| Cannes Film Festival 2009 Jury President: Isabelle Huppert Other Jurors: Asia Argento, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, James Gray, Hanif Kureishi, Lee Chang-dong, Shu Qi, Sharmila Tagore, Robin Wright Penn |
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| Palme d'Or: | The White Ribbon, Austria/Germany, dir. Michael Haneke |
| Grand Jury Prize: | A Prophet, France, dir. Jacques Audiard |
| Jury Prize: | Fish Tank, UK, dir. Andrea Arnold Thirst, South Korea, dir. Park Chan-wook |
| Best Director: | Kinatay, Brillante Mendoza |
| Best Actress: | Antichrist, Charlotte Gainsbourg |
| Best Actor: | Inglourious Basterds, Christoph Waltz |
| Best Screenplay: | Spring Fever, scr. Feng Wei |
| Special Jury Prize: | Wild Grass, dir. Alain Resnais |
| Technical Grand Prize: | Map of the Sounds of Tokyo, Isabel Coixet, director |
| FIPRESCI/International Critics Prize: | The White Ribbon, dir. Michael Haneke |
| Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: | Looking for Eric, dir. Ken Loach |
| Caméra d'Or (first feature): | Samson and Delilah, Australia, dir. Warwick Thornton |
Competition Films I Have Seen:Ranked in order of preference
My Palme d'Or:
Thirst (South Korea, dir. Park Chan-wook) - Styled so woozily and aggressively you worry for it even as you submit to it, but Park mostly keeps it crackling; Kim, lighting are ace
Fish Tank (UK, dir. Andrea Arnold) - Arnold gets such charge from images, actors, sounds; even when this one lapses or wanders, she brings it back with kick
Bright Star (UK/Australia, dir. Jane Campion) - Feared this might feel too safe, but Campion evokes minds and hearts of her leads; bits could be tweaked, but hardy and lustrous
A Prophet (France, dir. Jacques Audiard) - No gainsaying Audiard's scene-level genius or the aliveness of his films, but genre feels trapped by overfamiliarity
Face (Taiwan/France, dir. Tsai Ming-liang) - Early, uncut sequence with exploding sink might be year's funniest gag; odd to hat-tip all of his own films, but a good, weird time anyway
Wild Grass (France, dir. Alain Resnais) - Sinuous, light, a bit soporific. Dazzling hues but all a bit dubious. Is there such a thing as couture costume jewelry? (full review)
The White Ribbon (Austria/Germany, dir. Michael Haneke) - Sharp eye and cold command of duration serve Haneke well even when he's intent on sinking himself with ludicrous pile-up of Very Bad Things (full review)
Inglourious Basterds (USA, dir. Quentin Tarantino) - Whole plots and characters fail, entire last act frankly loathsome, but Waltz is genius, and when QT's on (the cards, the cream), he's on (partial review)
Broken Embraces (Spain, dir. Pedro Almodóvar) - Amassing small band of defenders, but I'm with party line: feels too expected and, worse, fussily over-structured; big "reveal" is obvious
Antichrist (Denmark, dir. Lars von Trier) - Despite electric love/hate response at Cannes, I found its provocations banal; as dull as any film featuring self-clitoridectomy could be
Taking Woodstock (USA, dir. Ang Lee) - Makes no sense as Cannes entrant, and has a devil of a time conjuring any urgency, but not unpleasant; scenes here and there work just fine
Vincere (Italy, dir. Marco Bellocchio) - I confess low tolerance for high-gloss Italian bathos, but nothing sustains the wailing, opportunistic spectacles
My Jury Votes:
| Best Director: | Jacques Audiard, A Prophet |
| Best Actress: | Katie Jarvis, Fish Tank |
| Best Actor: | Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds |
| Best Screenplay: | Jane Campion, Bright Star |
| Technical Grand Prize: | Chung Chung-hoon, cinematographer, Thirst Juliette Welfling, editor, A Prophet |
Sidebar Selections I Have Seen:Ranked in order of preference
Dogtooth (Un Certain Regard: Greece, dir. Giorgos Lanthimos) - Sweetie + Salò = ingeniously lensed, unsettlingly plucky immersion in one family's perverse oligarchy. Lick this, Haneke.
