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German Drama The White Ribbon Takes Top Cannes Prize
At the end of this year's Cannes Film Festival, the competition's top prize, the Palme d'Or, was handed to Austrian director Michael Haneke for The White Ribbon, a black-and-white drama set in northern Germany during the years before World War I. One viewer describes the film as "[i]mpeccably made with hypnotic skill and control," with a story that is "as disturbing underneath as it is seemingly placid on the surface."
For his well-received drama A Prophet, which follows "a young Arab man's coming of age and into power during six years inside a corrupt, brutal prison," French director Jacques Audiard accepted the Grand Prix prize.
Buzz News Roundup, 2/29
- Papers filed in J.K. Rowling's lawsuit indicate she is not happy about one Harry Potter fan's plan to publish an unauthorized reference work, the Associated Press reports. Rowling has previously praised the fan site, Harry Potter Lexicon, on which the book is based.
- Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels has talked about casting a nonblack actor to play Obama on the show with the Washington Post.
- OneRepublic and Fabolous are teaming up to tour college campuses this spring, Billboard reports.
- Zap2it has news that the next installment of Indiana Jones might make its debut in France at the Cannes Film Festival.
- NBC is releasing a Heroes soundtrack on March 18 featuring several exclusive new singles; details about which artists are included are at The Futon Critic.
- The New York Times reports that Time Warner has decided New Line Cinema will become a unit of Warner Brothers and will no longer operate independently.
The 2007 Cannes Palme D'Or Award Goes to...
The 2007 Cannes Film Festival has concluded with the dispensing of the festival's top award, the Palme D'Or, to Cristian Mungiu's (pictured) 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, a drama that Variety describes as "a stark, trenchant drama about a woman's experiences receiving an abortion in the waning days of Romania's communist era."
Taking second place (the Grand Prix) was The Mourning Forest, "an ultra-arty, arid and slow French-Japanese co-production that had viewers and critics streaming for the exits early." Gus Van Sant, whose Elephant took the Palme D'Or in 2003, was awarded the third place prize for his Paranoid Park, a drama about a teenager trying to cope with having accidentally caused someone's death.
Cannes Reviews: Sicko
For the most part critics are heralding Michael Moore's latest documentary Sicko for providing an eye-opening look at the health insurance crisis in the U.S. Many are also uttering sighs of relief that Moore's political viewpoints are relatively subdued in the film, unlike his previous documentaries in which many found Moore's opinions shoved down their throats, ultimately undermining the messages of the films.
Curiously, even the Fox News website is giving Sicko a favorable review, though the critic is quick to note this is because Moore isn't "confronting" anyone.
Cannes Reviews: A Mighty Heart
Admittedly, I was nervous to read the reviews for A Mighty Heart, a movie based on the horrific story of journalist Daniel Pearl who was kidnapped in Pakistan in 2002 and ultimately beheaded. The real-life story is heartbreaking, and I worried that a movie might trivialize rather than honor Daniel Pearl's story.
So far, the reviews have been positive with critics giving kudos for the respectful way in which the Pearls' story is told, though also mentioning that the movie presents moments of discomfort having to do with such ripped-from-the-headlines tales of torture and terrorism.
Cannes Reviews: My Blueberry Nights
Since I'm not able to attend the Cannes Film Festival this year, I'm scouring the Web for reviews of movies that look the most interesting. First on my list: My Blueberry Nights, the first English-language film by director Wong Kar Wai which stars Norah Jones, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Rachel Weisz.
Overwhelmingly, the critics' message is this: Wong Kar Wai is masterful at creating a visually evocative film, though the dialogue is lacking, thus making the performances feel empty and pointless.
Cannes Kicks Off With My Blueberry Nights
Today the Cannes Film Festival kicks off in France, and starting things off is Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai's first English-language film, My Blueberry Nights. The movie is about a lovelorn road trip and stars Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman and... Norah Jones?
Cannes You Dig It?
We can dig it! The lineup has been released for the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, which begins May 16 and where Brad and Angelina will grace everyone with their presence. That's not totally random, since they both have movies in the festival, though neither of their films are competing for the top prize, the Palme d'Or.
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