Ahoy, folks. Quint here... Not sure what to think of this guy's below coverage of Cannes... In one breath he says that he hated OLDBOY and in the next he says he loves DAWN OF THE DEAD ('04)... Having seen both, I can officially put the "crack-head" stamp on this dude's head! But, I must say his coverage of the LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS has me excited to see the flick... Anyway, read on. After this, I got a full fledged FAHRENHEIT 9/11 report from our own Truthgame.
I am noticing a disturbing lack of Cannes coverage on your site so I figured I'd send over some re-caps, in case you are interested.
Obviously all anybody in America seems to be hearing about is Farenheit 9/11, which I got to see and left with a feeling of "much ado about nothing." The trades said that it is basically finger pointing and name calling and that it presents information that is generally known by many. I will admit that I learned a lot but it felt like a typical Moore documentary, except less funny and with him in it less. I enjoy his humerous presence in his films and the few scenes where he is in Farenheit are among my favorite, specifically the scene where he drives around Washington in an Ice Cream truck reading the bill of rights (I think) on a speaker. Aside from that the film collapses under the weight of Moore's obviously strong opinions although he has done a fantastic job of compiling some fantastic footage of Iraq (soldier's giving shout outs to Drowning Pool's "Let the bodies Hit the Floor" - obviously the worst song ever written and the eternally underappreciated Bloodhoung Gang (sarcasm) and their classic song "Fire Water Burn" is another humerous interlude.)
The film is probably my least favorite of his, for the reason that I love "Roger and Me' and "The Big One" (this being Moore's humor) is missing. It is a must see film and I really hope he gets it out on the 4th of July as he plans.
A film I absolutely fell in love with was "Shrek 2" which I was initially cautious of because I feared that it would suffer from unecessary crappy sequel syndrome. I got to see the film projected digitally and perhaps the gorgeousness and gorgosity of the experience has influenced my opinion, but I laughed a lot and generally felt that the film as a whole was stronger than a lot of what else I have seen at the festival.
Puss in Boots is a funny fucking character, as are all the other additions to the cast which makes 2 improve upon the original in humor, however the story is a bit more standard.
'Old Boy' is a film that I personally hated but I seem to be alone in this sentiment. I have little or no tolerance for the ultra violent Asian cinema of current times and this was no exception for me. I didn't care for the characters at all and thought that the story could have been compressed into an hour. However a lot of others are crazy about it, so maybe I am just crazy.
'Mondovino' sucked a lot. It's a non-linear three hour documentary about wine whose camera operator was obviously highly influenced by the Blair Witch Project.
While not in competition, I though that 'Bad Education' was one of the best films I have seen so far. I am not very familiar with any Almodovar but this film was so offbeat and strange that I couldn't help but love it. Garl Garcia Bernal was the highlight of the consitently solid cast and I am upset that I have thus far been unable to see 'The Motorcycle Diaries' because I hear he gives another amazing performance as CliChe Guevara.
'Clean' didn't really do it for me. I just can't sympathize for a junkie in a film, 'Sid and Nancy' excluded. Nick Nolte was actually very good but a lot of the dialogue was terrible and the same can be said for the editing. 'The Edukators' (which is hot because it is the first German film in competition in 11 years) was fantastic, driven by great performances by three lead actors whose names I do not know, but one of them was in 'Goodbye Lenin.' The film has some competition with 'Farenheit' for most liberal.
'THe Life and Death of Peter Sellers' was fan-fucking-tastic. I hope to god that this film gets a theatrical release before it's on HBO. Geoffrey Rush is superb as Sellars and Charlize Theron and Emily Watson turn in supporting performances that drive the film. My favorite part is the cameo by Stanley Tucci as Stanley Kubrick. Rush plays dozens of characters in various points in the film, including all of Sellers' and does a scene as pretty much ever character in Sellers' life, including his wife, mother, father, Kubrick and Blake Edwards.
A lot of the out of competition films have done more for me than the in competition ones. I saw 'Dawn of the Dead' at home but seeing it in the Lumiere theater was amazing, ditto for 'Kill Bill vol. 2' and I am planning to sleep outside to get into the first come first serve screening of the complete saga. I also had the chance to see the two big Sundance winners 'Primer' (which removed my brain, turned it to goo, then did it again and again all in 85 fucking amazing minutes) and 'Dig!' (an excellent documenaty about indie rock) both of which I enjoyed throughly.
I hope this summary is of interest to all those who do not get to
endulge in this 12 day orgy of free movies and beautiful weather.
Now with Truthgame's extremely conservative look at Michael Moore's FAHRENHEIT 9/11. You can't get much more pro-Bush than old Truthgame here... He loves the man! Really, he does! Like his own father or kinda creepy uncle! All the below talk about Bush being "a lying, inbred cunt"... he's just joking around! Yeah... Once again, my conservative republican friends might want to brace themselves...
