Half-time in Cannes: High expectations and ugly surprises
Jochen Kürten ss
May 24, 2017
The Palme d'Or is considered to be the most prestigious award in the film industry. A total of 19 directors are competing this year for the award for best film. But like the rest of the world, Cannes is in shock.
Image: picture-alliance/Maxppp/F. Dugit
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Half-time: No frontrunner for Palme d'Or in Cannes
All bets are off when it comes to guessing who might win the coveted Palme d'Or award in Cannes this year. Critics hope that the rest of the festival might be more interesting.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A.Thuillier
Proven duo: Haneke and Huppert
Austrian director Michael Haneke and French actress Isabelle Huppert have made numerous films together. Haneke has already won two Golden Palms and is now going for his third. He and Huppert are presenting their new film, "Happy End," in Cannes.
Image: Reuters/S. Mahe
But a happy ending is unlikely
Ahead of the gala showing Haneke and his team made the usual appearances on the red carpet and then made their way to the premiere. Reactions to "Happy End," however, a story about a family, death and refugees, were split. There was even some booing at the press showing. A third Golden Palm is therefore unlikely for Haneke.
Image: Reuters/S. Mahe
Slim chances for Giorgos Lanthimos
The path to fame is steep and rocky this year at Cannes, especially for Greek director Giorgos Lanthimos. His latest movie, "The Killing of a Sacred Deer," was met with skepticism as well as some booing. The British-Irish co-production features a star-studded cast including Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell.
Image: Festival de Cannes
Celebrities on the red carpet
The international competition, which culminates in the presentation of the Palm d'Or, gets a lot of attention, but there is much more to see in Cannes than what is featured in the official program. Many prominent directors show their latest work in out-of-competition side sections. Legendary filmmaker Claude Lanzmann, for example, showed his film "Napalm."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Pizzoli
Legends of the silver screen
Jean-Luc Godard is a film legend. But the 86-year-old French director, who rose to global fame in 1960 with "Breathless," did not directly feature inCannes this year. Instead, director Michel Hazanavicius made Godard the main protagonist in his film "Le Redoutable." Godard is played by Louis Garrel, with Stacy Martin playing his partner Anne Wiazemsky.
Image: Les Compagnons du Cinéma - Photo Philippe Aubry
Agnès Varda on the red carpet
Fellow director Agnès Varda (third from left) is two years older than Godard. Born in 1928, Varda, the best known Nouvelle Vague director, presented her latest film in Cannes. "Visages Villages" is a documentary about the filmmaker's friendship with French photographer and street artist JR (second from left). The film ran outside of the competition.
At the start of the festival, there was some conflict surrounding two in-competition films produced by Netflix. Both have since been premiered and the second, "The Meyerowitz Stories" by director Noah Baumbach, received a positive response. It features a conspicuously unspectacular family story and a strong cast including Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler and Emma Thompson.
Image: Netflix/Atsushi Nishijima
Swedish film among frontrunners
Swedish director Ruben Ostlund presented his movie "The Square" in competition for the Palme d'Or. It is a satire about the art world, centered on the part of a successful art curator who second-guesses himself and his motivation to be part of this industry. "The Square" has received some positive reviews.
First-time director Robin Campillo also in the race
Moroccan-born scriptwriter Robin Campillo made his debut as a director with his film "120 battements par minute," which explores the spreading of AIDS. The movie was well received at the festival in Cannes - but without the kind of enthusiasm that favorites would enjoy.
Image: Céline Nieszawer
And the winner could be...
With over half the festival over, there is no true favorite for the Palme d'Or. Of all the movies shown so far this year, Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev (second left) garnered the most attention and best reviews with his latest movie, "Nelyubov." Zvyagintsev, who received an award as best scriptwriter in Cannes in 2014, looks at the collapse of civil society in Russia in his latest film.
Image: Reuters/S. Mahe
Bad reviews for Todd Haynes
Among the movies that many had looked forward to but which disappointed viewers and the press alike is "Wonderstruck" by US director Todd Haynes. The flim deals with the experiences of two deaf teenagers. Despite negative reviews, the main actors in the movie like Julianne Moore (left) and Michelle Williams (center) managed to enjoy their red carpet appearances.
