Nick's Flick Picks: The Cannes Film Festival

<BODY text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFCC" link="#003399" vlink="#003399" leftmargin="35" rightmargin="35"> <table width=680><tr><td> <br> <TABLE cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0> <TR><TD width=60% valign=center><Font Face=Garamond Color="#003399" Size=+3><b>Cannes Film Festival 1986</b></Font><br> <B><Font Color="#660066">Jury President:</Font> Sydney Pollack</b><br> <Font Color="#660066">Other Jurors:</Font> Charles Aznavour, Sonia Braga, Lino Bracka, Tonino Delli Colli, Philip French, Alexandre Mnouchkine, Istv&#225n Szab&#243, Daniele Thompson, Alexandre Trauner</TD> <TD width=40% align=right valign=center><img src=cannes86tab.jpg></TD></TR></TABLE> <hr> <TABLE cellpadding=0 cellspacing=2><TR><TD width=130 valign=top> <B><Font Color="#660066">Historical Tidbits:</Font></TD> <TD valign=top> &#149 Rumors circulate that Festival brass leaned on the jury to give the Palme to <i>The Mission</i></TD></TR> <TR><TD></TD><TD>&#149 <i>The Sacrifice</i> wins four major awards while Tarkovsky lies gravely ill in a Paris hospital</TD></TR> <TR><TD></TD><TD>&#149 Jane Campion's short-film prize for <i>Peel</i> makes her the first female recipient of a Palme</TD></TR> <TR><TD></TD><TD>&#149 Terrorist threats after U.S. bombings of Libya keep almost all American artists away</TD></TR> <TR><TD></TD><TD>&#149 Only time in Cannes history that Best Actress and Best Actor votes result in two ties</TD></TR> <TR><TD></TD><TD>&#149 Old wares: three of four U.S. Palme contenders are Stateside releases from 1985</TD></TR> <TR><TD></TD><TD>&#149 First time a single production company (Cannon Films) has three Palme contestants</TD></TR> </TABLE> <hr> <br> <TABLE cellpadding=3> <TR><TD width=33%><Font Color="#003399"><b>Palme d'Or:</b></Font></TD><TD width=66%><a href=mission.html><b>The Mission</b></a>, UK, dir. Roland Joff&#233</TD></TR> <TR><TD width=33%><Font Color="#003399"><b>Grand Jury Prize:</b></Font></TD><TD width=66%><a href=offret.html><i>The Sacrifice</i></a>, Sweden, dir. Andrei Tarkovsky</TD></TR> <TR><TD width=33%><Font Color="#003399"><b>Jury Prize:</b></Font></TD><TD width=66%><a href=therese.html><i>Th&#233r&#232se</i></a>, France, dir. Alain Cavalier</TD></TR> <TR><TD width=33%><Font Color="#003399"><b>Best Director:</b></Font></TD><TD width=66%><a href=afterhrs.html><i>After Hours</i></a>, Martin Scorsese</TD></TR> <TR><TD width=33%><Font Color="#003399"><b>Best Actress:</b></Font></TD><TD width=66%><a href=lov4evnv.html><i>Love Me Forever or Never</i></a>, Fernanda Torres<br> <a href=rosaluxm.html><i>Rosa Luxemburg</i></a>, Barbara Sukowa</TD></TR> <TR><TD width=33%><Font Color="#003399"><b>Best Actor:</b></Font></TD><TD width=66%><a href=menagets.html><i>M&#233nage (Tenue de soir&#233e)</i></a>, Michel Blanc<br> <a href=monalisa.html><i>Mona Lisa</i></a>, Bob Hoskins</TD></TR> <TR><TD width=33%><Font Color="#003399"><b>Best Artistic Contribution:</TD><TD width=66%></b></Font> <a href=offret.html><i>The Sacrifice</i></a>, Sven Nykvist, cinematographer</TD></TR> <TR><TD width=33%><Font Color="#003399"><b>Technical Grand Prize:</TD><TD width=66%></b></Font> <a href=mission.html><i>The Mission</i></a>, UK, dir. Roland Joff&#233</TD></TR> <TR><TD width=33%><Font Color="#003399"><b>FIPRESCI/International<br>     Critics Prize:</TD><TD width=66%></b></Font> <a href=offret.html><i>The Sacrifice</i></a>, Sweden, dir. Andrei Tarkovsky</TD></TR> <TR><TD width=33%><Font Color="#003399"><b>Prize of the Ecumenical Jury:</b></Font></TD><TD width=66%><a href=offret.html><i>The Sacrifice</i></a>, Sweden, dir. Andrei Tarkovsky</TD></TR> <TR><TD width=33%><Font Color="#003399"><b>Camera d'Or (first feature):</TD><TD width=66%></b></Font> <a href=noirblanc.html><i>Noir et blanc</i></a>, France, dir. Claire Devers</TD></TR> </TABLE> <hr> <br> <img src=cannes86the.jpg align=right width=200 height=75><Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066" Size=+1><b>Competition Films I Have Seen:</b></Font><br> <Font Size=-1><b>Ranked in order of preference</b></Font><br> <Font Size=-2>  <br></Font> <Font Color="#003399"><b>My Palme d'Or</b></Font><br> <a href=therese.html><i>Th&#233r&#232se</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(France, dir. Alain Cavalier)</Font> - Sublime control of spare but warm style; distills ecstatic faith yet stays three-dimensional </Font><br> <br> <a href=genesis.html><i>Genesis</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(India, dir. Mrinal Sen)</Font> - Clear, modest surface belies sexual