Tents, Tuxes and [no] Tetro
May 15th, 2009
Yes, I know I promised an update of headjar goings on at Cannes the other night, but I’ve been ridiculously busy settling into the rhythm of the festival.
So far I’ve been to two screenings, Pixar’s magnificent ‘UP’ and Andrea Arnold’s ‘Fish Tank’. Both are great movies – though obviously completely different.
Seeing ‘UP’ in full 3D is something I can’t recommend enough. It’s opening 10 minutes will drive all but the hardest of souls to tears when seen as an almost real world in front of your eyes.
Following recent situations with my own elderly relatives, I could not help but be completely charmed by the story of a little old codger avoiding incarceration in an old folk’s home by flying his whole house to the place in South America his wife had always dreamed of.
‘Fish Tank’ is an altogether different beast. I attended last night’s screening in the esteemed company of Morgan Bushe, Macdara Kelleher and Ben Keenan of Dublin’s fantastic Fastnet Films and they all seemed to be seduced by the film’s excellent direction and charm.
The wonderful performances of Michael Fassbender and youngster Katie Jarvis also seemed to do it for the audience who gave Arnold a standing ovation as the credits rolled. Personally I am still undecided.
The film had my total attention throughout and kept me on the edge of my seat most of the way through with it’s brooding inevitability. From the off it was clear where the relationship between Fassbender’s character and the young girl, daughter of his ‘girlfriend’ was going and this only made the film darker and more interesting. But I’m also not sure how many more films like this I can sit through. Kitchen sink drama is all very well but I can’t help having a nagging feeling that British cinema can reach great heights without everyone pretending to be Ken Loach on the one hand and Richard Curtis on the other, great as those directors are. In short – I like the film a lot – I’m just not too sure yet whether it offered me a cinematic experience I haven’t already had again and again…
After last nights film I enjoyed a drink at the Petit Majestic with my Irish friends and then battled my way back to my campsite through the pouring rain. Unfortunately my plans to see Coppola’s ‘Tetro’ earlier in the evening were scuppered by a bus that was over 50 minutes late but I wasn’t too bothered after a very pleasant evening so I fell asleep relatively easily to the sound of falling raindrops on canvas.
So that brings us to this morning where I was pretty much literally throwing buckets of water out of the tent as the rain continued to pour. It’s stopped now so I hope it’ll dry out soon.
This afternoon I have a meeting with skillset to discuss strategies for finding more editing work while I’m out here and then I’ll be off to a few more screenings no doubt.
Watch this space for more news!
Gwyn.
Tags: Andrea Arnold, Camping, Cannes, Editor, Film Festival, Fish Tank, Pixar, Skillset, UP
Posted in Cannes Film Festival 2009 | Comments Off