I saw and reviewed James Toback’s Tyson at its world premiere at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, and the docu-confessional certainly left a lasting impression … for the wrong reasons. Mike Tyson himself walked down the long aisle of the Lumiere theater after the screening to both a rapturous standing ovation from the home crowd, and a dimly heard protest cry of “rapist!” drifting down from the balcony (a female film critic later took credit for the latter). Suffice it to say, that contradiction made that Cannes premiere … uh … memorable, regardless of the content of the film.
Almost a year later, there seem to be as few contrasting voices in regards to Tyson as there are in regards to Tyson within the film itself. The way this non-conventional nonfiction film, and what a cynic might see as the nefarious project behind it, has been accepted by the media virtually unquestioningly, even appreciatively (see the 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, higher than the current rating for the latest film from the critically beloved Dardennes brothers), cements that Cannes premiere as a crucial moment in documentary evolution. That night in May, the freak show aesthetic that marks salacious, nonfiction-in-name (if questionably in content) VH1 product like Flava of Love, Celebrity Rehab and Confessions of a Teen Idol, slipped seamlessly into Cannes, en route to a US arthouse release from the same company that brought you very classy recent Oscar nominees Frozen River, Waltz with Bashir and The Class. That night, any remaining distinction between the lowbrow non-fiction of reality TV and the rarefied space of the world’s most revered film festival ceased to exist.
…Read more
Gomorrah is brutal. That much goes without saying, given the genre. But unlike the more glamorous American gangster movies, which tend to elevate their anti-heroes to aspirational role models, Gomorrah turns that brutality against its subject — the widespread operations of Italy’s Camorrah clan. Like the bestselling exposé that inspired it, Gomorrah is more outraged than impressed by the corrupt world it reveals. To that end, director Matteo Garrone cast coarse, physically revolting adults and shot the film in an almost nauseating handheld style, fleshing out the authentic hell-on-earth locations with the sound of screams and harsh urban noise.
These are not characters or situations anyone would want to emulate, which was important to the director and his team. “Here in the south of Italy, we are living so close to this problem that we have to consider what kind of example a movie can have, especially on young people,” says Maurizio Braucci, who collaborated with Garrone, Roberto Saviano (author of the nonfiction bestseller on which Gomorrah is based) and three other writers. In his book, Saviano is openly critical of Hollywood’s impact on these criminals. He describes one boss who ordered a villa custom-built to the specifications of Tony Montana’s mansion in Scarface, then goes on to explain how The Godfather dictated their fashion sense (pinstriped suits and dark glasses) and Pulp Fiction made them sloppy (by holding their guns sideways, young killers sacrificed aim for style, making executions needlessly bloody and painful).
“I think the problem is that audiences are generally attracted by stories about the obscure part of life,” says Braucci (the English speaker of the bunch). “Gomorrah tries to give a different representation of this world, including such a terrible representation of the criminals – their bodies, the way they walk, the way they talk — that they seem almost like monsters.” Like Saviano (who had to go under police protection a couple weeks into the screenwriting process), Braucci hails from the Camorrah-controlled Naples area, bringing his own research and experience to the adaptation.
…Read more
I’ve Loved You So Long came into Telluride with a lot of buzz about this being Kristen Scott Thomas‘ soon-to-be Oscar winning performance. Like Forrest Whittaker in The Last King of Scotland two years ago, it was the performance not to miss. So, I didn’t. And if Kristen Scott Thomas wins an Oscar it’s because there are very few actresses who can hold an audience for two hours alternating between chain smoking with a million-mile-stare and delivering long, expository monologues about her backstory. I mean that as a compliment to Ms. Thomas and a criticism to director, Philippe Claudel.
Juliette (Kristen Scott Thomas) sits in an airport in France smoking. Her face is a map of heartache. In fact, it looks more dead than alive, which is probably the most impressive moment of the movie. (Why do directors insist that great actors talk so much?) Her sister, Léa (Elsa Zylberstein) arrives late. The ride to her sister’s country home is icy. They haven’t seen each other in a long time and they want to discuss anything but why. That’s how I’ve Loved You So Long begins. …Read more
Interview with Chris Bell who made Bigger, Stronger, Faster –opening tonight. A doc going way beyond body building into the essence of an unspoken American pastime: Cheating. Karina reports back on Cannes and everything the media missed that it shouldn’t have: Tyson, Frontier of Dawn and Everything is Fine.
FilmCouch #72 - Karina on Cannes, Kevin on steroids [31:03m]:
Play Now |
Download
(Subscribe to FilmCouch–
Spout’s weekly movie podcast–in the
iTunes store or to our
RSS feed and an episode will download each Friday)
FilmCouch #72 - Karina on Cannes, Kevin on steroids
Bigger, Stronger, Faster; Tyson; Frontier of Dawn; Everything is Fine
The lineup for next month’s Cannes Film Festival has been announced, and it’s excellent timing, because I just found out yesterday that I’m going to be attending the festival for the first time. Some notes on the lineup:
- Contrary to previous reports, both Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Steven Soderbergh’s two-part, four hour epic Che will screen at the fest, although both will premiere out of competition.
- As expected, Charlie Kaufmann’s Synechdoche, New York will compete against new films from Philippe Garrel and Nuri Bilge Ceylan, but it’s not the only American film in competition anymore, thanks to the unexpected inclusion of Clint Eastwood’s The Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie.
- A modified version of Wong Kar Wai’s Ashes of Time will screen in the Special Screenings section, as will a new film by Terrence Davies and Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired.
- Wendy and Lucy, Kelly Reichardt’s follow-up to Old Joy, will screen in the Un Certain Regard section, alongside James Toback’s documentary on Mike Tyson, and Tokyo!, and omnibus with sections directed by Bong Joon-ho, Michel Gondry and Leos Carax.
- The Dardenne Brothers, who won the Palme D’Or in 2005 with L’Enfant, will return to competition with The Silence of Lorna.
- Only one Chinese film will screen at the festival, Jia Zhangke’s 24 City, due to ” a current bottleneck in the Chinese censorship process, which includes authorizing overseas travel.”
