2007 Cannes Film Festival Review Roundup
 

NOTE: Winners have been announced and can be found by clicking here

Figured I'd start up a thread with info and reviews on this year's Cannes entries. In the interest of saving space, I'm only adding films with notable directors/actors or subject matter. More review links to be added as they're found:


Stephen Frears (President)
Marco Bellocchio
Maggie Cheung
Toni Collette
Maria De Medeiros
Orhan Pamuk
Michel Piccoli
Sarah Polley
Abderrahmane Sissako

Films In Competition

ALEXANDRA (Russia)
Dir: Alexander Sokurov
Cast: Galina Vishnevskaya, Vasily Shevtsov, Raisa Gichaeva
Reviews
Variety (Positive)
Premiere (Positive)
The Hollywood Reporter (Positive)
Emanuel Levy (Positive)

THE BANISHMENT (Russia)
Dir: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Cast: Konstantin Lavrorenko, Maria Bonnevie, Alexander Baluev
Reviews
Variety (Negative)
Time Out London (Negative)
The Hollywood Reporter (Negative)
The Telegraph (Positive)
Emanuel Levy (Neutral)

BREATH (South Korea)
Dir: Kim Ki-duk
Cast: Chang Chen, Zia, Ha Jeong-woo
Reviews
Variety (Positive)
Film Threat/Jeremy Matthews (Positive)
Emanuel Levy (Negative)

DEATH PROOF (aka <i>BOULEVARD DE LA MORT</i>) (USA)
Dir: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Tracie Thoms, Vanessa Ferlito, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Zoe Bell
Reviews
Variety (Neutral)
The Telegraph (Positive)
The Guardian (Positive)
The New York Times (Positive) [scroll down]
Premiere (Positive)
Jeffrey Wells (Neutral)
Emanuel Levy (Neutral)

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY (France)
Dir: Julian Schnabel
Cast: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josee Croze, Max Von Sydow
Reviews
Variety (Positive)
The Telegraph (Positive)
Cineuropa (Positive)
Premiere (Positive)
Jeffrey Wells (Neutral)
European Films (Neutral)
Emanuel Levy (Positive)
Cinematical/James Rocchi (Positive)

THE EDGE OF HEAVEN (Germany)
Dir: Faith Akin
Cast: Baki Davrak, Tuncel Kurtiz, Nursel Kose, Hanna Schygulla
Reviews
Variety (Positive)
The Telegraph (Positive)
Cinematical/James Rocchi (Positive)

4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS (Romania)
Dir: Cristian Mungiu
Cast: Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, Vlad Ivanov
Reviews
Variety (Positive)
Cineuropa (Positive)
Film Threat/Jeremy Matthews (Positive)
Time Out London (Positive) [scroll down]
Cinematical/James Rocchi (Positive)
Emanuel Levy (Positive)

IMPORT EXPORT (Austria)
Dir: Ulrich Seidl
Cast: Ekateryna Rak, Paul Hofmann, Michael Thomas, Sister Maria
Reviews
Variety (Positive)
The Guardian (Positive) [brief review, scroll down]
The New York Times (Positive)
Premiere (Negative)
The Telegraph (Positive) [scroll down]

LOVE SONGS (France)
Dir: Christophe Honore
Cast: Louis Garrel, Ludivine Sagnier, Chiara Mastroianni
Reviews
Variety (Neutral)
Cineuropa (Positive)
European Films (Neutral)
Film Threat/Jeremy Matthews (Negative) [brief review, scroll down]
Time Out London (Negative)
Emanuel Levy (Negative)

THE MAN FROM LONDON (Hungary/Germany)
Dir: Bela Tarr
Cast: Miroslav Krobot, Tilda Swinton, Erika Bok, Janos Derzsi
Reviews
Variety (Neutral)
The Hollywood Reporter (Negative)
Premiere (Neutral)

THE MOURNING FOREST (aka MOGARI NO MORI) (Japan)
Dir: Naomi Kawase
Cast: Shigeki Uda, Machiko Ono, Makiko Watanabe
Reviews
Variety (Neutral)
Emanuel Levy (Positive)

MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS (Hong Kong/France)
Dir: Wong Kar Wai
Cast: Jude Law, David Strathrain, Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman, Norah Jones
Reviews
Variety (Neutral)
The Telegraph (Neutral)
The Guardian (Negative)
The New York Times (not really a review as much as an article on the film's premiere and its reaction)
European Films (Neutral)
The Hollywood Reporter (Positive)
Cinematical/James Rocchi (Positive)
Premiere (Negative)
Jeffrey Wells (Negative...to put it kindly)
Time Out London (Negative)

