From the film Anatomy of a Fall (Cannes Film Festival)
The Cannes Film Festival came to an end yesterday, and now it's closing time. Since Eurovision was the major cultural event that preceded the festival, and since France awarded Israel dos fois, we will do so using the points system, with 12 being the highest score.
Part of the summary is based on reports we have already published. It should also be noted that due to the format and shortness, I did not find room for many of the films discussed at the festival, such as Wim Wenders' "Perfect Days", but we will probably still find time to discuss them when they are screened in Israel at one of the local festivals.
1.
The population explosion at the festival was bigger than ever this year, and the lines are longer than ever. Tens of thousands of people competed for hundreds of places. I met an enthusiastic young American on the Riviera, who stood in line for the premiere of Wes Anderson's new film for no less than seven hours – and did not enter.
Unfortunately, this story is much more touching than the film itself - "Asteroid City", which deals with an encounter of astronomy enthusiasts in an American desert town in the mid-1950s, led by a newly widowed war photographer who finds it difficult to tell his children. Despite the preoccupation with death and mourning, despite the endless battery of stars – from Tom Hanks to Scarlett Johanssen, I didn't find a drop of emotion in it amid all the rhythmic, clever and "witty" dialogue. On the other hand, if you break it down, then you can upload every single shot of it to Instagram, just as if it were well-plated dishes in a trendy restaurant. That's how it is, you can't have everything in life.
And to return to the starting point, the story had a kind of happy ending - the young American managed to get into another screening, albeit ordinary and not glamorous. It was 8:30 in the morning and he was tired and unfocused, but he enjoyed watching. The film will be released in Israel next month, and then we can continue the discussion about it.
The opposite of a meteor. From "Asteroid City" (Photo: Cannes Film Festival)
2.
For years, the Cannes Film Festival has denied the existence of television series as much as they deny the existence of the English language, shoes other than high heels and milk substitutes. Lately, they have begun to realize that the rules of the game are changing. And so, this year one of the evenings was cleared for the premiere of a television series. On the face of it, this is good and exciting news, but which series did they choose? Let us not know from trouble.
The series of choice was Idol, HBO's glamorous new production, in which "Euphoria" creator Sam Levinson teams up with The Weeknd to tell the story of a pop star played by Lily-Rose Depp.
The result turned out to be a particularly perverse Gen Z version of the Pygmalion myth: the story of an initiation of a young singer who is subjected to a long series of humiliations by a gnarled guru in order to learn how to sing, or rather how to whisper, because, according to The Weeknd's vision here, "sexy" whispers are the highest poetry a woman can and should achieve.
It's a repulsive, degrading, degrading and degrading series, objectifying and sexist, and on top of all sinful in its anti-Semitic representation of its many Jewish characters – all of whom run the entertainment world, and all of them look like they came out of the shtetl. Perhaps the Cannes Film Festival chose her on purpose, so that in the future they will not be expected to put in series. And the saddest thing? "Idol" will hit screens in a week, also in Israel. Levinson predicts it will become the talked-about series of the summer, and he's right—pornographic provocations always do the trick, especially these days.
More in Walla!
We saw the new Indiana Jones first and were moved to tears
See full article >
The much-talked-about series of the summer. From "Idol" (Photo: HBO)
3.
A decade ago, in its 2014 edition, the festival presented six Israeli films. This year, he introduced zero. You won't convince me that the reason for this is artistic. The cinema being made in Israel today is no less good or worse than what they did ten years ago, and it certainly does not deserve less than all kinds of Senegalese, Portuguese and Chinese films that were shown here.
What we did see on the screens on the Riviera were actors living geographically in the country, although they were not portrayed as Israelis. The Jordanian film "Inshallah a Boy" starred Muna Hua and Haitam Omari, who were portrayed as Palestinians and, more importantly, marveled at presenting excellent acting work. The film participated as part of the Critics Week side.
The official competition featured Ken Loach's "The Old Oak," which dealt with a friendship between a failed British pub manager in a remote town and a Syrian immigrant who arrived. She is played by Abela Mari, who lives in Majdal Shams and, according to the film's publicist, defines herself as "nationalityless."
