Wes Anderson‘s Moonrise Kingdom is being released on October 16th and to get you in the mood check out this international trailer hyping the release. It’s from the UK and they have already had their release date over there. Still it’s a great little trailer, just ignore the date at the end. 
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About the Film Moonrise Kingdom is directed by Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Fantastic Mr. Fox) who also wrote the script with Roman Coppola (The Darjeeling Limited). The film features an all-star cast that includes Bill Murray, Harvey Keitel, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Jason Schwartzman surrounding fresh young actors Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward.
As the first week of Cannes draws to a close, the headline so far is that there is no major headline so far.
The 65th Festival de Cannes kicked off last Thursday evening with a screening of the much-anticipated new Wes Anderson pic Moonrise Kingdom. It opened to warm applause and has scored strong early reviews at rottentomatoes (97% after 34 reviews). The dramedy is set in 1965 on an island off the cost of New England and tells the story of two 12 yr-old’s who fall in love and run away. It stars Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Frances McDormand and Edward Norton in supporting adult roles to newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward, who are being cited for their fine perfomances as the youngsters who lead much of the movie.
Matteo Garrone follows up 2008′s Italian drug saga Gomorrah with Reality, a light-hearted dramedy that also opened well. If his first film was gritty and hard-bitten, than Reality, with its story of a fisherman from Naples who wishes to make it onto Italy’s version of Big Brother, goes back to the future with touches of whimsy and fantasy. Reviewers have placed Garrone in the territory of Vittorio De Sica (The Bicycle Thief) and Luis Bunuel (The Phantom of Liberty). Not bad company to be in.
Beyond the Hills is Christian Mungui‘s follow-up to his Palm D’Or Winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days and is based on the real-life events about a woman who died upon visiting a monastery and who was involved in an exorcism. Like his first film, audiences tend not to clap or cheer too loudly, but then the praise starts coming in in the days following, long after the haze of a hard-hitting but slow-moving drama clears and you’re left with a fine movie that you want to see again.
Rust and Bone opened to strong reviews and has garnered the first serious Oscar buzz of the year for Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose) as Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, in this human drama about her brother Ali who comes to live with her and her husband. The movie is director Jacques Audiard‘s follow-up to his impressive A Prophet from a couple years ago.
John Hillcoat came to Cannes with his new 30′s bootlegging actioner Lawless with Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce and Gary Oldman. The movie opened to mixed reviews early on in the same way his previous The Road did. That movie went on to build acclaim as it opened wider and I’m thinking that while Lawless is a 30′s gangster pic that doesn’t transcend the genre or break any new ground but is just plain good, that the reception at a place like Cannes would be more or less what we’ve seen so far, with 2-to-1 positive reviews since its premiere a few days ago. Can’t wait to see it.
Another crime-epic, Killing Them Softly, is Andrew Dominik‘s hotly-anticipated follow-up to his 2007 sleeper The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. They both star Brad Pitt as sociopaths, this time in a mob drama with a star-studded cast that includes Richard Jenkins, Ray Liotta, Sam Rockwell and Sam Sheppard. It may be too mainstream to win anything at Cannes, but watch for it to show up as either a Gala or a Special Presentation here in Toronto.
If those movie had some degree of success at Cannes, it is Michael Haneke‘s Amour that has garnered the best reaction so far of the crop of films In Competition. It is another human drama, this time about a long-married couple well into their 80′s, the both of them retired music teachers. It’s a story about the the indignity of aging and how health problems threaten the couple. The consensus is that it’s a masterpiece, but after his White Ribbon won the Palm D’Or at the 2009 fest, can Haneke take the prize again? It’s a different jury every year, so who can really tell at this point? Amour is already getting early Oscar Buzz for Best Foreign Language Film.
The biggest news appears to be what has yet to come. With big films that have yet to premiere, including David Cronenberg‘s Cosmopolis starring Robert Pattinson; Lee Daniels’ (Precious) The Paperboy; Ken Loach‘s The Angel’s Share; and Jeff Nichols‘ (Take Shelter) new one, Mud.
Out of Competition
There are 22 films In Competition at Cannes, but there are a couple hundred other movies playing Out of Competition, from the Un Certain Regard category all the way to the Cannes Marketplace, with screenings held mainly for prospective buyers and distributors.
No other film has garnered as much applause as Beasts of the Southern Wild, the post-Katrina allegory with arresting early visuals of an industrial coastline laid to waste. At the heart of the film is Hushpuppy, a plucky 6 year-old who lives with her very ill father in an isolated squatters’ community where they live off the land by trapping and fishing. This appears to be the kind of film destined to be picked up by TIFF this September.
