I'll also be forgoing works by Raul Ruiz and Catherine Breillat, although at least these were made for TV so I can't fault the choice of screening format. Word has it that some other new works to be shown digitally, like Crime After Crime and The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu, are film-based productions, which is rather curious. Does one have to travel to Cannes to see these properly?
I'm sorry to see that the troubled Clay Theatre has been dropped as a venue--I always found their presentations sharp and bright, though Q&A sessions would always start prematurely, to the detriment of a film's credits. On the other hand, on my few visits to new venue VIZ Cinema I've found little to fault on-screen, and recommend seeing a film there over the lamentable Kabuki (but hey, at least the festival doesn't bother with Sundance's normal reserved-seating nonsense).
I sure do seem cranky, don't I? Over the next couple weeks I'll be checking back in with my responses to the films I see, and if the festival is doing its job I'm sure I'll have cause to inject plenty of good cheer into my postings.
|
Already I've seen one film in a press screening, Denis Villeneuve's Incendies. Cheer isn't a word I'd associate with this film, but it is most excellent all the same! Two twentysomethings find in their mother's will an exhortation to track down a father they thought dead and a brother they knew nothing of. Shocking revelations are underplayed (often audience-reveals precede character-reveals) in favor of moral and (fictionalized) political complexities, the general gist of which is all a viewer can expect to apprehend. A few clumsy mathematical metaphors, which I assume originate in Wajdi Mouawad's play, are easily forgiven. Yes, this is an adaptation from the stage, and yet with its diverse locales and its selective framing it's a wonderfully cinematic translation. The (French) credits make mention of 2k digital work, which I believe is restricted to some few bleary effects shots. The image is in general quite lovely, sharp, and filmic. At any rate, Villeneuve keeps most "effects-worthy" happenings off-screen, preferring a sophisticated and poetic human-centered film language to clumsy dioramic bombast.
As last year, have I seen my favorite festival movie before the festival has even started? Stay tuned....