Not that any of you have been asking but I apologize for the lack of updates regarding the Cannes Festival. My mind has been elsewhere and it's always so much info to take in and evaluate. I will tell you this much though. The film most likely to be reevaluated after the fact? I'm thinking it's Southland Tales, Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko follow up. Nick was just here and we both agreed it's the film most likely to follow that critical reversal journey. We've been hearing nothing but griping and 'it's a failure!' and all of that. But film festivals are like reality tv shows. They follow very typical patterns.
For example. There's almost always a film that everyone seems gaga over that goes home emptyhanded. There's almost always a film that wins an awards that refuses to make even the teensiest impression on anyone outside of the festival. And there's always a film (or two) that survive initial unanimous dissing. They find great critical favor once every realizes that the festival played games with their heads and critical faculties. If you've ever been to a festival (not just Cannes) you'll know what I'm talking about. The air is different. The films bleed into one another. Watching multiple films a day for weeks can work a strange alchemy on the brain's chemicals.
If the initially unlucky but suddenly lucky film isn't Southland Tales there'll be something else everyone seems to hate that we'll all love six months from now.
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God I hope you're right! My expectations for ST have been shaken, though. And in all honesty, as awesome as I find Donnie Darko, and as cute as Richard Kelly is, he does seem as if he could definitely be an ass. Not that plenty of asses haven't made great films...
I think your argument could also go for Marie Antionette, which is apparently getting the boo-treatment as well.
First off, Kelly is one handsome dude. Arrogant, I'm not sure of, but handsome nonetheless.
Second off, don't forget "Donnie Darko" was ravaged at Sundance 2001, and still managed to become one of the key American films of the decade. (Thomas was dead on about that.)
I remember at last year's Cannes, most of the reviews for A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE were negative and there was talk of people mocking it during the screening... look how that turned out.
yep, see- sarah michelle gellar for the oscar.
Marie AntoinetteM has been massacred as well. I still hold faith. Something about the french paying out a stylised reinterpretation of french history just doesn't make me change my opinion on the film.
There is a new movie from John Cameron Mitchell with supposedly sex scenes in it, like 9 Songs. It will be interesting to hear what the general response is with this movie.
Short Bus has been met with a love/hate reception i believe. Some love it, some hate it.
Having seen it earlier this week, I'd be flabbergasted should there be a critical re-evaluation in the cards for this film. If anything, expect the Stateside newspaper reviews to be worse than the Cannes reviews when this is released.
Donnie Darko got by on its considerable, though adolescent, charms. Its "ravaging" at the hands of certain curmudgeons at Sundance was nothing like what we're seeing with the new one.
Southland Tales, sad to say, is everything you've heard about it from Cannes and.... worse. Forget about its multiple plotlines; those are fine. It's not "confusing," or anything remotely like that. What it is is a tremendous bore: a muddle of not very interesting ideas about life, death and the nature of things. Come to think of it, a bit like Donnie Darko, except a lot longer and sporting a far less accomplished cast.
I liked Donnie Darko but I can't agree with those who call it a "key" film of this, or any other, decade.
well i'm hearing a few key A list critics are going to be bandying the 'masterpiece' word about when their reviews surface.
we'll see.
i don't have much invested either way. Enjoyed DD but not one of my favorite things.
Yup. I've heard that, too. Then again, a gaggle of A list critics once bandied the word "masterpiece" about when American Beauty was released. Now, they're tripping over themselves in a sweet lil' recantation shuffle. Hey-ho.
That could be Marie-Antoinette.
Anon 8.41 - why would anyone be recanting their raves of American Beauty? I thought that was actually considered a masterpiece today. God, people are morons. What has 6 years done to change a movie like American Beauty? It's not like everybody's wacky hairstyles and clothes and music choices have made it dated and look silly.
I am one who considered Donnie Darko a masterpiece so I do sorta have a desire for this to be excellent.
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