egoyan. I remember after The Sweet Hereafter, he was supposed to be the next great filmmaker, and boy did he piss that momentum away in a hurry. Honestly, I don't even think The Sweet Hereafter is that good, but his subsequent career really has been a study in exponential decay. Supposedly he's submitted his next movie, Guest of Honor to Cannes, and honestly, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's accepted, considering his Ryan Reynolds thriller from 2014 (which was dreadful) took a competition spot.

Possibles
Kelber Medonca FIlho, director of Aquarius from a few years back, has a new film called Nighthawk.

I don't know of anything specific, but Hong Sang-soo tends to have about three films in various stages of completion at a time, and is always someone you should see as a possibility for a competition spot.

Lou Ye has a film called Saturday Fiction, starring Gong Li. I think it's a historical epic. Lou Ye probably could've been put in the Cannes Regulars spot, because he's had three films in competition (although one was withdrawn after he ran afoul of the Chinese government) and one in Un Certain Regard, but his past couple of films haven't been at Cannes at all, so I'm not sure.

Roy Andersson has a new film, About Endlessness, that should premiere at Cannes or Venice. I read somewhere that it’s complete, so I would think it would go ahead and play Cannes if it’s ready.

If it's finished in time, Benh Zeitlin's Wendy seems like a really good bet to show up at Cannes.

Pablo Larrian has completed a new film, called Ema, starring Gael Garcia Bernal. He seems like the type of filmmaker who works his way up to a competition spot at some point.

Kelly Reichardt has a new movie called First Cow. There's been some criticism towards Cannes for not including enough female filmmakers so I would rate her as a possibility, if it's finished in time. Similar Rebecca Zlotowski, who was in Un Certain Regard a few years back and has a new film this year. Alice Winocour also has a buzzed-about astronaut film, Proxima, starring Eva Green. I would also keep an eye out for Celine Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire, and Justine Triet’s Sybil.

She hasn’t had much success since Persepolis twelve years ago, but Marjane Satrapi has a new film, Radioactive, about Marie Curie, starring Rosamund Pike. Doesn’t sound overly promising to me but you never know I guess.

Bong Joon-Ho has only had Okja in competition at Cannes, but he's had a few others in Un Certain Regard, and sometimes once you get a movie in competition, you start become a real regular. His movie this year is called Parasite.

Jonas Caprignano had A Ciambra in Director's Fortnight a couple of years back, and he has a new film, A Chiara, that will reportedly be ready this year. I was a big fan of A Ciambra, so I'm hoping this turns out to be good too.

In horror-land, Robert Eggars' The Witch follow-up, The Lighthouse, is supposedly complete, and Ari Aster's Hereditary follow-up, Midsommar is complete as well. I would expect them in Un Certain Regard or Midnight Screenings instead of the main competition but you never know.

A24 may try to get The Farewell to play somewhere at Cannes since it has only screened at a domestic festival. (Similar for Amazon and Honey Boy.) I would expect Un Certain Regard or Director's Fortnight over main selection.

Kyoshi Kurosawa has a new film that could be ready. He's been a regular at Cannes over the past two decades, but in the Un Certain Regard lineups, not the main competition. He's actually only been in the main competition once, in 2003, for Bright Future one of his least-known and least-discussed films. So I would expect him in Un Certain Regard over main competition. (I don’t know enough about the process to know if Kurosawa is submitting his films and they just get sidelined to UCR, or if he wants them placed there.)

Koji Fukada, the director of Harmonium, which won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize from a few years ago, has a new film as well, so it could show up somewhere.

Cristi Puiu and Corneliu Porumboiu are both Un Certain Regard veterans, both with new movies this year, so they could make the competition jump.

Albert Serra hasn’t really been in competition (or even high profile sidelines like Un Certain Regard) at any major festivals, but he does reportedly have a new film, and wouldn’t be a shock to show up.

Gael Garcia Bernal has a movie that he's directed (Spanish language, set in Mexico), although I'm not sure what it's completion status is.

I think Lav Diaz has finished a film, but I don’t know anything about it. He’s been gaining an international reputation over the past few years, so I think he’ll show up at Cannes pretty soon.

Rocketman opens in late May, so I wouldn't be at all surprised to see it show up at Cannes. Probably not in competition, but in a big, high-profile premiere.

Is Armando Iannucci's The Personal History of David Copperfield finished? If so, I'd expect it at Cannes or Venice.

Probably Not
Richard Linklater has had one movie in competition at Cannes, Fast Food Nation. (Although A Scanner Darkly was in Un Certain Regard the same year.) Here’s the thing: I should admit to being a Linklater skeptic if not outright agnostic, so maybe take this with a grain of salt. But everything about this Where’d You Go, Bernadette screams misfire. It filmed in July 2017. Its release dates have changed from May 2018, to October 2018, to March 2019, and now to August 2019. Linklater did not take this film to Berlin or South by Southwest--two festivals where he has a long history. Maybe it’s a masterpiece, but the warning signs seem pretty tough to ignore with this one. (I also thought the trailer, which I saw at two different movies in one day, was terrible, and couldn’t imagine why they thought that trailer would sell their film.)

It seems a little surprising that Mia Hansen-Love hasn't had a film in the competition at Cannes yet, but even if Bergman Island is a rebound from her last film (which by all reports was a pretty big misfire), it probably won't be ready in time for Cannes.

Olivier Assayas, Christophe Honore, and Bertrand Bonello all have films that they’re working to complete, however none are expected to be ready for Cannes, and are much more likely to end up at Venice. Assayas’ film has something to do with Cuban political prisoners, Bonello’s has something to do with a Hatian voodoo zombie, and I haven’t read anything about the Honore film, but good look predicting the career choices of a man who makes Ma Mere, Dans Paris, and Love Songs consecutively.

Valerie Donzelli has a new movie, but she probably doesn't want to show her face in Cannes after the reception that her last movie got.

On one hand, Justin Kurzel has been at Cannes before, with Macbeth. On the other hand, he's made a godawful movie since then. The True History of the Kelly Gang seems to be a better step than Assassin's Creed was, but it still doesn't feel like a Cannes film to me.

I pretty much wrote Alejandro Almenabar off completely after Agora, and he's never actually had a film in competition or even in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, but he does have a new one, which appears to be an epic set during the Spanish Civil War so maybe he's got an outside shot. But unless it gets into the Oscar race in a major way, I won't be making any time for it.

Juan Jose Campanella has a new movie, but despite his Foreign Film Oscar win, I feel like he's seen more as a TV hack than as a serious filmmaker, so I wouldn't expect to see it before Toronto.

Won't Be There, Because Netflix
Netflix and Cannes are reportedly trying to come to some kind of truce, but whatever agreement they come to won't be arrived at in time for this year's festival. They actually have several upcoming films from filmmakers who've been to Cannes (either recently or long ago), but at any rate, David Michod's The King, Noah Baumbach's Untitled Project, Steven Soderbergh's The Laundromat, the Safdie Brothers' Uncut Gems, and Martin Scorsese's The Irishman (which apparently won't be finished in time anyway) will all be looking at fall festivals. Netflix is still planning to send a an acquisition team to Cannes, just like they did last year.
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