Cannes Anticipates A Latin Groove With Loads of Stars
By Cole Smithey
The fiery French Riviera sun will glisten down on such elite members of cinema aristocracy as Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Jean Reno, Penelope Cruz, Cillian Murphy, Kirsten Dunst, Judy Davis, Asia Argento, Marianne Faithfull, Steve Coogan, Cate Blanchett, Gael García Bernal, The Rock, Gérard Depardieu, Fanny Ardant, Bruce Willis, Nick Nolte, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Ben Gazzara, Bob Hoskins, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ludivine Sagnier, Gena Rowlands, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, and if Angelina has her baby in time, Brad Pitt will share his latest pair of sunglasses with the throng of paparazzi.
Every night is red carpet night during the 11 nights of the Cannes Film Festival (May 17 – 28) and amid the screaming paparazzi, falling celebrity gowns, and outrageous quotes are thousands of compelling films from all over the world. For joie de vivre in the flesh, Cannes is it.
For the first time in its 59 years, the films in competition for Cannes’ coveted Palme d’ Or award are of Latin decent.
The ubiquitous Pedro Almodovar brings his new film "Volver," a cross-generational story about the culture of death in Almodovar’s native region of La Mancha, Spain. "Three generations of women survive easterly wind, fire, madness, superstition and death through goodness, lies and an unlimited vitality." Penélope Cruz and Carmen Maura star in this ebullient movie about the essence of Spanish culture.
Horror master Guillermo Del Toro ("The Devil’s Backbone") wrote, produced and directed "Pan’s Labyrinth," a wartime satire set against a fascist regime in 1944 rural Spain where a 12-year-old girl named Ofelia creates a fantasy world in order to cope with the harsh realities around her. It promises to be a visual feast with a powerful narrative punch.
Argentinean director Israel Adrian Caetano (originally from Uruguay) finds his place in competition for the golden palm with "Cronica de Una Fuga," a fact-based film about a group of civilians taken prisoner in 1977 by a group of Argentine government military goons.
Portugal gets a voice in Pedro Costa’s "Youth On The March" ("Juventude Em Marcha") about a group of dislocated aging people in the Cap-Verdian area of Fontainhas.
Mexican auteur Alejandro González Inarritu ("Amores perros," "21 Grams") finishes his trilogy with a climatic cinematic tapestry. "Babel" connects the lives of four separate groups of strangers on three continents. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett star as an American couple on a doomed vacation. Gael Garcia Bernal also stars.
There are two films from the UK in competition for the Palme d’ Or. Distinguished leftist director Ken Loach delivers "The Wind That Shakes The Barley," about a group of Irish workers in 1919 that form volunteer guerilla armies to oppose the merciless ‘Black and Tan’ squads sent from Britain to stop Ireland’s bid for independence. Cillian Murphy and Liam Cunningham star in this heartfelt and volatile film.
"Red Road" is Oscar winner Andrea Arnold’s ("Wasp") character-driven film about Jackie a solitary CCTV operator for Glasgow council who sees a man from her past in her monitors, and is compelled to confront him.
Rounding out the 19 films in competition is: "Marie-Antoinette" (by Sofia Coppola), "Indigenes" (by Rachid Bouchareb), "La Raison Du Plus Faible" (by Lucas Belvaux), "Ceylan Iklimler" (by Nuri Bilge), "Flandres" (by Bruno Dumonts), "Selon Charlie" (by Nicole Garcia), "Quand J’etais Chanteur" (by Xavier Giannoli), "Laitakaupungin Valot" (by Aki Kaurismaki), "Southland Tales" (by Richard Kelly), and "Fast Food Nation" (by Richard Linklater).
Presiding over the Plame d’ Or jury is China’s esteemed director Wong Kar Wai. Seated on this year’s jury is English actor/director Tim Roth, Italian actress Monica Bellucci, English actress Helena Bonham Carter, Argentinean director Lucrecia Martel, Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, American actor Samuel L. Jackson, French director Patrice Leconte, and Palestinian director Elia Suleiman.