Loach plans to hang up his shoes after this film, and dedicated his swan song to a protest song against capitalism, nationalism and the far right. From an objective perspective, this is a beautiful, human and moving film that offers hope as an alternative to fear. But at another glance, a simple fact cannot be ignored: the British director also proposes a vision in which brotherhood develops between Christians and Muslims, but Jews have no place. Subsequently, just like his previous film, "The Old Oak" will not be screened here because of the director's boycott of Israel. Its humanity, as well as the festival's belief in freedom of expression and thought, knows no bounds – until it reaches us.
Resident of Majdal Shams. Abella Marie, star of Ken Loach's The Old Oak (Photo: Cannes Film Festival)
4.
Although we did not see Israeli films at the festival, two of its most prominent films dealt with the history of anti-Semitism.
The first is Cedric Kahan's "Goldman Affair," which deals with the story of a Jewish far-left activist who was wrongfully accused of armed robbery and murder. This is a courtroom drama that rarely emerges from within the four walls of the courtroom, and through the various testimonies exposes the racism of the French police, who framed Goldman simply because of his last name. Despite and perhaps because the film takes place behind closed doors, it is sweeping and fascinating.
The second is "The Abduction" by Marco Bellocchio, who at the age of 83 is one of the oldest and most senior directors working in Europe today. It is also a cinematic work of the "based on a true story" genre. This time, it's a story set in Italy in the mid-19th century: a Christian nanny baptizes a Jewish child because, according to her belief, it will prevent him from suffering in the afterlife. The church declares that there is no turning back, and that he is a Christian for the rest of his life, and kidnaps him from his family to provide him with the appropriate education.
On one level, "The Kidnapping" deals with the Catholic Church in Italy – the enormous power it had, and the disintegration of its control over the country. On another level, of course, this is also a film about the anti-Semitism of this Church, and the film illustrates how deeply rooted hatred of Jews is in the DNA of the Catholic establishment. The staging is anything but elegant, but overall effective. The story is exciting and enlightening, and the viewing is not boring for a moment.
Israelis don't, anti-Semitism does. From "The Abduction" (Photo: Cannes Film Festival)
5.
At every festival, there is always one scene that manages to shock even those who have seen it all. This year it happened in Austrian director Jessica Hausner's Club Zero, during which one of the characters vomits and then eats her own vomit. Enjoy!
It's one of the few Cannes films to feature a trigger warning in their opening titles. Mia Wasikowska plays a teacher who starts teaching at a prestigious high school, and manages to brainwash her privileged students and convince them to stop eating, because it will be good for their bodies, minds and the planet.
The film is witty, thought-provoking and superbly made. Even the vomit scene he presents in good taste. Disappointingly, he ends up missing the opportunity to discuss an important issue as important as eating disorders in a deep and relevant way, and chooses fairly predictable solutions. However, Hausner cements her status as an intriguing director, so it is gratifying to report that she will arrive in Tel Aviv next month as a guest of the student festival.
Enjoy. From Club Zero (Photo: Cannes Film Festival)
6.
"Jean du Brie", the opening film of the festival, aroused interest mainly because of the presence of Johnny Depp, who stars in it and speaks French for the first time in his career, and media reports usually omitted the name of the director - the French filmmaker Miwan, who registered a successful festival for herself. While I didn't enjoy the film, it got a prestigious screening slot, received reasonable reviews and, perhaps most importantly, was acquired by Netflix.
In general, it was a successful festival for French directors - Miwan, Catherine Brea, Catherine Corsini and Justine Terrier, which we will get to later. Another example of this was Valery Donzley's "Just The Two of Us", which was purchased for distribution in Israel. Virginie Afira, France's most prominent and busy actress at the moment, plays a teacher who marries someone who appears to be a prince on a white horse, but then turns out to be a jealous, possessive, violent and dangerous man. The director made sure to cast Melville Popou, one of the most attractive men in France, to illustrate that monsters come in all sorts of forms. The actor, for his part, agreed to play a role that many would shy away from, and does it in the best possible way. The film does a good job of describing the experience women go through in such relationships, and makes a sharp and clear cry.
