RANDOM THOUGHTS: "TO PRAISE OR NOT TO PRAISE"

I'm unsurprised with the talk surrounding the Best Director gong given to Brillante Mendoza for "Kinatay". I have to see the film definitely, but the scorn and buzz that it created among press circles (at Cannes, at least) and web sites (at www.awardsdaily.com, in particular) can only give the movie the buzz it needs to become another international hit (in festivals, at least), just like Mendoza's recent Cannes entry "Serbis".

This is the first major award for a Filipino movie in a prestigious filmfest (not counting Lav Diaz's Horizons Award for Venice last year, since it won in a parallel section, not main competition), and Filipinos should be proud. Criticism is relative; what is good to me may be bad to others (and vice-versa). But then, good buzz or bad buzz is still buzz. I wish the film and direk Dante the best. (I know it would not be his last trip to the Cannes podium.)

"WHITE RIBBON" WINS PALME D'OR; MENDOZA HONORED AS BEST DIRECTOR IN CANNES

(Pictured: directors Michael Haneke, Brillante Mendoza, and Jacques Audiard)

In a year when controversy rang up at Cannes - from films in competition (especially Lars von Trier's massively derided thriller "Antichrist") to the relationship between the members of the jury - at least critical approbation reigned in the bestowal of top two awards.

Michael Haneke's pre-World War I drama "The White Ribbon" and Jacques Audiard's ("The Beat That My Heart Skipped," "A Self-Made Hero") "A Prophet" both received immense positive reviews and, unsurprisingly, top honors in the 62nd edition of the festival.

That's where the good news ends.

Despite the high profile line-up, festival favorites Jane Campion ("Bright Star"), Pedro Almodovar ("Broken Embraces") and Ken Loach ("Looking for Eric") were shunned in favor of critically reviled films - three of them from Asia. Brillante Mendoza was adjudged as Best Director for his "chop-chop lady" picture "Kinatay," while previous Grand Prix honoree Park Chan-wook ("Oldboy") was honored with the Jury Prize (he tied with British filmmaker Andrea Arnold for "Fish Tank") for the vampire drama/thriller "Thirst" and Chinese scripter Feng Mei received the Best Screenplay gong for the love triangle drama "Spring Fever".

Imminent scorn from the press and viewing public greeted the Asian filmmakers upon receiving their awards. Even jury member (and novellist) Hanef Kureishi cannot help but express his opinion regarding the prizes, saying “Sometimes good art is hard... It’s not something I want to see again" (in response to the jury's choice of Best Director).

A "special award" was also bestowed to the festival's much-talked entry, von Trier's "Antichrist". Radu Mihaileanu, a French filmmaker and head of the Ecumenical Jury, handed out an "anti-award" for the film, saying that the film is “the most misogynist movie from the self-proclaimed biggest director in the world.” This is in reference to a statement by the Danish filmmaker at a post-screening news conference.

At least, Best Actress winner Charlotte Gainsbourg have kind words to say about director Lars von Trier (considering her onscreen struggles in the film), pointing out that “I admire his work, I admire everything he did... I know people have different opinions about the film... He’s a great artist.”

Here's the complete list of winners:

Palme d’Or: “The White Ribbon” (Das Weisse Band), directed by Michael Haneke
Grand Prix (runner-up): “A Prophet” (Un Prophete), directed by Jacques Audiard
Prix Exceptional du Jury (Special Jury Prize): Alain Resnais, director of “Wild Grass”
Prix de la Mise en Scene (best director): Brillante Mendoza, director of “Kinatay”
Prix du Scenario (best screenplay): Feng Mei for “Spring Fever” (Chun Feng Chen Zui De Ye Wan), directed by Lou Ye
Camera d’Or (best first feature): “Samson and Delilah,” directed by Warwick Thornton
Special Mention: “Ajami,” directed by Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani
Prix du Jury (jury prize) - TIED: “Fish Tank,” directed by Andrea Arnold and “Thirst,” directed by Park Chan-wook
Prix d’interpretation feminine (best actress): Charlotte Gainsbourg for “Antichrist” (directed by Lars von Trier)
Prix d’interpretation masculine (best actor): Christoph Waltz for “Inglorious Basterds” (directed by Quentin Tarantino)
Palme d’Or (short film): “Arena,” directed by Joao Salaviza