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (USA)
Dir: Joel Coen
Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Woody Harrelson, Josh Brolin, Kelly Macdonald, Stephen Root
Reviews
Variety (Positive)
The Telegraph (Positive)
The Guardian (Positive) [scroll down]
The New York Times (Positive) [scroll down]
Film Thread/Jeremy Matthews (Positive) [brief review]
Premiere (Positive)
Jeffrey Wells (Positive)
Time Out London (Positive)
Cinematical/James Rocchi (Positive)
Emanuel Levy (Positive)

PARANOID PARK (USA)
Dir: Gus Van Sant
Cast: Gabe Nevins, Jake Miller, Taylor Momsen, Dan Liu
Reviews
Variety (Positive)
The Telegraph (Positive)
The New York Times (Positive)
The Hollywood Reporter (Positive)
Premiere (Positive)
Jeffrey Wells (Negative) [brief review]
Cinematical/James Rocchi (Negative)

PERSEPOLIS (France)
Dir: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
Voices: Catherine Deneuve, Chiara Mastrtoianni, Danielle Darrieux
Reviews
Variety (Positive)
The Hollywood Reporter (Positive)
Cinematical/James Rocchi
Premiere (Positive)
The Guardian (Positive) [brief review]
[i]Emanuel Levy (Positive)
Film Threat/Jeremy Matthews (Positive)

PROMISE ME THIS (Serbia)
Dir: Emir Kusturica
Cast: Uros Milovanovic, Marija Petronijevic, Aleksandark Bercek
Reviews
Variety (Negative)
Cinematical/James Rocchi (Neutral)
European Films (Positive)

SECRET SUNSHINE (South Korea)
Dir: Lee Chang-Dong
Cast: Do-Yeon Jeon, Kang-Ho Song
Reviews
Variety (Positive)
Premiere (Positive)
The Hollywood Reporter (Positive)

SILENT LIGHT (Mexico)
Dir: Carlos Reygadas
Cast: Cornelio Wall Fehr, Maria Pankratz, Peter Wall, Elisabeth Fehr
Reviews
Variety (Negative)
The Hollywood Reporter (Positive)
The Telegraph (Positive) [brief review]
Emanuel Levy (Positive)

TEHILIM (Israel)
Dir: Raphael Nadjari
Cast: Shmeul Vilojni, Michael Moshonov, Ilan Dar, Limor Goldstein
Reviews
Variety (Positive)
Cineuropa (Positive)

UNE VIEILLE MAITRESSE (France)
Dir: Catherine Breillat
Cast: Asia Argento, Fu'ad Ait Aattou, Claude Sarraute, Michael Lonsdale
Reviews
Variety (Positive)
European Films (Neutral)
Premiere (Negative)

WE OWN THE NIGHT (USA)
Dir: James Gray
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, Robert Duvall
Reviews
Premiere (Negative)
The Telgraph (Positive) [brief review]
Cinematical/James Rocchi (Neutral)
Emanuel Levy (Neutral)

ZODIAC (USA)
Dir: David Fincher
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey, Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chloe Sevigny, Anthony Edwards
Reviews
DVD Talk member reviews (Positive! :))

Films NOT In Competition

BOARDING GATE (France)
Dir: Olivier Assayas
Cast: Asia Argento, Michael Madsen, Carl Ng, Kim Gordon
Reviews
Variety (Negative)
Premiere (Positive)
Cinematical/James Rocchi (Negative)
Emanuel Levy (Positive)

DAYS OF DARKNESS (THE AGE OF IGNORANCE) (Canada)
Dir: Denys Arcand
Cast: Diane Kruger, Marc Labreche, Sylvie Leonard, Rufus Wainwright
REVIEWS
Variety (Negative)
Cinematical/James Rocchi (Positive)

GO GO TALES (USA)
Dir: Abel Ferrara
Cast: Willem Dafoe, Bob Hoskins, Asia Argento, Sylvia Miles
REVIEWS
Variety (Positive)
The New York Times (Positive)
The Hollywood Reporter (Negative)

A MIGHTY HEART (USA)
Dir: Michael Winterbottom
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Dan Futterman, Denis O'Hare, Will Patton, Archie Panjabi
Reviews
Variety (Positive)
The Telegraph (Neutral)
The Guardian (Neutral)
Premiere (Neutral)
Jeffrey Wells (Positive)
Time Out London (Positive)
Cinematical/James Rocchi (Positive)