A cry was raised. From "Just The Two of Us" (Photo: Cannes Film Festival)
7.
The festival brought color back to the face of the film industry partly because of the deals made there. The main one: Netflix paid $11 million for "May/December." These are rights in North America only: here, for example, the film belongs to a film distributor, who will now have to choose whether to distribute it or not.
And the local point: It's interesting to note that the two biggest festival deals recently involved Israelis or Israelis. It started at the Sundance Film Festival, where Netflix bought Ram Bergman's Fair Play for an astronomical sum, and continued with May/December, one of whose producers is Israeli Lee Broda.
And now for the film itself: behind the camera stood director Todd Haynes. He returned to collaborate with Julianne Moore, who starred in Far From Heaven, among others. This time, the star plays a family woman who was involved in a sensational scandal: she had an affair with a boy in middle school, who became her partner and started a family with her. Natalie Portman plays the actress who will play her in the film about the affair, and the two spend time together preparing for filming. The star wants to know more and more, and reveal every possible bit to prepare for the role.
The result is a juicy juice that is enjoyable to drink. The problem: "May/December" is the kind of movie that you have to look up other people's reviews to figure out what their point is, and even then you don't necessarily understand. The score for now is three stars out of five, at least until someone explains better to me.
נטפליקס שילמו 11 מיליון דולר. מתוך "מאי/דצמבר"(צילום: פסטיבל קאן)
8.
"מבט מסוים" היא מסגרת הצד החשובה בקאן, והזוכה בו השנה התגלה כ"How To Have Sex", סרט הביכורים של הבמאית הבריטית מולי מאנינג ווקר. הבחירה הזו היתה צפויה, ומובנת מאליה לכל מי שצפה בו.
מנקודת מבט מקומית, הדבר הכי עצוב בסרט הוא שמגיע לו תואר נוסף - הסרט שהכי קל יהיה לעשות לו עיבוד ישראלי. הוא עוסק בצעירה הנוסעת עם חברותיה לחופשה של מסיבות בריכה ואלכוהול בקפריסין. מצד אחד ניצב הלחץ החברתי שמופעל עליה לאבד את בתוליה, ומצד אחר ניצבים הגברים הטורפים באי. אפשר לנחש איך זה ייגמר.
מאנינג ווקר מיטיבה לחתור תחת הקלישאות שבהן מציגים בדרך כלל סיפורים כאלה, נמנעת מסנסציונית בתיאור התקיפה ומתמקדת במה שקורה אחרי, ולא במעשה עצמו. כיאה לסרט ביכורים, יש כאן הרבה רגעים בוסריים, אבל יש גם הרבה החלטות בימוי מרתקות. רגע אחד שלא אשכח מתאר איך הגיבורה הולכת לבדה בסמטה נטושה, מלאת פסולת וריקה מאנשים, והמצלמה לא זזה כשהיא הולכת ומתקרבת אליה, מדגישה את המסע שהיא עוברת ואת המשא שהיא סוחבת.
בניגוד מוחלט לתכנים הקשים של הסרט, מאנינג ווקר היתה אחראית לאחד הרגעים המקסימים בפסטיבל. הבמאית עזבה את הרייביירה אחרי הקרנת הבכורה כבר לפני כמה ימים, ואז קיבלה שיחת טלפון משמחת שביקשה ממנה לחזור מיידית לקאן כדי להתייצב בטקס חלוקת הפרסים. היא עברה מסלול מכשולים מפרך כדי לחזור, אבל הטיסה שלה התעכבה, והטקס התחיל בלעדיה. יו"ר חבר השופטים ג'ון סי.ריילי כבר הכריז על הזכייה שלה בהיעדרה, ובאקט אצילי התחיל לפצוח בשירה כדי למשוך זמן בתקווה שבכל זאת תמצא את דרכה לאולם לפני סיום הערב - מה שאכן קרה, והבמאית המאושרת רצה פנימה בנעלי התעמלות.
מה שקורה באיה נאפה. מתוך "How To Have Sex"(צילום: ניקוס ניקולופולוס)
9.