UN CERTAIN REGARD
Prize of Un Certain Regard: “Dogtooth” (Kynodntas), directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Jury Prize: “Police, Adjective” (Politist, Adjectiv), directed by Corneliu Porumboiu
Special Prize: “No One Knows About Persian Cats” (Kasi Az Gorbehaye Irani Khabar Nadareh), directed by Bahman Ghobadi
“Father of my children” (Le Pere de mes Enfants), directed by Mia Hansen-Love

INTERNATIONAL CRITICS’ WEEK
Grand Prix: “Adieu Gary” by Nassim Amaouche (France)
SACD award: “Lost Persons Area” by Caroline Strubbe (Belgium / Netherlands / Hungary)
ACID/CCAS Support Award: “Sirta La Gal Ba” (Whisper With The Wind) by Shahram Alidi (Iraq)
OFAJ/TV5MONDE (VERY) Young Critic Award: “Sirta La Gal Ba” (Whisper With The Wind) by Shahram Alidi (Iraq)

Short Film Awards
Canal+ Award for Best Short Film: “Slitage” (Seeds of the Fall) de Patrik Eklund (Suede)
Kodak Discovery Award for Best Short Film: “Logorama” by Francois Alaux, Herve de Crecy, Ludovic Houplain (H5)
Other Prizes
Prize Regard Jeune: “Sirta La Gal Ba” (Whisper With The Wind) de Shahram Alidi (Iraq)

DIRECTORS’ FORTNIGHT
Art Cinema Award: “J’ai tue ma mere” (I Killed My Mother) by Xavier Dolan (Canada)
Special Mention: “La Merditude des choses” by Felix van Groeningen (Belgique/Belgium)
7e Prix Regards Jeunes 2009: “J’ai tue ma mere” (I Killed My Mother) by Xavier Dolan (Canada)
SACD Prize: “J’ai tue ma mere” (I Killed My Mother) by Xavier Dolan (Canada)
The Europa Cinemas Label: “La Pivellina” by Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel (Autriche/Austria)
French Short films prize: “Montparnasse” (France)

FIPRESCI CRITICS AWARDS
Cannes Competition: “The White Ribbon” (Das Weisse Band), directed by Michael Haneke
Un Certain Regard: “Police, Adjective” (Politist, Adjectiv), directed by Corneliu Porumboiu
Director’s Fortnight/Critics’ Week: “Amreeka”, directed by Cherien Dabis

(Photos courtesy of AFP.)

CANNES 2009: A FESTIVAL OF BIG NAME AUTEURS

... from Tarantino to Ang Lee, Johnnie To to Tsai Ming-liang, Almodovar to Danish enfant terible Lars von Trier.... This is the most high profile line-up in the festival's 62 years so far. Some highlights:

1. Among the 20 filmmakers in contention for the top awards, four have won the Palme d'Or before: Tarantino (Pulp Fiction), Ken Loach (The Wind That Shakes The Barley), Lars von Trier (Dancer in the Dark), and Jane Campion (The Piano).

2. From the big name line-up, three are female directors - Campion, 2006 Jury Prize winner Andrea Arnold (Fish Tank), and Spain's Isabel Coixet (her first time in Cannes' main competition selection).

3. Asia leads a strong main competition selection, with Korea's Park Chan-wook (Thirst), Johnnie To (Vengeance), Tsai Ming-liang (Face), Lou Ye (Spring Fever), and Brillante Mendoza (Kinatay). This is the independent Filipino director's third consecutive appearance in the festival (and his second in the main competition, after last year's widely derided Serbis).

4. Philippine cinema is represented in the fest's three sections: main competition (Kinatay), Un Certain Regard (Raya Martin's French-German co-production Independencia), and Special Screenings (Manila, co-directed by Adolfo Alix Jr. and Raya Martin and starring Piolo Pascual, who also produced). Two short films were also selected to compete for the Palme d'Or: New York based filmmaker Janice Perez's Sabong and Miguel Ocampo's and Aissa Penafiel's Manong Maong. A total of five Filipino films were selected this year, a boon for the country's recent popularity in the world's highly competitive filmfest.

