Festival Circuit 2022

[yoshimori]

James Gray’s Armageddon Time seems to be the first home run at Cannes, with a long ovation and multiple reviews calling it his best

All the premieres get standing ovations. The press screening reaction wasn't so favorable.

The movie is trite and wooden; the main character, utterly annoying in a way the director seems not to appreciate. [The film is autobiographical.]

[DarkImbecile]

Do they all get seven-minute ovations?

[therewillbeblus]

James Gray’s Armageddon Time seems to be the first home run at Cannes, with a long ovation and multiple reviews calling it his best

All the premieres get standing ovations. The press screening reaction wasn't so favorable.

The movie is trite and wooden; the main character, utterly annoying in a way the director seems not to appreciate. [The film is autobiographical.]

Ehlrich seemed to argue the same thing but in a good way, as in Gray wasn't going to let his stand-in self off the hook by making him any less annoying or moralistic. From his pretty in-depth review, it feels in step with his other films in not glamourizing any of his characters

[bdsweeney]

it feels in step with his other films in not glamourizing any of his characters

Agreed. I think the same thing could be said about Two Lovers' main character (played by Joaquin Phoenix), which is a film I adore.

[therewillbeblus]

That's the prime example I was thinking of, though I think this extends to all characters in that movie and throughout his entire body of work. Even the characters who are innocent and do nothing wrong aren't moralized or depicted in a special way, and they're usually complicit through neglect or disengagement in some respect, but again not in a way that pathologizes or holds them specifically accountable either. Another way to say it is that James Gray embraces the gray in humanity, without being flashy. He allows complexity to rest in the elisions, passively acknowledged in how he directs his actors within their physical environments. He films his characters and settings with lucidity, but also humility in not pretending to be able to glare past the surface into their souls. If anyone was going to make an autobiographical film, he's the man

[yoshimori]

Sure. If one likes Gray's "work" in general -- its cliché dialogue, generic plotting, stock coverage, grating characters -- this may do the trick as well.

Do they all get seven-minute ovations?

When the filmmakers are present, pretty much. I didn't time it, but the Serebrennikov ovation was still going on long after I'd made my way out of the theater.

It's a common ploy among reviewers to indicate the ovation only for movies they themselves liked. Unless they're reporting wild frenzies or catcalls or riots in the theater, I'd ignore it.

[domino harvey]

You may have something of an unpopular bias there

[yoshimori]

Sorry about that.

[colinr0380]

Do we have a dedicated Cannes thread or should we just use this one? I was surprised to find out that Michel Hazanavicius' latest film Coupez! (or Final Cut) is a remake of One Cut Of The Dead! (What is it about Cannes and kicking off their competition with a zombie film: didn't The Dead Don't Die kick off the competition in its particular year?). According to imdb the film apparently has Quentin Dupieux in an acting role in it.

And Marco Bellocchio's Esterno Notte (or Exterior, Night) is apparently another film by the director about the 1978 kidnapping of Aldo Moro by the Red Brigade situation, which should be interesting to compare to his 2003 film about the same event Good Morning, Night.

[zedz]

You may have something of an unpopular bias there

Don't forget that, as far as I'm aware, yoshimori is the only person in this thread who has actually seen the film in question. The defences aren't critical takes so much as expressions of brand loyalty.

[domino harvey]

It may indeed be awful, but he’s clearly coming to it with a far different take on the filmmaker than most and having seen it doesn’t mean he saw the same thing many here would

If one likes Gray's "work" in general -- its cliché dialogue, generic plotting, stock coverage, grating characters -- this may do the trick as well.

[DarkImbecile]

Have you seen anything you have liked, yoshimori?

[yoshimori]

I was very impressed with Marie Kreutzer's Corsage. Will post more later. About to step into the Desplechin screening.

[yoshimori]

The good news is the Desplechin is not as diluted as the trailer suggests. It's no Christmas Tale or Kings and Queen or Esther Kahn, but it's not among his worst either. It's his re-exploration of the characters from Christmas Tale, but with occupational adjustments and more middle-class parents. Not as stylish either as his best, but still ... He's something of a genius. [And since this seems to be a topic of interest, I should probably say it was received VERY cooly in this morning's press screening.]

The Kreutzer is delightful. I'm ashamed to say I don't know her previous work. Corsage is a kind of para-historical open-eyed, feminist portrait of Empress Sissi, replete with a stable-boy-turned-troubadour singing "Help Me Make It Through the Night" and a harp recital featuring "As Tears Go By". The ending, though it never really happened, is thrilling. Precisely designed and shot.