הנה עוד דבר טוב שקרה לפסטיבל. כפי שכתבו באינדי ווייר, הוליווד חזרה להאמין בו. בשנה שעברה היא השיקה בריביירה את "אהבה בשחקים: מאווריק" ו"אלביס" שהפכו לשניים מן הבלוקבסטרים הגדולים מאז הקורונה, וגם זכו לשלל מועמדויות לאוסקר, והשנה היא הביעה אמון בקאן כשבחרה בו להציג את הקרנת הבכורה העולמית של "רוצחי פרח הירח", סרטו החדש של מרטין סקורסזי.
כמו במקרים של "אהבה בשחקים: מאווריק" ו"אלביס", גם הפעם זה היה מחוץ לתחרות הרשמית, וכמו אז, גם הפעם ההחלטה הוכיחה את עצמה. "רוצחי פרח הירח" יצא מקאן כפייבוריט לאוסקר - בקטגוריות הסרט והבימוי, וגם בקטגוריות המשחק בזכות עבודתם של רוברט דה נירו, ליאונרדו דיקפריו ולילי גלדסטון.
הסרט עוסק ברציחות האוסייג', אחד מן הסיפורים המזעזעים בהיסטוריה האמריקאית העכשווית: רצח שיטתי של ילידים אמריקאים שהתרחש באוקלהומה בתחילת המאה הקודמת, בניסיון להשתלט על תמלוגי הנפט של שבט האוסייג'.
זה אולי לא הסרט הכי טוב של סקורסזי, פשוט כי התחרות קשה, אבל זה לבטח הסרט הכי אפל וביקורתי שלו, המציג את דברי ימיה של אמריקה כהיסטוריה של הונאה, השמדה וגזל. כמה חודשים אחרי שחגג יום הולדת שמונים, הבמאי הוותיק מוכיח כי יש לו עוד אינסוף הפתעות בשרוול, והוא שולף כאן שפן אחרי שפן כדי לשמור על עניין ועל מתח במשך שלוש שעות ועשרים דקות (!).
הסרט יעלה באולמות הקולנוע בארץ וברחבי העולם באמצע אוקטובר, ואז יהיה זמין באפל טיוי פלוס. תאגיד הענק השקיע מאות מיליונים ב"רוצחי פרח הירח" ויכול להיות מרוצה מן ההימור, שעשוי להביא לו אוסקר שני בשלוש שנים אחרי שכבר זכה בפסלון הודות ל"קודה".
בדרך לאוסקר? מתוך "רוצחי פרח הירח"(צילום: פסטיבל קאן)
10.
And now let's move on to my three favorite films at the festival. All three of them also won the three main prizes in the official competition, albeit in a different hierarchy than mine.
The first is "Anatomy of a Fall" by Justine Terrier, who for me received the bronze medal, but at the really important ceremony won the Palme d'Or - the most important prize at the festival and one of the most prestigious in the world of cinema. It's the second time in three years that a French woman has won the award, after Julia Ducourno did it two years ago for "Titan."
It is the fourth feature film by French director Justine Terrier. Sandra Holler stars in it as a successful German writer, whose failed and French partner falls to his death. The question is whether he ended his life, or whether she pushed him.
Most of the film takes place in court, but the result is neither a legal drama nor a true crime thriller. It's unclear exactly what happened between the deceased and his widow on the day he died, but it's clear that their relationship died much earlier, and Anatomy of a Fall examines how it happened. It could also be called "Pictures from Married Life."
Anatomy of the canals. From Anatomy of a Fall (Photo: Cannes Film Festival)
Like most festival films, Anatomy of a Fall is two and a half hours long. Terriya manages to keep things interesting thanks to different perspectives, chief among them the couple's son, who has had trouble tolerating their constant fights, and shows extraordinary wisdom for his young age. Above all of them rises Holler. Despite the fact that she is the heroine of this drama, the actress does not try to shape an ideal character. Instead, she builds a complete, complex, authentic character—an equally admirable and reluctant woman who, even if not criminally guilty of her boyfriend's death, can be blamed for many other things. So what, the same can be said about each of us. That's how humans are.