5. This year's Official Selection includes 52 pics and 46 world premieres. They were selected from 1,670 features received from 120 countries.

Isabelle Huppert leads the 2009 festival jury. Awards will be handed out on May 24.

Here's the complete line-up:

OPENER
"Up," U.S., Pete Docter, Bob Peterson

CLOSER
"Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky," France, Jan Kounen

IN COMPETITION
"Bright Star," Australia-U.K.-France, Jane Campion
"Spring Fever," China-France, Lou Ye
"Antichrist," Denmark-Sweden-France-Italy, Lars von Trier
"Enter the Void," France, Gaspar Noe
"Face," France-Taiwan-Netherlands-Belgium, Tsai Ming-liang
"Les Herbes folles," France-Italy, Alain Resnais
"In the Beginning," France, Xavier Giannoli
"A Prophet," France, Jacques Audiard
"The White Ribbon," Germany-Austria-France, Michael Haneke
"Vengeance," Hong Kong-France-U.S., Johnnie To
"The Time That Remains," Israel-France-Belgium-Italy, Elia Suleiman
"Vincere," Italy-France, Marco Bellocchio
"Kinatay," Philippines, Brillante Mendoza
"Thirst," South Korea-U.S., Park Chan-wook
"Broken Embraces," Spain, Pedro Almodovar
"Map of the Sounds of Tokyo," Spain, Isabel Coixet
"Fish Tank," U.K.-Netherlands, Andrea Arnold
"Looking for Eric," U.K.-France-Belgium-Italy, Ken Loach
"Inglourious Basterds," U.S., Quentin Tarantino
"Taking Woodstock," U.S., Ang Lee

OUT OF COMPETITION
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," Canada-France, Terry Gilliam
"The Army of Crime," France, Robert Guediguian
"Agora," Spain, Alejandro Amenabar

MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS
"A Town Called Panic," Belgium, Stephane Aubier, Vincent Patar
"Ne te retourne pas," France-Belgium-Luxembourg-Italy, Marina de Van
"Drag Me to Hell," U.S., Sam Raimi

SPECIAL SCREENINGS
"Petition," China, Zhao Liang
"L'epine dans le coeur," France, Michel Gondry
"Min ye," France-Mali, Souleyumane Cisse
"Jaffa," Israel-France-Germany, Keren Yedaya
"Manila," Philippines, Adolfo Alix Jr., Raya Martin
"My Neighbor, My Killer," U.S., Anne Aghion

UN CERTAIN REGARD
"Samson & Delilah," Australia, Warwick Thornton
"Adrift," Brazil, Heitor Dhalia
"The Wind Journeys," Colombia, Ciro Guerra
"Demain des l'aube," France, Denis Dercourt
"Irene," France, Alain Cavalier
"Air Doll," Japan, Hirokazu Kore-eda
"Independance," Philippines-France-Germany, Raya Martin
"Le Pere de mes enfants," France-Germany, Mia Hansen-Love
"Dogtooth," Greece, Yorgos Lanthimos
"Nobody Knows About the Persian Cats," Iran, Bahman Ghobadi
"Eyes Wide Open," Israel, Haim Tabakman
"Mother," South Korea, Bong Joon-ho
"The Silent Army," Netherlands, Jean van de Velde
"To Die Like a Man," Portugal, Joao Pedro Rodrigues
"Police, Adjective," Romania, Corneliu Porumboiu
"Tales from the Golden Age," Romania, Hanno Hofer, Razvan Marculescu, Cristian Mungiu, Constantin Popescu, Ioana Uricaru
"Tale in the Darkness," Russia, Nikolay Khomeriki
"Tzar," Russia-France, Pavel Lounguine
"Nymph," Thailand, Pen-ek Ratanaruang
"Precious," U.S., Lee Daniels

