Cannes Selections I'm Most Excited to See, 2014 Edition
I have to admit that I'm a bit disappointed that some of the possibly eligible films (at least timing-wise) aren't part of the overall selection at Cannes this year, such as Burton's Big Eyes, P.T. Anderson's Inherent Vice, Innaritu's Birdman, and Vinterberg's Far From the Madding Crowd, to name a few, but there is a wealth of other films to choose from. Here are the ones that a) interest me the most and b) I hope play while I'm there.
1.
Foxcatcher
(2014)
The greatest Olympic Wrestling Champion brother team joins Team Foxcatcher led by multimillionaire sponsor John E. du Pont as they train for the 1988 games in Seoul - a union that leads to unlikely circumstances. (134 mins.)
Director: Bennett Miller
“ I've been a fan of Bennett Miller ever since the documentary The Cruise, about a gadfly/know-it-all travel guide in New York whose patter for the tourists was mixed with rich NY lore and quirky personal convictions. Miller's narrative follow-ups,
Capote and Moneyball proved he could craft stories even with problematic--and not necessarily cinematic--story lines. How he handles this incredible true story, about John du Pont, the crazed heir to the du Pont fortune, his creation of a wrestling facility in his compound and his subsequent murder of a wrestler he'd brought there, will tax all his talents. When this film didn't appear at Toronto it smelled like trouble but its approval into Cannes' Competition means something was more than salvaged. ” - keithsim
Capote and Moneyball proved he could craft stories even with problematic--and not necessarily cinematic--story lines. How he handles this incredible true story, about John du Pont, the crazed heir to the du Pont fortune, his creation of a wrestling facility in his compound and his subsequent murder of a wrestler he'd brought there, will tax all his talents. When this film didn't appear at Toronto it smelled like trouble but its approval into Cannes' Competition means something was more than salvaged. ” - keithsim
2.
The Search
(2014)
A woman who works for a non-governmental organization (NGO) forms a special relationship with a young boy in war-torn Chechnya. (149 mins.)
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
“ Some of you may be thinking to yourself..."Michel Hazavvvv...Michel Hazavvv...where have I heard that name?" Remember The Artist? Cannes certainly does, as it was in the race for the Palme d'Or there in 2011, and they certainly remember Best Director winner at the Oscars, Michel Hazavanicius. He returns with his follow-up to that worldwide phenomenon with a film based upon director Fred Zinneman's 1948 film of the same name. That earlier film was nominated in 5 Academy Awards categories, including Best Director for Zinneman and Best Actor for Montgomery Clift. Could the same be in the cards for perennial favorite and 4-time Oscar nominee, Annette Bening? ” - keithsim
3.
Clouds of Sils Maria
(2014)
A veteran actress comes face-to-face with an uncomfortable reflection of herself when she agrees to take part in a revival of the play that launched her career 20 years earlier. (124 mins.)
Director: Olivier Assayas
“ Much like Michael Winterbottom you never know what you'll be getting from director Olivier Assayas. Sometimes you understand what drew him to a project, at other times you think he did a film just to push his own directorial "RESET" button (Demonlover anyone?). The plot of Clouds has an older actress (Binoche) return to the play that made her career but this time she plays the older female lead, not the role of the ingenue that catapulted her to fame. As she observes the younger actress assaying the part that she created she notes striking similarities to herself at that age. This sounds like fertile Irma Vep territory for Assayas, who brings a lot wit and knowledge when it comes to the personal business of show business. ” - keithsim
4.
The Homesman
(2014)
Three women who have been driven mad by pioneer life are to be transported across the country by covered wagon by the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy, who in turn employs low-life drifter George Briggs to assist her. (122 mins.)
Director: Tommy Lee Jones
“ Say what you will about grumpy old Tommy Lee Jones, his two films, the Western The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada and the philosophical adaptation of the stage play, The Sunset Limited, are fine movies. With Homesman he's wrangled a fine set of character actors together for what seems like a somber, if not nihilistic tale. He's working with cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, who started as Alejando Innaritu's cameraman and lensed most of his films but has also carved out his own career with films like Brokeback Mountain and Argo, which should be an mellowing complement to Jones' vision. ” - keithsim
5.
Leviathan
(2014)
In a Russian coastal town, Kolya is forced to fight the corrupt mayor when he is told that his house will be demolished. He recruits a lawyer friend to help, but the man's arrival brings further misfortune for Kolya and his family. (140 mins.)
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
“ I'll admit I was much cooler to director Andrey Zvyagintsev's The Return than others though I know some children of abusive parents who consider it a masterpiece on the topic. But it was undeniable that the director knew how to craft an intimate yet universal portrait of people at odds with one another.
Here he reteams with Elena Lyadova, who was in his 2011 film, Elena (no, she's not the film's namesake). The plot sounds like a chance for Zvyaginstey to expand his canvas. ” - keithsim
Here he reteams with Elena Lyadova, who was in his 2011 film, Elena (no, she's not the film's namesake). The plot sounds like a chance for Zvyaginstey to expand his canvas. ” - keithsim
6.