OCEAN'S THIRTEEN (USA)
Dir: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Carl Reiner, Elliot Gould, Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin
Reviews
Variety (Positive)
The Telegraph (Positive)
Cinematical/James Rocchi (Neutral)
Jeffrey Wells (Neutral)
Premiere (Positive)
The Hollywood Reporter (Positive)
Time Out London (Positive)

SICKO (USA)
Dir: Michael Moore
Reviews
Variety (Positive)
The Telegraph (Positive)
The Guardian (Positive)
The New York Times (Positive)
The Hollywood Reporter (Positive)
Film Threat/Jeremy Matthews (Neutral)
Jeffrey Wells (Positive)
Time Out London (Positive)
Cinematical/James Rocchi (Negative)
Emanuel Levy (Positive)

No Country For Old Men & My Blueberry Nights are the only flicks from this years festival that really interest me.

Glad to see Sicko will make it in. Can't wait to see that one (having problems with the health care industry myself).

Thanks for the summary! I've been interested in checking out reviews for quite a few of these but got tired of hunting through post after post on another forum to get links. I'll have to check Variety to see if they've covered Fatih Akin's Edge of Heaven, Lee Chang-Dong's Secret Sunshine, Andrey Zvyagintsev's The Banishment, or Roy Andersson's You, The Living.

Variety's My Blueberry Nights review was more neutral than negative but then the movie in generally seems to have been received that way.

I'd be interested to see how Death Proof is received as a stand-alone film. The vibe I've been getting is that it's a decent film on it's own, but poor as a follow-up to the hyper adrenaline-fueled Planet Terror. It's yet to be released here anywhere, but I'm really keen to see it.

You are absolutely correct, sir, and I've made the changes. But in my defense, I WAS typing this up at 3 in the morning. :)

Made some updates: added a bevy of reviews from The New York Times and added the following films: Barbet Schroeder's documentary Terror's Advocate, the French b&w animation of Persepolis, Abel Ferrara's Go Go Tales, the Austrian black comedy Import Export, which seems to be picking up quite a bit of steam, and (per Cosmic Bus' request), Faith Akin's The Edge of Heaven.

Plus, I made a major correction: to anyone who clicked on this thread earlier and were reading reviews from The Guardian, you were reading reviews from The Telegraph, because apparently I'm an idiot who can't read. I corrected that in addition to adding reviews from the REAL Guardian.

I'll make an update later on tonight and try to add more info to the movies if I can (ie, plots, what is and isn't in competition).

And remember: you might need to sign up (for free) with The New York Times to read their reviews. If you don't have one and for some reason don't want to sign up, check here for a login:
http://www.bugmenot.com/view/www.nytimes.com

Thanks GreenVulture!

Anything on Zodiac? It is in competition and it has a notable director/actors and subject matter.

I'm rooting for Zodiac.

More updates: added a logo, IMDb links to the jury members, and divided the movies into three categories--In Competition (ALL of them), Not In Competition and Specialty Screenings.

Added about 60 or so reviews from sites like Cineuropa, The Hollywood Reporter, European Films, Premiere magazine and Jeffrey Well's Hollywood Elsewhere.

Dunno,to be honest. I haven't heard any buzz, but that's probably because Zodiac has already had its run in US theaters, and I'm only trawling through US/UK sites for Cannes reviews; chances are all of them have already seen and reviewed it a long time ago. All I can find so far is this Jeffrey Wells article where he argues that the projectionist screwed up the aspect ratio of Zodiac at Cannes.

As far as who will win the Palme d'Or, judging by the reviews, critics are tearing through their thesauruses to find new ways of raving about the Coen brothers' No Country For Old Men. Just about every single writer is declaring it their masterpiece, and if I were a betting man, I'd probably put money on that movie to take home the prize, which would make it the Coen's second.

But remember that there's still a few more days left of movies, so it's anyone's game.