The elder Cronenberg in the family has yet to show his film, but the younger has just premiered his and to mixed early reviews. Brandon Cronenberg‘s Antiviral opened in Un Certain Regard, and it’s reported that the film follows closely in the footsteps of his father’s 70′s titles such as Shiver, Rabid and The Brood. In an overall positive review, the Hollywood Reporter calls it “a petri-dish of high-concept perversity and cultural commentary teeming with lo-fi ickiness” while Barbara Scharres, doing the coverage of Cannes at rogerebert.com reports, “it takes up where his dad’s work left off in the 70′s, except for one thing–it’s nowhere near as good”. That only adds to the intrigue of this indie-looking sci-fi drama, and we’ll probably see father and son reunite once more in Toronto in September.
The opening film for the 65th Festival de Cannes was Moonrise Kingdom. Below you will find the initial reactions from Cannes. Moonrise Kingdom is directed by Wes Anderson and the film stars Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Jared Gilman, and Kara Hayward. Moonrise Kingdom will open in limited release on May 25th.
About the Film Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, MOONRISE KINGDOM tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore — and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle. Bruce Willis plays the local sheriff. Edward Norton is a Khaki Scout troop leader. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand portray the young girl’s parents. The cast also includes Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the boy and girl.
The 65th edition of the annual Festival de Cannes is upon us and it’s looking to rebound from the Lars Von Trier “I’m a Nazi” debacle from last year. A quick recap: The provocative director’s rambling id was musing about his family history at his press conference for “Melancholia” when he went on to say he “could understand and sympathize with Hitler”. See, the whole theme of last year’s festival was Freedom of Expression, the touchstones being two Iranian films banned in their homeland but smuggled into Cannes. The festival’s omnipresent board defended the quirky director’s freedom the same day however, after a huge public backlash, they awoke the next morning and named Von Trier ‘persona non grata’, banishing him for the remainder of the festival.
That episode took the spotlight from what was arguably the strongest recent lineup at Cannes, with titles including the aforementioned “Melancholia“, Terence Malick‘s Palme D’Or Winner “Tree of Life“, “The Artist“, which eventually won Best Picture at the Oscars, the Ryan Gosling indie sensation “Drive“, Tilda Swinton in the overlooked psychological thriller “We Need to Talk About Kevin“, and some of the best foreign films of the last year in “Footnote“, “Le Havre“, “The Kid With a Bike“, “Polisse” and “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia“.
It appears the festival is ready to move on this year by making “celebration” of its 65th anniversary the optimum word to describe this current edition’s theme, at least from the outset. If there is to be a major controversy this year, it’s that none of the selected films in competition are directed by women, provoking pre-festival critiques and rumblings across the media and from within the industry at large.
In our Cannes follow-ups this week we’ll take a look at the entire field, from the categories of Un Certain Regard to the Out of Competition lineup, as well as other notable titles that show at the Cannes marketplace, (where hundreds of movies look to be bought for distribution).
The opening night film is another hotly-anticipated American comedy in “Moonrise Kingdom“, Wes Anderson‘s (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited) return to live-action filmmaking after the wonderful animated feature “Fantastic Mr. Fox” from 2009. Good things should follow for the film if it opens as warmly as last year’s opener, Woody Allen‘s “Midnight in Paris“.
There are 22 films in competition for the Palme D’Or and they include a strong pedigree of directing and acting talent. The notables include two Cannes heavyweights in Ken Loach and Michael Haneke who are the early favourites.
Loach is essentially the Meryl Streep of Cannes, with the drama “The Angel’s Share” being his 17th film to show at the festival. He has 4 Cannes awards including the most recent one being the big prize, the Palme D’Or, for “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” from 2006.
The second heavyweight is Michael Haneke, with his tenth film at Cannes in “Amour (Love)“. He would be the Jack Nicholson of the fest over the last decade, picking up the Grand Prix, 2nd place, for “The Piano Teacher” in 2001, the directing prize for 2006′s “Cache“, and then finally winning the big prize for the 2009 WWI drama “The White Ribbon“.
Bubbling just underneath those two would have to be Alain Resnais (Wild Grass) who at 90 years of age makes his tenth appearance at Cannes with “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet“. (The french favorite took home the lifetime achievement award 3 years ago).