Mother (Un Certain Regard: South Korea, dir. Bong Joon-ho) - As in many Korean peers, piecemeal structure is problem and thrilling gift; for every bald patch, a staggering surprise
My Neighbor, My Killer (Special Screening: USA/France/Rwanda, dir. Anne Aghion) - What extraordinary doc lacks in finesse and structure it nails in emotional candor and eyewitness value (full review)
I Killed My Mother (Directors' Fortnight: Canada, dir. Xavier Dolan) - Sure, some rough edges and add-ons, but increasingly vital, multi-sided portrait of thistly mother-son bond.
The Father of My Children (Un Certain Regard: France, dir. Mia Hansen-Løve) - Could be fresher or bolder, but so eloquently humane. Grégoire's a great character, in life and in death.
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (Un Certain Regard: USA, dir. Lee Daniels) - Film flaunts Mo'Nique and adventurous direction, despite flaws of both; Sidibe and school scenes actually stronger, and sum adds up mightily (full review)
To Die Like a Man (Un Certain Regard: Portugal, dir. João Pedro Rodrigues) - Rodrigues re-proves his gift at drawing us in despite odd, standoffish characters; uneven but moving, with bracing, abrupt abstract passages
Drag Me to Hell (Out of Competition: USA, dir. Sam Raimi) - Slams to instant life, first hour so invigorating that drab leads don't matter; second half a big letdown, but final scene wins it back
Police, Adjective (Un Certain Regard: Romania, dir. Corneliu Porumboiu) - Less smart than Porumboiu's first, yet this one's cockier about it; still, some welcome humor, very dry, and YouTube setpiece delights
Up (Out of Competition: USA, dir. Pete Docter) - Pixar shorts contracted to be peppy, or else they could have stopped ten minutes in; rest is fine, with zesty bird and dog, but goes adrift
Tetro (Directors' Fortnight: USA/Argentina, dir. Francis Ford Coppola) - A jump up from Youth without Youth, and has sense to end with best stuff instead of starting there, but where's the rest of what I ordered?
Humpday (Directors' Fortnight: USA, dir. Lynn Shelton) - A case where consensus critical line pretty much covers it: funny, acting good (Duplass and Delmore excel), but last third is utterly feeble
Nymph (Un Certain Regard: Thailand, dir. Pen-ek Ratanaruang) - I might've seen the wrong films, but this director eludes me; some creepy sounds and images, impressive 360° pans, but it's all been done
Amreeka (Directors' Fortnight: USA/Canada/Palestine, dir. Cherien Dabis) - Good enough acting from Faour, Abbass, Shawkat to keep characters alive, but this is sub-Visitor liberal cinema on a budget
Air Doll (Un Certain Regard: Japan, dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda) - Not without craft, but patience-taxing and vapidly sentimental; much prefer Gondry's Tokyo! segment where real girl turns into furniture (full review)
I Love You Phillip Morris (Directors' Fortnight: USA, dirs. Glenn Ficarra & John Requa) - Everyone tries, but tone too flippant, and smug about its risk-taking; McGregor's sweet, Mann underused
Competition Films I'm Curious to See:
Ranked in order of interest; more on this year's lineup here (opens in a new window)
Enter the Void, France, dir. Gaspar Noé
Kinatay, the Philippines, dir. Brillante Mendoza
Spring Fever, China, dir. Lou Ye
In the Beginning, France, dir. Xavier Giannoli
The Time that Remains, Palestine, dir. Elia Suleiman
Map of the Sounds of Tokyo, Spain, dir. Isabel Coixet
| Also in Competition: |
Looking for Eric, UK, dir. Ken Loach Vengeance, Hong Kong, dir. Johnnie To |
Sidebar Films I'm Curious to See:
Listed alphabetically; more on this year's lineup here (opens in a new window)
| Un Certain Regard: |
No One Knows about Persian Cats, Iran, dir. Bahman Ghobadi Samson and Delilah, Australia, dir. Warwick Thornton Tales from the Golden Age, Romania, dira. Cristian Mungiu, et al. |
| Directors' Fortnight: |
Ajami, Israel, dirs. Scandar Copti & Yaron Shani Daddy Longlegs, USA, dirs. Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie Daniel & Ana, Mexico, dir. Michel Franco Like You Know It All, South Korea, dir. Hong Sang-soo Ne change rien, Portugal, dir. Pedro Costa Polytechnique, Canada, dir. Denis Villeneuve |
| Out of Competition: |
Agora, Spain, dir. Alejandro Amenábar Don't Look Back, France, dir. Marina de Van A Town Called Panic, Belgium, dirs. Stéphane Aubier & Vincent Patar |
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