| Cannes Film Festival 2010 Jury President: Tim Burton Other Jurors: Alberto Barbera, Kate Beckinsale, Emmanuele Carrère, Benicio Del Toro, Alexandre Desplat, Victor Erice, Shekhar Kapur, Giovanna Mezzogiorno |
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| Palme d'Or: | Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Thailand, dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul |
| Grand Jury Prize: | Of Gods and Men, France, dir. Xavier Beauvois |
| Jury Prize: | A Screaming Man, Chad, dir. Mahamat-Saleh Haroun |
| Best Director: | On Tour (Tournée), Mathieu Amalric |
| Best Actress: | Certified Copy, Juliette Binoche |
| Best Actor: | Biutiful, Javier Bardem La nostra vita, Elio Germano |
| Best Screenplay: | Poetry, Lee Chang-dong |
| Technical Grand Prize: | Biutiful, Jon Taylor and Bob Beemer, sound mixers |
| FIPRESCI/International Critics Prize: | On Tour (Tournée), dir. Mathieu Amalric |
| Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: | Of Gods and Men, dir. Xavier Beauvois |
| Caméra d'Or (first feature): | Leap Year, Mexico, dir. Michael Rowe |
Competition Films I Have Seen:Ranked in order of preference
My Palme d'Or
My Joy (Ukraine/Germany, dir. Sergei Loznitsa) - Like Russian Ark dreamscape restaged as Wages of Fear-style suspenser, in mordant, purgatorial key of Romanian New Wave
Certified Copy (France/Italy/Belgium, dir. Abbas Kiarostami) - Disarmingly lived-in, even warm for a study of romantic skepticism and ambivalence; concepty, yes, but rings with truth
On Tour (Tournée) (France, dir. Mathieu Amalric) - Lifts Blowzy Troupe and Seedy Manager out of flat cliché. Vibrant, gangly, bristles with visual and sonic life.
Biutiful (Mexico/Spain, dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu) - It's a battering ram, sure, but cinematography, sound design, acting, and murky rewrite of social class are very potent
Poetry (South Korea, dir. Lee Chang-dong) - Despite precious, diffuse, and familiar passages, overall effect is poignant and eerily unnerving. Yun amazes. Bracing end.
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Thailand, dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul) - Offhand return of dead sister-wife a great moment, anchors swell first half, but film grows desultory, even hollow
Another Year (UK, dir. Mike Leigh) - Dotted with contrivances and over-emphases, but pivots fascinatingly on a woman's inability to reciprocate generosity.
Fair Game (USA, dir. Doug Liman) - Gets patchy and Joe-centric at end, as I'd heard, but quite engrossing for first hour. Most solid at work-life portrait.
A Screaming Man (Chad/France/Belgium, dir. Mahamat-Saleh Haroun) - A bit blunt and lethargic, especially at outset, but gradually makes case for this approach; end has real impact
Outside the Law (France/Algeria/Belgium, dir. Rachid Bouchareb) - Probes some nervy territory and yields tense set-pieces. Stifled, though, by scripted and story-boarded conceits.
Of Gods and Men (France, dir. Xavier Beauvois) - Did you catch the part where the monks were unsure what to do yet beatifically sure? Moving tale; flat, safe film.
The Housemaid (South Korea, dir. Im Sang-soo) - Some pulpy energy and occasional smarts, but woozily over-directed, with nothing new to say. Jeon adds what she can. (full review)
My Jury Votes:
| Best Director: | Abbas Kiarostami, Certified Copy |
| Best Actress: | Yun Jeong-hie, Poetry |
| Best Actor: | Mathieu Amalric, On Tour (Tournée) |
| Best Screenplay: | Abbas Kiarostami, Certified Copy |
| Technical Grand Prize: | Rodrigo Prieto, cinematographer, Biutiful |
Sidebar Selections I Have Seen:Ranked in order of preference
Blue Valentine (Un Certain Regard: USA, dir. Derek Cianfrance) - Two-ply structure finessed for endless, vital nuances in invigoratingly acted, edited, and lensed marital autopsy.
Love Like Poison (Directors' Fortnight: France, dir. Katell Quillévéré) - Subtle, unsettling coming-of-age drama, graced by wholly plausible sense of place. One of Chicago Film Festival's best!