Justine Terrier struggles to digest winning the palm tree (Photo by Getty Images, Andreas Renz)
"Anatomy of a fall" is superbly made, without falls. The script, the directing work and the acting displays: everything here is at the highest level, but the film's greatest virtue is Terrier's willingness to pry into the insides of the characters, and the meticulous and sensitive way in which she does it. As befits its name, the result is a lesson in the anatomy of passion and emotions, and watching it is very exciting.
11.
If aliens were to kidnap me, and ask me to recommend one film to them at the Cannes Film Festival that if they saw it they would fall in love with humanity and have compassion for it, I would recommend Aki Kaurismäki's "Fallen Leaves," which won the Jury Prize, the third most important at the festival.
Ostensibly, like most veteran Cannes directors, Kaurismäki is making the same movie again, not that it's necessarily bad in his case. Once again it's a story about characters from the fringes of life, this time an unemployed woman who falls in love with an alcoholic. Again the humor is dry. Again the approach is economical. Andre Willems, one of his regular stars, once told me that Kaurismäki never shoots more than two takes, because it would be a shame for him to waste raw materials - "everything in life has so much value in his eyes."
Still, this film is different from the previous works of the Finnish director - "Fallen Leaves" is his most romantic film. Exactly forty years after his debut film, Kaurismäki is presenting a two-take film about love at first sight.
In Fallen Leaves, as usual in Kaurismäki's films, nothing happens. What can happen to gray people who live in a country with gray weather? But at the same time, everything happens in "Fall Leaves" - dogs answer the phone, people fall in love, the dead come to life, and despite the implied name, spring always comes. You can't fall asleep in Kaurismäki's movie, because every minute the audience bursts with laughter, and if the aliens watch it and look around at the others watching, they will think nice things about us.
If you fall asleep for a second, the laughter of the audience will wake you up. From "Fall Leaves" (Photo: Cannes Film Festival)
12.
Conversely, if aliens wanted to see a film that portrays humanity at its lowest point, I wouldn't think twice before recommending British-Jewish director Jonathan Glaser's "The Zone of Interest," which won the second most important Grand Prix at the festival.
The director presents here the story of Rudolf Hess, commander of the Auschwitz death camp, and his wife Hedwig. The two live near the camp, and we hear all the time the cries of the Jews being slaughtered there. For the happy couple, it doesn't budge: it treats the extermination with peak motivation and businesslike coolness, as if it were an evacuation-reconstruction project; She, for her part, is busy nurturing her home and garden, which are becoming her favorite places in the world. When her partner receives a promotion that requires relocation, she is not ready to leave.
Rudolf Hess is played by the excellent Christian Friedel, and Hedwig Sandra Holler, who also starred in Palme d'Or winner Anatomy of a Fall, and is undoubtedly the biggest star of this year's festival and its official mascot.
Speechless. From "The Zone of Interest" (Photo: Cannes Film Festival)
The film deals with a banal concept, the banality of evil, but does so in a way that is not banal at all. Glazer has signed some of the most beautiful music videos of all time and two masterpieces in full-length film format, "Birth" and "Under the Skin," and here again demonstrates a mesmerizing use of all means of cinematic expression, including the blinking music of his regular collaborator, Mika Levy. It reaches the highest artistic heights to illustrate human evil at its lowest point. The result left me speechless, but also full of thoughts.
When can we continue the discussion of the film? Vague. At the moment, it has no distribution with us. I don't blame the distributors - cinema is not a philanthropic business, and the local distributors remember that Israel is one of the only countries where "Son of Saul" failed commercially, and the audience will not run to the cinema to see a shocking film about Auschwitz. See you at Cannes Film Festival 2024.
- culture
- cinema
- Movie Review
Tags
- Cannes Film Festival
- Ken Loach
- Aki Kaurismäki
- Martin Scorsese
- Natalie Portman
- Julianne Moore
- Auschwitz
- Wes Anderson
- Scarlett Johansson
- Euphoria
- HBO
- The Weeknd
- Lily-Rose Depp
- Robert De Niro
- Netflix
- Leonardo DiCaprio
- Tom Hanks
- Johnny Depp