OK. My rough rankings so far.

1 (excellent): Corsage
2 (good): Frère et Sœur
3A (disappointing given the pedigree, but still above the fray): Triangle of Sadness
3B (passable, neither particularly memorable nor particularly objectionable): Coupez, God’s Creatures, Eo, 8 Mountains, Plan 75
4 (a variety of problems, without much mitigating pleasure): War Pony, Tchaikovsky’s Wife, The Stranger, L’envol, Alma viva, Aftersun
5 (horrible): Armageddon Time

[DarkImbecile]

“Armageddon Time: 5/5!” - yoshimori, CriterionForum.org

Exciting to hear that Krieps may have another meaty role to play with, and disappointing to hear the mixed response for Triangle of Sadness.

Is there something you’re particularly anticipating among the remainder of the Competition films?

[yoshimori]

Ha! There's always Park, Kawase, Reichardt, Serra. And maybe another something unanticipated, like the Kreutzer. Hoping for something special from Smoczynska. Quite liked her Fuga (Lure, not so much).

[colinr0380]

“Armageddon Time: 5/5!” - yoshimori, CriterionForum.org

[Altair]

The Kreutzer is delightful. I'm ashamed to say I don't know her previous work. Corsage is a kind of para-historical open-eyed, feminist portrait of Empress Sissi, replete with a stable-boy-turned-troubadour singing "Help Me Make It Through the Night" and a harp recital featuring "As Tears Go By". The ending, though it never really happened, is thrilling. Precisely designed and shot.

This sounds great - I thought Spencer was the best film of last year, and liked (although didn't quite love) The Favourite, which this seems to be channelling. Hopefully it will get an English language release.

[DarkImbecile]

I thought Spencer was the best film of last year

1. The Green Knight
2. Spencer

[yoshimori]

Yes. People are comparing it to Spencer (which I too liked, except for the silly father stuff) and, because of the music thing, Marie Antoinette. The Kreutzer film is the most rigorous of the three, for sure.

[Altair]

All I can say in my defence is that those two films switch between first and second in my mind! Interestingly, both Spencer and The Greek Knight are investigations into honour, class-bound social expectations, and doing what's expected of you (and the disasters these false choices can cause).

[Persona]

The TRIANGLE OF SADNESS clips have looked so terribly on the nose, it kind of reminds me of the new Kendrick Lamar record in that you have a work from someone potentially brilliant in their field but whose current mode seems to be "let's just lay everything and the kitchen sink on thick as possible" and with minimal interest in expressing things artfully or with great focus of intent. I don't know, what I've seen of TRIANGLE feels like the fall-off from FORCE MAJEURE is becoming precipitous, but I hope I am wrong. And I realize there is some personal preference at play here as bluntness in art seems to be more in fashion these days.

Of course, bluntness never bothered me in Cronenberg films, so again personal biases and all that. For me Cannes is all about CRIMES OF THE FUTURE. I am sure it will garner some middling responses, especially since it could veer into the realm of self-parody, but personally I could not be more excited for Cronenberg doing this exact type of thing that only he really does well.

A little disappointing to hear that GOD'S CREATURES was not great in Yoshi's view. While I did not love THE FITS, I found it a fairly interesting/promising debut.

[brundlefly]

I did love The Fits, so at least having Holmer and Davis working again keeps that popping up in conversation! While it doesn't look like this one may be as distinctive, and reaction has been postive without enthusiasm, a new Emily Watson showcase is not a bad thing.

[DarkImbecile]

The reactions to Ali Abassi’s Holy Spider appear to be all over the map (not a total surprise if you’ve seen Border), ranging from angry denunciation to shades of disappointment to glowing adoration. A lot of comparisons to Se7en, Fatih Akin’s The Golden Glove, and Joker(?) being thrown around.

[yoshimori]

The TRIANGLE OF SADNESS clips have looked so terribly on the nose ...

Sadly, true. After the first 20 minutes, he's got the sledgehammer out.

I did love The Fits, so at least having Holmer and Davis working again keeps that popping up in conversation! While it doesn't look like this one may be as distinctive, and reaction has been postive without enthusiasm, a new Emily Watson showcase is not a bad thing.

Yah. God's Creatures is not, unlike The Fits, stylish is any way. But yes again, Watson, and the other two main women here, carry it.