DIRECTORS’ FORTNIGHT LINEUP
“La Pivellina,” Austria, Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel
“The Alasness of Things,” Belgium-Netherlands, Felix van Groeningen
“Eastern Plays,” Bulgaria-Sweden, Kamen Kalev
“Carcasses,” Canada, Denis Cote
“J’ai tue ma mere,” Canada, Xavier Dolan
“Polytechnique,” Canada, Denis Villeneuve
“Navidad,” Chile, Sebastian Lelio
“Oxhide II,” China, Liu Jia Yin
“La famille Wolberg,” France-Belgium, Axelle Ropert
“Land of Madness,” France, Luc Moullet
“Le roi de l’evasion,” France, Alain Guiraudie
“Les beaux gosses,” France, Riad Sattouf
“Yuki & Nina,” France-Japan, Nobuhiro Suwa, Hippolyte Girardot
“Ajami,” Israel-Germany, Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani (closer) “Daniel & Ana,” Mexico-Spain, Michel Franco
“Karaoke,” Malaysia, Chan Fui (Chris) Chong
“Ne change rien,” Portugal-France, Pedro Costa
“Here,” Singapore-Canada, Tzu-Nyen Ho
“Like You Know It All,” South Korea, Hong Sang-soo
“Amreeka,” U.S., Cherien Dabis
“Go Get Some Rosemary,” U.S.-France, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
“Humpday,” U.S., Lynn Shelton
“I Love You Phillip Morris,” U.S.-France, Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
“Tetro,” Argentina-Spain-Italy, Francis Ford Coppola (opener)

SPECIAL SCREENING
“Montparnasse,” France, Mikhael Hers

SHORT FILMS
“Cicada,” Australia, Amiel Courtin-Wilson
“Jagdfieber,” Belgium, Alessandro Comodin
“Superbarroco,” Brazil, Renata Pinheiro
“Anna,” Denmark, Runar Runarsson
“Nice,” France, Maud Alpi
“The Fugitives,” France, Guillaume Leiter
“Thermidor,” France, Virgil Vernier
“The History of Aviation,” Hungry, Balint Kenyeres
“Song of Love and Health,” Portugal-France, Joao Nicolau
“Dust Kid,” South Korea, Jung Yu-mi
“The Attack of the Robots from Nebuma-5,” Spain, Chema Garcia Ibarra
“Drommar Fran Skogen,” Sweden, Johannes Nyholm
“American Minor,” U.S., Charlie White
“John Wayne Hated Horses,” U.S., Andrew Betzer

First-time filmmakers will be center stage at this year’s 48th annual International Critics Week, where announced competition titles will be up for the Camera d’Or. Critics Week runs May 14-22, 2009. in Cannes. Here’s the critic’s week line-up:

COMPETITION
“Lost Persons Area,” Belgium, Caroline Strubbe
“Altiplano,” Belgium-Germany-Netherlands, Peter Brosen, Jessica Woodworth
“Huacho,” Chile, Alejandro Fernandez Almendras
“Adieu Gary,” France, Nassim Amaouche
“Whisper With the Wind,” Iraq, Shahram Alidi
“The Ordinary People,” Serbia-France-Switzerland, Vladimir Perisic
“Bad Day to Go Fishing,” Uruguay-Spain, Alvaro Brechner

COMPETITION SHORTS
“Runaway,” Canada, Cordell Barker
“Tulum,” Croatia, Dalibor Matanic
“Logorama,” France, H5
“C’est gratuit pour les filles,” France, Claire Burger, Marie Amachoukeli
“Together,” Germany-U.K., Eicke Bettinga
“Noche adentro,” Paraguay, Pablo Lamar
“Seeds of the Fall,” Sweden, Patrick Eklund

SPECIAL SCREENINGS
“Nothing Personal,” France, Mathias Gokalp (Opening film)
“Hierro,” Spain, Gabe Ibanez
“La baie du renard,” France, Gregoire Colin (Closing night short)
“1989,” Columbia, Camilo Matiz (Closing night)

SPECIAL SCREENINGS - SHORTS & MEDIUM-LENGTH
“Elo,” Brazil, Vera Egito
“Espalhadas pelo ar,” Brazil, Vera Egito
“Les Miettes,” France, Pierre Pinaud
“Faiblesses,” France, Nicolas Giraud
“6 Hours,” South Korea, Moon Seong-hyeok