Fahrenheit 9/11
It wasn't 15 minutes it was 25 minutes. 25 minutes of standing ovation. I've never been to a screening like it. I've been to some pretty spectacular screenings in my time. I remember the opening night of Pulp Fiction - THAT was a great screening. This was better.
When Michael Moore walked in there was 3 minutes of applause. This should have been a clue but instead I expected another stuffy formal Cannes screening. Wrong. This was an audience in unison - a collective group of people who think the same way.
Bush is a lying, inbred cunt who needs to be removed - by any means necessary. It could have been 20 times, maybe more, that the entire audience broke into applause during the film and when it ended - 25 minutes. We all stood up surrounded Michael Moore and his gang simply cheered. If there were any dissenters - they were smart enough to shut the fuck up.
The Premiere
4pm start. A lot earlier than the usual 7pm. Walking up the carpet half the audience were in black ties and the rest in jeans and T Shirts - typical Cannes daywear. I walked up the red carpet for Troy and Bad Education - but this was the one I wanted to see. Business aside - Line Producers are kept very busy in Cannes - this experience was the one thing I wanted to take away with me from the whole Cannes circus and I was lucky enough to be there.
The Film
Walking away from the screening I felt euphoric - Like my voice had been made clear for the world to hear - but it was not a great documentary and shouldn't be looked upon as one. It's not as polished, disciplined or intelligent as Bowling For Columbine. But its important to look at it purely for what it is - a piece of political propaganda - made for the American public at large - informing them in a way they can fully understand exactly what Bush is and that only they have the power to vote him out.
We begin with the 2000 elections and in Michael Moores great deadpan and sardonic voice we see how the results came into being and the people who formed that "opinion" that Bush had won. We see how people did try and challenge the election results - but were ignored and beaten back via legal policy. We then get a great montage of Bush hard at work during his first months in office. We see him Golfing, Hunting, shaking hands with various Saudi "royals" (oil rich ruling despot tribesmen) and assorted cronies from his fathers regime. In fact - 42% of his first term was spent on holiday.
And then 9/11 happened.
We don't see planes hitting buildings but we see the looks on peoples faces. We then see the build up to war
The film is simplistic at best - but it has to be. It has to communicate directly with the American public who sometimes need things spelt out to them that clearly. No free thought allowed here!
This film can be compared to Leni Riefensyahl's Triumph of the Will. This is not a documentary - but instead a piece of political propaganda. Like all good pieces of propaganda it shows powerful imagery and directly links it into it view point. The controversy and legacy will simply be decided by each and every one of you on how you think about Bush.
We see American soldiers screaming in pain seconds after shrapnel has covered their bodies. This is powerful stuff.
We see the despondent soldiers who realise what a futile and unnecessary war this is and this imagery is constantly linked to Bush's family business interests in this war.
There were camera crews inside Iraq. We see the horrible images of the victims of war. We hear the screams. We see children arriving in hospitals with their bodies ripped apart.
There are camera crews shadowing the American soldiers.
We see the business conventions sponsored by Bush's seniors companies where they meet to work out how to maximise profit on the war and now - the rebuilding of Iraq.
The most impassioned speaker was an elderly woman who just worked her way through the facts - furious beyond words - which this has all been allowed to happen.
Michael Moore didn't appear on screen as much as in other works. There were a few moments of "classic Moore", the best being where he went to Washington and asked various congressmen to send their kids to Iraq. Most just laughed him off. But the agenda here is so different than normal. Not only is the message important but there is also little time get this out to the American voters.
One thing to ask yourself is why America went into Iraq. The weapons of mass distruction line is bullshit. So is linking it with terrorists. But Iraq was being ruled by a murderous thug who raped, tortured and killed 100'000's of his own people - so getting was getting rid of him a bad thing?
A more complicated question is now that Saddam is gone - how are going to help Iraq - a country made up warring tribes all lusting after the wests oil money.
This is probably not the best film of the festival - but it is the most important. If it did win the Palm Dior - the voice of the filmmakers who voted will be heard.
The Party
It was a low key bash. Not really a party - it felt more like a family gathering. Most of the people who actually made the film were there, as was Harvey and his Miramax delegation. In all - about 100 people were there. The food was good and the beach setting a good one. (a special request for the party pimps of Cannes next year - please stock your bars with JD - I can't find it anywhere outside of overpriced bars)
Talking to the editors I learned that the film was being edited as late as last week. I rightly guessed that it was footage of American soldiers illegally putting bags over the heads of Iraqi prisoners. Basically the print was wet. I was also told that the film may still yet be polished some more.
Later on in the evening I was sitting at Michael's table when a special gift arrived. Michael opened it and inside was a still frame of Julie Christie from the film Fahrenheit 451 - signed by Truffaut himself. A great gift.
I only hope this film gets it July 4th release and seen by America. The world is counting on the American public to vote correctly this time. When I woke up this morning I was not a filmmaker. I was simply a man that cares about my future. Melodramatic maybe but simply the way I feel.
This is a film that has been made to oust a president. Lets hope it works.
Truthgame