Specialty Screenings
(Director's Fortnight, Un Certain Regard, Cannes Classics)

CONTROL (UK)
Dir: Anton Corbijin
Cast: Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Craig Parkinson, Joe Anderson
Reviews
Variety (Positive)
The Telegraph (Positive)
The Guardian (Positive)
Premiere (Positive)
Time Out London (Positive)
Cinematical/James Rocchi (Positive)

FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON (France/Taiwan)
Dir: Hou Hsiao Hsien
Cast: Juliette Binoche, Simon Iteanu, Hippolyte Girardot
Reviews
Variety (Positive)
The New York Times (Positive)
European Films (Positive)
Time Out London (Positive)
Emanuel Levy (Neutral)

MISTER LONELY (USA)
Dir: Harmony Korine
Cast: Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, James Fox, Werner Herzog
Reviews
Premiere (Neutral)
The Telegraph (Positive)

SMILEY FACE (USA)
Dir: Gregg Araki
Cast: Anna Faris, Adam Brody, John Krasinski, John Cho, Jane Lynch, Danny Trejo
Reviews
Variety (Positive)

TERROR'S ADVOCATE (France)
Dir: Barbet Schroeder
Cast: Jacques Verges
Reviews
The New York Times (Positive) [scroll down]
Premiere (Positive)
The Telegraph (Positive)

YOU, THE LIVING (Sweden)
Dir: Roy Andersson
Cast: Jessica Lundberg, Leif Larsson, Bjorn Englund
Reviews
Variety (Positive)
European Films (Positive)
The Telgraph (Positive) [brief review, scroll down]
Film Threat/Jeremy Matthews (Positive)

News & Announcements
(With sensationalized headlines for your reading pleasure)

- Roman Polanski doesn't take shit from anyone, especially journalists
- Direct-to-video trenches at Cannes, Part 1 (AKA, I am totally down for Super Amigos!)
- Daniel Craig is an asshole
- U2 bascule la maison à Cannes! (Now with crappy photos!)
- Direct-to-video trenches at Cannes, Part 2
- John McTiernan announces new action film with that one guy from LOTR. No, the other guy. No, the OTHER guy
- Harvey Weinstein knows what's best for Grindhouse, so shut up already
- Ken Burns is racist!
- Leonardo DiCaprio wants you to know he flies with the common folk
- Two men fight over Gael Garcia Bernal
- Scarlett Johannson brings her minimal acting talent to Mary, Queen of Scots
- Harvey Weinstein buys crippled-man biopic Diving Bell for $3 mil; get ready for another legendary Oscar campaign
- Matt Damon says Jason Bourne is out, but Linus Caldwell is still in
- Why Abel Ferrara rules

Added many reviews to Ocean's 13; general consensus is that it feels more like a throwback to the first film, which I'm not wild about. Ocean's 12 left me a bit cold on my first viewing in the theater, but since then I've really warmed up to it, and I'd happily take it over Ocean's 11 (which I also enjoyed, mind you).

Also added Roy Andersson's You, the Living, reviews for two more in competition films, Alexandra and Secret Sunshine, and Gregg Araki's Smiley Face. How do you follow up a fantastic movie like Mysterious Skin? With a pothead comedy, apparently.

And to prevent my OP from getting too long, I trimmed a few of the lesser-reviewed movies. Also added a few more (sensationalized) news items.

One more piece of Zodiac news for JumpCutz. Found a Guardian article that mentions what French critics thought of it (along with My Blueberry Nights). The relevant info:

Fantastic job, GreenVulture. This has become the most useful Cannes thread I've come across! :)

Thanks for that Guardian article GreenVulture. I'm with Cosmic Bus, great job on this thread and thanks for all the updates and links. :thumbsup:

That's great to hear that Ocean's 13 is more like the original and not that abomination of a sequel.

Kind of disappointed that "The Banishment" is getting negative reviews - the director's previous film, "The Return", is one of my favorite movies.

On the other hand, I'm getting very excited for "No Country for Old Men".

Anyways, this is a great thread GreenVulture! Thanks for all the fantastic work!

Thanks for the kind words, everyone.

Added more reviews, plus another critic, sometime Variety writer Emanuel Levy to the reviewing group. Never read his stuff before, but based on this photo at his website:


I'm inclined to start on the basis of that moustache alone.

Also had to move the Specialty Screenings section to the post with the news/annoucements, due to space issues.

There won't be a whole lot of updates prior to award time on Sunday, since the festival is dying down in terms of movies and on top of that, I'll be quite busy over next couple of days.

Apologies for the very late update--was a lot more busier than I thought over the weekend. Anyways, for those of you following Cannes, I'm sure you already know the winners, but I'll list them down below for completeness' sake. Also added another 15 reviews or so to various movies.

Thanks for reading, everyone, and assuming I don't get banned (or killed), I'm looking forward to starting up the 2008 Cannes thread next year!

I'm interested in seeing Paranoid Park. I'm one of the ones that likes Gus Van Sant's recent artsy work.

A lifetime achievement award to Jane Fonda. Those Frenchies really like to rub it in to us Americans.