Lee Daniels (Precious) premieres his highly-anticipated second feature with the death-row drama “The Paperboy“, starring Matthew McConaughey and Zac Efron.
Another one to watch is Jacques Audiard, who took home the Grand Prix to Haneke’s “White Ribbon” in 2009 with his equally impressive crime-drama “A Prophet” and returns this year with the human drama, “Rust and Bone“.
Canada’s own David Cronenberg returns to the lineup for the fourth time with his dark dramedy “Cosmopolis“, starring Robert Pattinson, Jay Baruchel, Paul Giamatti and Samantha Morton. Cronenberg won the Jury Prize (2nd place at the time) in 1996 for “Crash“. A lot of buzz on this one heading into the festival.
Christian Mungui, the Romanian director who won the Palme D’Or for 2007′s cinema verite-styled drama “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” is back with another female-centric drama in “Beyond the Hills“.
Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg, Jury Prize Winner for 1998′s “The Celebration” returns in competition again–at last–with the thriller “The Hunt“.
Andrew Dominik (Chopper, The Assassination of Jesse James…) makes his first appearance at Cannes this year with his third feature, “Killing Them Softly“. Brad Pitt returns as his leading man once again in this heist picture that also stars James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, and Sam Shepard.
Also making his first Cannes appearance is Jeff Nichols, who made one of the best films of 2008 with “Shotgun Stories” and then 2011′s best film, in my humble opinion, in “Take Shelter“. His new one is called “Mud” and his collaboration with Michael Shannon continues for the third straight time here, albeit in a supporting role to Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon in what’s billed as an adventure-drama.
And yet another third-time director making it to Cannes for the first time is Canadian John Hillcoat, who made the wonderful Guy Pearce western “The Proposition” and the dark Viggo Mortensen starring “The Road“. His third is “Lawless“, a Prohibition-era story based on the true story of two bootlegging siblings played by Shia LaBoeuf and Tom Hardy.
Inexplicable Cannes favorite Abbas Kiarostami has his thirteenth film in the festival this year with “Like Someone in Love“. I say ‘inexplicable’ because other than last year’s “Certified Copy“, I can’t think of a director who is able to make as boring a movie as this man does. I can never give myself over to many of his movies because of how detached he seems to be from the entire exercise at times. Why he is the most celebrated Iranian director is beyond me, but I’ll suspend judgment on this new one since Juliette Binoche made his last one remarkable for a change.
Carlos Reygadas is the best Mexican director you’ve never heard of. His “Silent Light” was one of the best films of 2008. This is his fourth Cannes entry with the family drama “Post Tenebras Lux“.
And Matteo Garrone, the Italian director behind 2008′s gritty crime-drama that won the Grand Prix about Italy’s drug trade in “Gomorrah” is back at the helm with the social-critique dramedy “Reality” about a man who tries out for Italy’s version of “Big Brother“.
The 9-member jury this year is headed by Italian director Nanni Moretti, the winner of the Palme D’Or for the 2001 family drama “The Son’s Room“. Is it any coincidence that he only happens to look uncannily like Robert De Niro, last year’s jury president?
The rest include Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass; British director Andrea Arnold of “Fish Tank” fame, starring Michael Fassbender; one of the best young french actresses you haven’t heard of in Emmanuelle Devos (In the Beginning); British actor Ewan McGregor; German actress Diane Kruger; costume designer Jean-Paul Gaultier (famous for Madonna‘s “Blond Ambition” tour as well as the last three Almodovar pics); American director Alexander Payne (Sideways, The Descendants); and Haitian director Raoul Peck (Lumumba).
The Cannes Film Festival runs from May 16-27.
The Cannes Feature Film lineup is being announced in a couple of days, however we already know that Wes Anderson‘s Moonrise Kingdom is the opening film. In advance of the announcement, it seems that the good folks at the studio have just dropped a new poster. I really dig it as it fully captures the oddness that Wes Anderson films have.
I am not the hugest fan of Anderson, however when he is on he is really on. It seems with the trailer and this poster art, he is really on for this film. I am cautiously optimistic and am eager to see it.
The film stars Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Jared Gilman, and Kara Hayward. Moonrise Kingdom will open the Cannes Film Festival, and open in limited release on May 25th.
And as a refresher, here is the trailer for the film:
About the Film Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, MOONRISE KINGDOM tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore — and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle. Bruce Willis plays the local sheriff. Edward Norton is a Khaki Scout troop leader. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand portray the young girl’s parents. The cast also includes Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the boy and girl.