Image: Reuters/S. Mahe
Celebrities and celebrations
From red carpet events to press conferences, from evening galas to premiere parties on yachts on the Cote d'Azur, there's a lot more to the annual festival than just what the reviews say. Not to mention the celebrities from around the world that descend on Cannes for the event - like Italian silver screen diva Monica Bellucci, who is seen here.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/H.Boesl
Not much to laugh about
French actress Marion Cotillard was also among those photographed on the red carpet. Her newest movie "Les fantomes d'Ismael" celebrated its first night just a few days ago - with some negative reviews. That shouldn't faze Cotillard, however, as she remains one of the most popular and in-demand actresses.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Shootpix
Uma Thurman a jury seat
American actress Uma Thurman was also seen in Cannes. But the 47-year-old actress, known for playing strong female characters in Quentin Tarantino films, didn't glam up for a movie premiere: Thurman switched roles this year, heading a special jury of the Cannes Film Festival entitled "Un Certain Regard." This might be her first 9 to 5 job in years.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Shootpix
Beautiful women in Cannes
The audience and the Gold Palm jury alike are waiting for better films to be premiered during the second half of the festival following the initial lack of enthusiasm in the first half. But until there's a clear frontrunner, audiences will have to keep talking about expensive gowns on red carpets, like the one worn here by Chinese actress Wang Luodan.
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot
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A minute of silence for the victims of the Manchester terror attack set the tone for this year's Cannes Palme d'Or awards announcement. In the face of such horror - an apparent act of terror - discussions about the artistic value of film fade into the background along with reports on winners and losers.
"This marks another attack on culture, on youth and on joy, on our freedom, our generosity and tolerance," the festival management commented.
But festivals go on despite these events - or rather to spite them. France had more than its own fair share of terror attacks to deal with in recent times. And terror should not spoil the joie de vivre that only culture can exude.
Last year, the heightened presence of police proved that even the laid-back festival city on the Cote d'Azur was aware that it could fall victim to terror. The Paris attacks in 2015 created a shock wave that cast a long shadow over the country.
Germany empty-handed in 2016
Despite all this, the festival went ahead in May 2016 amid heightened security measures everywhere. As always, there were winners and losers.
Highly coveted: the Palme d'Or awardImage: Getty Images/AFP/F. Coffrini
Germany was particularly disappointed about the outcome of the competition. Maren Ade's comedy "Toni Erdmann" was regarded as one of the frontrunners for an award that year. Both the Cannes press and festival-goers had fallen in love with the bizarrely entertaining story about the deteriorating relationship between a father and his daughter.
But the Cannes jury, spearheaded by the Australian director George Miller of "Mad Max" fame, had other plans in store: The main prize at the Cannes Film Festival was instead given to "I, Daniel Blake" by British director Ken Loach.
The movie amounts to a jarring piece of social commentary centered on the character of an unemployed carpenter from the North of England. Despite moving audiences, Ken Loach's film, however, shied away from taking any risks, relying solely on the impact of its narrative rather than taking a more daring approach.
'Toni Erdmann' remained critics' favorite in 2016
"Toni Erdmann" failed to score any awards at Cannes in 2016 at all, not even a minor one. The one consolation prize that director Maren Ade received there was the award of the International Federation of Film Critics FIPRESCI - in addition to the recognition it got from audiences around the world. Her movie would go on to perform much better at other film festivals.
German director Maren Ade is a jury member this yearImage: Getty Images/C. Bilan
As usual, the jury's choice at a festival is subject to a great deal of discussion not only in Cannes but also at other festivals, like the ones held in Venice or Berlin. Their unpredictable choices make for rather slim bets with bookmakers, which at half-time at the Cannes Film Festival rings more true than ever before. Even the German press, after last year's result, is keeping its predictions at bay; part of that, however, may be the fact that none of the films this year really managed to grip the experts.
Quite on the contrary: A few moments in Cannes were downright ugly this year, with some movies even being booed doing their presentation. Two time Palme d'Or-winning director Michael Haneke was one of them. Many are hoping for a better second half of the 70th edition of the festival as well as a more informed decision on part of this year's jury president, Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, who on May 28 will get to announce: "And the winner is…"
