Cannes
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Cannes 2012: ‘Beyond the Hills’ review
★★★☆☆ Palme d’Or hopeful Beyond the Hills (2012) is only the third film from Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, whose last effort, the grim but compelling abortion drama 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days (2007), won the award back in 2007. Based on true events and a pair of non-fiction novels by Tatiana Niculescu Bran,…
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Cannes 2012: ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’ review
★★★★★ After receiving rapturous acclaim earlier this year at Sundance, Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) makes its way to the 65th Cannes Film Festival under an ominous cloud of anticipation. The film follows Hushpuppy (played by outstanding newcomer Quvenzhané Wallis), a little girl who lives with her daddy, Wink (Dwight Henry), in…
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Cannes 2012: ‘Reality’ review
★★★★★ Matteo Garrone’s 2008 Grand Jury Prize winner Gomorrah was a huge success both internationally and in its native Italy, where its director has since become something of a national hero – albeit one who remains under permanent police guard. For his follow-up, Reality (2012), Garrone has bravely eschewed material aping his blood-drenched crime drama.…
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Cannes 2012: ‘Woody Allen: A Documentary’ review
★★★☆☆ Screened at this year’s 65th Cannes Film Festival, Robert B. Weide’s Woody Allen: A Documentary (2012) combines the usual talking head interviews and archive footage with a generous dollop of the Brooklyn-born actor, comedian and director moping about his bedroom, discussing his artistic process and wandering his old neighbourhood to the obvious amusement of…
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Cannes 2012: ‘Mystery’ review
★★★☆☆ A film festival wouldn’t be a film festival without Chinese director Lou Ye. Ye’s been a regular feature at the Cannes Film Festival countless times and only last September was premiering his French language film Love and Bruises (2011), starring none other than A Prophet (Un Prophète, 2009) star Tahar Rahim. A down-at-heel drama,…
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Cannes 2012: ‘Rust and Bone’ review
★★★★☆ French director Jacques Audiard’s last film A Prophet (Un Prophète, 2009) was a huge critical hit at Cannes 2009 (where it won the Grand Jury Prize), and so expectations were high for his follow-up Rust and Bone (De Rouille et d’Os, 2012). Based on a series of short stories by the Canadian author Craig…
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Cannes 2012: ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ review
★★★☆☆ The opening film of the 65th Cannes Film Festival is Wes Anderson’s summery, nostalgic comedy Moonrise Kingdom (2012). Set on a small island off of the New England coast in the summer of 1965, the film tells the story of two 12-year-olds: Sam (Jared Gilman), an orphaned khaki scout, and Suzy (Kara Hayward), the…
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Cannes 2012: ‘The Dish & the Spoon’ review
★★★☆☆ Alison Bagnall’s witty and original romance The Dish & the Spoon (2011) is a gutsy independent love story which belies its modest budget, whilst also showcasing Damsels in Distress (2011) star Greta Gerwig’s unique ability to be quirky, whilst also profoundly beautiful. After last year’s BFI LFF screening, it has also made the film…
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Cannes 2012: ‘Like Someone in Love’ preview
In a world dominated by sequels, reboots, remakes and even films based upon amusement park rides and board games, the death of original filmmaking and the concept of cinema as an art form seems closer than ever. Yet Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, who returns to the 65th Cannes Film Festival this year with Like Someone…
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Cannes 2012: ‘Rust and Bone’ preview
Swelling the ranks of the French directorial presence at the 65th Cannes Film Festival, Jacques Audiard returns this year with Rust and Bone (De Rouille et d’Os, 2012), his follow-up the triumphant prison drama A Prophet (Un Prophète) – which picked up the Jury Prize in 2009 along with a host of other awards, nominations…