Mid-May is a very busy time for the movie industry’s finest. The old, the new and the breaking through descend upon Cannes for one of the most important festivals on the Hollywood and global film calendar. So why is it so important? The Cannes Film Festival is a great opportunity to showcase work from across the world, allowing underrepresented categories a chance to get seen, and giving us a snapshot of what might be popular at the cinema in the months ahead. 2013 saw young romance à la 2012’s Moonrise Kingdom exchanged for flapper girls and hip-hop with Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby kicking off proceedings.
The ‘Official Selection’ contains two main categories. Un Certain Regard features original, less mainstream works whilst the Competition category gives us the most clues as to what will soon be hitting our screens. This is judged by The Competition Jury, comprised of those held in high esteem by the industry powers that be. This year was particularly interesting with director/god Steven Spielberg presiding over the panel joined by Nicole Kidman, We Need To Talk About Kevin director Lynne Ramsay, Life of Pi genius Ang Lee and Django star Christoph Waltz.
So what happened? Despite the buzz around the Coen brothers’ Inside Lleweyn Davis, Ryan Gosling’s latest Only God Forgives, and James Gray’s return to Cannes with The Immigrant, the jury threw a curve ball by awarding the Palme d’Or to Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue is the Warmest Colour. Why the big surprise? This French film is based on a novel which follows the relationship between two lesbian students in Lille. It’s said to be highly sexually explicit and so controversial it is unlikely it will even be shown in Kechiche’s native Tunisia. Coinciding with the legalisation of gay marriage in France, this festival’s jury could be accused of weighing in with a political verdict but perhaps this will be a catalyst for giving cinema a new voice. Eyebrows have definitely been raised. This is far more controversial than last year, when Michael Haneke won the Palme d’Or for the second time in his career with Amour. Not only have Spielberg and Co upset the odds here, they have also issued an invitation to the likes of BAFTA and the Academy award judges to join the debate. But will they?
Unlike last year’s crop of Hollywood productions flooded with big name actors, this year saw a greater mix of Italian, French and even Japanese movies, although the female directors still haven’t quite broken through. Favourite Inside Lleweyn Davis took the Grand Prix, with Oscar Isaac receiving high acclaim for his role as a folk singer in 1960’s New York. This is also worth checking out if you want to see Carey Mulligan sing with Justin Timberlake, which of course you do. One theme that does seem to continue from Cannes 2012 is a keenness to shun the OTT. Soderbergh’s latest Behind the Candelabra failed to make an impact even though Matt Damon (aka Jason Bourne) dons a wig and ridiculous make-up as Liberace’s young lover Scott Thorson. Likewise, Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring has received a mixed response despite opening the Un Certain Regard category. Emma Watson swaps Hermione for hussy in this crime story playing Nicki, a pole-dancing yoga teacher who joins a celebrity-obsessed group of girls in robbing various Hollywood stars. Still distancing herself from the HP franchise, this may finally do for Watson what Cosmopolis did for Robert Pattinson.
Full of controversy, excitement and intrigue, there is never a dull moment at Cannes. The question now is who will prevail at the box office. Soderbergh’s glitz and glitter? The Coen’s folk-singers? Or Kechiche’s young lovers? Only time will tell…
