From Canberra to Cannes Day 9

I’ve been looking for George. Clooney that is. Several friends asked me to bring him back to Canberra. But I’m sorry to have to report that it’s the last day here at Cannes and he didn’t make it – will Brad do?

He was here early this week. But he seems to be taken. Some woman named Angelina, apparently, and together they are clearly the golden couple of cinema. They coolly wandered down the red carpet outside Le Palais, pouting and presenting their impossibly good looks to the world media.

They were here for Quentin Tarantino’s new film Inglorious Basterds – a World War II drama – along with the lantern jawed–man himself. Looking like Chesty Bond, Tarantino was as outrageous and confident as ever – dancing his way up the red carpet in front of fans and photographers.

But whilst he may have wowed the crowd outside, some who saw the film were less than enthusiastic – “long” people said (160 minutes), “not a contender” for any awards at Cannes, most agreed. Nevertheless it’s the best Tarantino since Pulp Fiction. He’s obviously been watching the Coen Brothers and has decided to trim his long dialogue scenes. The result is a very witty, very outrageous film chock full of irony in which Brad Pitt and friends take on the Fuhrer.

But it’s unlikely to win. My money is on Jacques Audiard’s A Prophet, a stunning film about the rise to power of a young and illiterate French–Arab man sentenced to six years in a tough prison where he has to survive rival crime factions who run the place. It reminded me of Scorsese at his best, but with more focus and more depth – a spiritual undercurrent hinted at in the title. It too is long – (150 minutes) but its energy and gripping storyline means it never drags.

Not so a couple of other films in and out of competition. Micheal Haneke’s The White Ribbon (144 mins) was a disappointment for me – he’s one of my favourite filmmakers – but his is a wordy film about a series of unexplained incidents in a German village prior to World War. There’s a subtle suggestion that the real story is about the brutality of austere Protestantism, but there’s never enough coherent story to hold onto, and no likeable characters to guide you through the journey.

Then there’s Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, which at 122 minutes seems far longer. It’s another excuse for Gilliam to impress us with his now familiar production design skills, but even Heath Ledger’s last performance can’t save the film from tedium. It’s just one bizarre event after another.

Films that may challenge A Prophet are Fish Tank a stunning tale of a young girl growing up in grubby housing estate in South England, and perhaps Jane Campion’s film Bright Star about the relationship between John Keats and Fanny Brawne (although I found it very subdued). There are a couple more entries to go – as the Festival heads towards its conclusion and both the weather and the competition heats up. Meanwhile I’ll work on getting Brad’s number.

Tagged as: A Prophet, Angelina Jolie, brad pitt, Bright Star, Canberra, cannes, fish tank, George Clooney, Heath Ledger, Inglorious Basterds, Jacques Audiard, Jane Campion, Micheal Haneke, quentin tarantino, Terry Gilliam, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, White Ribbon