Cannes Film Festival 2016

Lineup was just announced today. Highlights include:

Cafe Society (Woody Allen)
The Last Face (Sean Penn's first film since Into the Wild)
Julieta (Pedro Almodovar)
American Honey (Andrea Arnold)
The Unknown Girl (The Dardenne Brothers)
Personal Shopper (Olivier Assayas)
Paterson (Jim Jarmusch)
I, Daniel Blake (Ken Loach)
Loving (Jeff Nichols)
Bacalaureat (Cristian Mungiu)
The Handmaiden (Park Chan-Wook)
Sieranevada (Cristi Puiu)
Elle (Paul Verhoeven)
The Neon Demon (Nicolas Winding Refn)
Gimme Danger (Jim Jarmusch, Iggy & the Stooges doc)

That is one seriously stacked lineup.

 

Very excited to see two from Jarmusch on there, I had no idea he had another project other than Stooges doc

 

Prediction; Kristen Stewart develops serious Best Actress buzz for the new Assayas.

 

Also Maren Ade's first film since 2009's Everyone Else.

 

Is it an endless event, like Christmas?

Now that is something to get excited about. I had no idea, but Everyone Else was very strong.

I used to follow Cannes more closely but nowadays it is taking one or two years for some of these films to come out in the United States. It is hard to sustain interest that long, although the winners are usually a sign of something worth watching.

 

Probably the most exciting competition in recent years. So glad to get another Dardennes so soon since they've always run 3 years between films. I'm always rooting for them to be the first to win 3 Palmes. The return of Mungiu is exciting too.

 

Who's gonna drop a brick this year? And which film is going to be the one completely ignored post festival?

It seems like one of the most bullet proof competitions in a while. Refn and Verhoeven will be obviously divisive. Loach will probably be another whatever. The rest seem pretty safe given track records and what I've seen from each director.

 

I think this may be a good but light Woody, based on the cast (and how bad Magic in the Moonlight was; he tends to alternate in quality). I have a lot of respect for Penn as a director (more than as an actor right now, honestly), but if I had to guess a brick, I'd say that, or the Almodovar.

As far as one of that will be just a Cannes film, probably Ken Loach. He hasn't made a film that's really popped since The Wind That Shakes the Barley.

Plot:

Sounds super sappy.

 

I am so ready for more Dardenne

I thought Dolan had something coming

 

He does. Guess it's just not on the OP. It the one with Marion Cottilard. Probably my next most anticipated after the Dardennes film.

 

He has his first fully English film as well. Chastain, Portman, Kit Harrington, Nicholas Hoult, Taylor Kitsch, Susan Sarandon. He's gonna have a big 2016-17.

 

So excited, though both will probably make me cry lol

 

I just flooded the forum with threads for the films I think will get more than 5 replies/ones I will likely want to talk about.

 

Toni Erdmann seems to be the most celebrated thing in competition so far. Staying Vertical has next most positive reception I've seen. The rest that have screened seem to be received all over the place, but American Honey seems most divided.

 

Palme d'Or – I, Daniel Blake - Ken Loach
Grand Prix – It's Only the End of the World by Xavier Dolan
Best Director - Cristian Mungiu for Graduation, Olivier Assayas for Personal Shopper
Best Screenplay – Asghar Farhadi for The Salesman
Best Actress – Jaclyn Jose for Ma' Rosa
Best Actor – Shahab Hosseini for The Salesman
Jury Prize – American Honey by Andrea Arnold

Shocked by Loach. Dolan is just working his way up to Palme. Mungiu hasn't left the festival without a prize yet.

 

Dolan is the one director I love whose flaws I am oblivious to.

 

The only one I have seen is Laurence Anyway, and I only made it about halfway through. He is probably far too young to be directing films.

 

And that's the one that sold me on him. In my opinion, still his best, but I appreciate the ambition of Mommy and Tom.

 

The way people are getting upset about the Loach film is confusing. The Palme d'Or has been all over the place in the last few years. Last year's winner was Dheepan, and I had no idea it even came out in the United States this month until I looked it up.

 

I'm more surprised about Dolan than Loach, considering how scathing the reviews for It's Only the End of the World have been.

 

Critics really just hate him. He seems generally beloved by industry people and regular viewers.

This years fest just seemed to carry a lot of negativity. I find it hard to believe that so many reputable film makers (Farhadi, Dardenne, Assayas, among others) and beloved newer directors (Puiu, Mungiu, Nichols) all happened to bring films that range from awful to [directors name] by the numbers in the same year. Toni Erdmann and Paterson are the only ones I've seen consensus raves for. Maybe Staying Vertical (I don't think that's the name).

 

Cannes reviews are generally not that great to read because they are being written in awful conditions. They are seeing three or more films a day and have no time to let the films settle in their mind. Romanian New Wave films grow in your emotional relationship with them over time, so it is nothing to get too worried about yet.

 

That's all very true. I'm not all that worried, considering my reaction towards half the films is usually opposite the fest consensus. I just noticed a lot more negativity towards competition this year. Regardless, I'm very excited to have new films from almost all these directors, especially since I didn't expect anything from a few of them for another year or two. I do hope distribution moves faster on some this year. It's been a year and the new Koreeda from last year still isn't set to play North America for another 2 months.

 

I've now seen 13 of the 21 competition films thanks to TIFF and I think this is the strongest competition in years. Sieranevada and Ma' Rosa are the only two I did not like. The Unknown Girl is my biggest disappointment and Aquarius is the best film I've seen this year.