Maps to the Stars
(2014)
A tour into the heart of a Hollywood family chasing celebrity, one another and the relentless ghosts of their pasts. (111 mins.)
Director: David Cronenberg
“ I'm already deeply unnerved by the trailer for Maps so I can't wait for the legendary director of The Fly, Videodrome, and A History of Violence to take me the rest of the way to "disturbed." It appears that Mia Wasikowska continues right where her character in Stoker left off, an unhinged young woman who leaves devastation in her wake.
Of course, Cronenberg is also one of those directors who seemingly has a stack of "Get to the Palaise" free cards, which helped him on some, less successful past efforts, like Cosmopolis ” - keithsim
Of course, Cronenberg is also one of those directors who seemingly has a stack of "Get to the Palaise" free cards, which helped him on some, less successful past efforts, like Cosmopolis ” - keithsim
7.
Two Days, One Night
(2014)
Sandra, a young Belgian mother, discovers that her workmates have opted for a significant pay bonus, in exchange for her dismissal. She has only one weekend to convince her colleagues to give up their bonuses so that she can keep her job. (95 mins.)
Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
“ The last time the Dardenne brothers were at Cannes they received a Special Jury Prize for The Kid with a Bike. With Two Days, One Night they combine several things the French love. The first is Marion Cotillard, who plays the woman desperately trying to save her job by convincing her co-workers to sacrifice for her sake. The second is the theme of labor-management relations so memorably done in films like Blood From a Stone. The third is the Dardenne's themselves, nearly national treasures from next-door Belgium. ” - keithsim
8.
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him
(2013)
Told from the male perspective, the story of a couple trying to reclaim the life and love they once knew and pick up the pieces of a past that may be too far gone. (89 mins.)
Director: Ned Benson
“ I saw this film in Toronto last year when it was two separate films that played back-to-back. The first, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and the second, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her, added up to what would have been one of my top films of the year, had it been released in 2013.
But someone, somewhere must have taken writer/director Ned Benson down to a dank basement and, with pliers and nail files, convinced him to combine his first two features into one film, now just called Eleanor Rigby
The film is, I imagine, still about a New York couple whose relationship comes apart when their newborn son dies, though its shown from the alternating points of view of the husband and the wife.
The film still, I imagine, features stand-out performances from James McAvoy as the husband and the luminous Jessica Chastain as the wife.
With a remarkable supporting cast that includes Bill Hader, Ciaran Hinds, Isabelle Huppert, Viola Davis, William Hurt and Jess Wexler, who plays Eleanor's sister, I am excited to see how the film has been crafted and hope to add to the voices that get this film seen.
The latest news from Deadline is that the Weinstein Company will release this third version as "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them" and all three will be released theatrically in the fall. That's a lot of "Disappearances." ” - keithsim
But someone, somewhere must have taken writer/director Ned Benson down to a dank basement and, with pliers and nail files, convinced him to combine his first two features into one film, now just called Eleanor Rigby
The film is, I imagine, still about a New York couple whose relationship comes apart when their newborn son dies, though its shown from the alternating points of view of the husband and the wife.
The film still, I imagine, features stand-out performances from James McAvoy as the husband and the luminous Jessica Chastain as the wife.
With a remarkable supporting cast that includes Bill Hader, Ciaran Hinds, Isabelle Huppert, Viola Davis, William Hurt and Jess Wexler, who plays Eleanor's sister, I am excited to see how the film has been crafted and hope to add to the voices that get this film seen.
The latest news from Deadline is that the Weinstein Company will release this third version as "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them" and all three will be released theatrically in the fall. That's a lot of "Disappearances." ” - keithsim
9.
The Captive
(2014)
Eight years after the disappearance of Cassandra, some disturbing incidents seem to indicate that she's still alive. Police, parents and Cassandra herself, will try to unravel the mystery of her disappearance. (112 mins.)
Director: Atom Egoyan
“ I am thinking of the Atom Egoyan of The Sweet Hereafter, Exotica and even the sometimes didactic Ararat, not the guy who made The Devil's Knot, a film that would have made my "Worst Films of 2013" list, had I made one. But hope springs eternal in Cannes and the fact that "Captive" is In Competition gives me a well of that hope to draw from. ” - keithsim
10.
The Rover
(2014)
10 years after a global economic collapse, a hardened loner pursues the men who stole his only possession, his car. Along the way, he captures one of the thieves' brother, and the duo form an uneasy bond during the dangerous journey. (103 mins.)
Director: David Michôd
“ Writer/director David Michod's last film was the excellent crime-family drama Animal Kingdom. It not only earned
Jackie Weaver her first Oscar nomination it helped familiarize much of the rest of the world with the supremely talented Ben Mendelsohn. I have to admit the trailer looks all kinds of bleak but, hey, with a talent like Michod at the controls you can't help but believe it will be worth the dour outing. ” - keithsim
Jackie Weaver her first Oscar nomination it helped familiarize much of the rest of the world with the supremely talented Ben Mendelsohn. I have to admit the trailer looks all kinds of bleak but, hey, with a talent like Michod at the controls you can't help but believe it will be worth the dour outing. ” - keithsim