Nostalgia for the Light (Out of Competition: Chile, dir. Patricio Guzmán) - Even when forcing analogies a bit, a humbling blend of awe, empiricism, history, reverie, and mourning
Inside Job (Out of Competition: USA, dir. Charles Ferguson) - The feel-despondent movie of the year, detailed and lucid despite palpable fury, though a bit self-indulgently edited.
Carlos (Out of Competition: France, dir. Olivier Assayas) - Peaks and valleys in all three parts. Ramírez a trouper, Assayas still an ace stylist, but political contexts too opaque.
Le Quattro Volte (Directors' Fortnight: Italy, dir. Michelangelo Frammartino) - Great at texture and tempo, maybe a bit self-satisfied, but a sly keeper. Like the Tavianis doing Roy Andersson.
Tuesday, After Christmas (Un Certain Regard: Romania, dir. Radu Muntean) - Rare infidelity drama to afford rounded viewpoints to husband, wife, and mistress. Delectably long takes.
Leap Year (Directors' Fortnight: Mexico, dir. Michael Rowe) - This year's Caméra d'or winner elevates lurid premise, vague plot hinge with well-calibrated framing, tone, color (full review)
Heartbeats (Un Certain Regard: Canada, dir. Xavier Dolan) - Admittedly fine line between playful and hollow pastiche, but I found moods, colors, and sounds more engaging than not
The Tree (Out of Competition: Australia, dir. Julie Bertuccelli) - Survives looming, 600-ton metaphor via color, energy of frames, acute observations. Key: resist reading end as "happy."
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (Out of Competition: UK, dir. Craig McCall) - A charming, truly legendary subject compensates for ho-hum style, softball questions.
Kaboom! (Out of Competition: USA, dir. Gregg Araki) - Same puerile nihilism, sans pulse. Wan humor and pulp-derelict production values. CK One goes Darko goes mushroom cloud.
Competition Films I'm Curious to See:
Ranked in order of interest; more on this year's lineup here (opens in a new window)
The Princess of Montpensier, France, dir. Bertrand Tavernier
Tender Son: The Frankenstein Project, Hungary, dir. Kornél Mundruczó
| Also in Competition: |
Burnt by the Sun 2, Russia, dir. Nikita Mikhalkov Chongqing Blues, China, dir. Wang Xiaoshuai La nostra vita, Italy, dir. Daniele Luchetti Outrage, Japan, dir. Takeshi Kitano Route Irish, UK, dir. Ken Loach |
Sidebar Films I'm Curious to See:
Listed alphabetically; more on this year's lineup here (opens in a new window)
| Un Certain Regard: |
Aurora, Romania, dir. Cristi Puiu Carancho, Argentina, dir. Pablo Trapero Film Socialisme, Switzerland, dir. Jean-Luc Godard Hahaha, South Korea, dir. Hong Sang-soo I Wish I Knew, China, dir. Jia Zhangke Life, Above All, South Africa, dir. Oliver Schmitz October, Peru, dirs. Daniel & Diego Vega Rebecca H. (Return to the Dogs), USA, dir. Lodge Kerrigan The Strange Case of Angelica, Portugal, dir. Manoel de Oliveira Udaan, India, dir. Vikramaditya Motwane |
| Directors' Fortnight: |
All Good Children, Ireland, dir. Alicia Duffy Boxing Gym, USA, dir. Frederick Wiseman The Invisible Eye, Argentina, dir. Diego Lerman Shit Year, USA, dir. Cam Archer The Silent House, Uruguay, dir. Gustavo Hernández Two Gates of Sleep, USA, dir. Alistair Banks Griffin We Are What We Are, Mexico, dir. Jorge Michel Grau You All Are Captains, Spain, dir. Oliver Laxe |
| Critics' Week: |
Armadillo, Denmark, dir. Janus Metz Copacabana, France/Belgium, dir. Marc Fitoussi The Myth of the American Sleepover, USA, dir. David Robert Mitchell Rubber, France, dir. Quentin Dupieux |
| Out of Competition: |
The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania, dir. Andrei Ujica Chantrapas, Georgia/France, dir. Otar Iosseliani Gilles Jacob: Citizen Cannes, France, dir. Serge Le Péron Over Your Cities, Grass Will Grow, UK, dir. Sophie Fiennes |
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