melodrama inside Marxist parable inside odd origin myth </Font><br> <br> <a href=offret.html><i>The Sacrifice</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(Sweden, dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)</Font> - Triumph of lensing, earnestly apocalyptic, but scenario is dubious, acting very uneven (<a href=offret.html>full review</a>) </Font><br> <br> <a href=foolflov.html><i>Fool for Love</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(USA, dir. Robert Altman)</Font> - Shepard's impacted portents thrive unexpectedly under Altman's ironic, distracted eye (<a href=foolflov.html>full review</a>) </Font><br> <br> <a href=monalisa.html><i>Mona Lisa</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(UK, dir. Neil Jordan)</Font> - Uneven in many respects but boasts thrilling sequences, peak Hoskins perf, gutsy conviction (<a href=monalisa.html>full review</a>) </Font><br> <br> <a href=lieucrim.html><i>Scene of the Crime</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(France, dir. Andr&#233 T&#233chin&#233)</Font> - Prototype of elegant thriller, even if reflections and reversals risk being pat </Font><br> <br> <a href=runtrain.html><i>Runaway Train</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(USA, dir. Andrei Konchalovsky)</Font> - Bonkers intro, wall-to-wall horrid acting through middle, but mad convictions rescue it </Font><br> <br> <a href=menagets.html><i>M&#233nage (Tenue de soir&#233e)</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(France, dir. Bertrand Blier)</Font> - Cheerily amoral, sexually frisky at start. Gets nasty, messy, and chauvinist, but still nervy (<a href=menagets.html>full review</a>) </Font><br> <br> <a href=rosaluxm.html><i>Rosa Luxemburg</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(West Germany, dir. Margarethe von Trotta)</Font> - Serious purpose exerts a growing claim, but prosaic style and script undermine it </Font><br> <br> <a href=afterhrs.html><i>After Hours</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(USA, dir. Martin Scorsese)</Font> - Visual, behavioral quirks keep it humming, but turns dry, desperate. Flat soda. (<a href=afterhrs.html>full review</a>) </Font><br> <br> <a href=lov4evnv.html><i>Love Me Forever or Never</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(Brazil, dir. Arnaldo Jabor)</Font> - Cutesy-torrid-absurd lovers' duel unfolds over two arbitrary, jabbery hours (<a href=lov4evnv.html>full review</a>) </Font><br> <br> <a href=otello.html><i>Otello</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(Italy/The Netherlands, dir. Franco Zeffirelli)</Font> - Acted fine. Shot fine, if you're into fog. Fails to connect with bodies or voices. </Font><br> <br> <a href=fringdwl.html><i>The Fringe Dwellers</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(Australia, dir. Bruce Beresford)</Font> - Thinly affecting Aboriginal drama so set on right-mindedness it pulls every punch </Font><br> <br> <a href=mission.html><i>The Mission</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(UK, dir. Roland Joff&#233)</Font> - Dramatically stiff, politically misguided emblem of gorgeous but empty Reagan-era cinema (<a href=mission.html>full review</a>) </Font><br> <br> <a href=maxamour.html><i>Max, mon amour</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(France, dir. Nagisa &#212shima)</Font> - Hedged, ill-lit, dully droll take on woman-chimpanzee liaison. Missed chances abound. (<a href=maxamour.html>full review</a>) </Font><br> <br> <hr> <br> <img src=cannes86hhs.jpg align=right><Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066" Size=+1><b>Sidebar Selections I Have Seen:</b></Font><br> <Font Size=-1><b>Ranked in order of preference</b></Font><br> <Font Size=-2>  <br></Font> <a href=hannahss.html><i>Hannah and Her Sisters</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(Out of Competition: USA, dir. Woody Allen)</Font> - As funny as the funniest Allen, but with an autumnal soul and melancholy intimacies that completely compel (<a href=hannahss.html>full review</a>) </Font><br> <br> <a href=favfilmspeel.html target="_new"><i>Peel: An Exercise in Discipline</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(Short Film Competition: Australia/New Zealand, dir. Jane Campion)</Font> - My favorite modern short film, a hilarious and unforgettably tense family car trip, oddly and ingeniously composed (<a href=favfilmspeel.html target="_new">full review</a>) </Font><br> <br> <a href=2friends.html><i>Two Friends</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(Un Certain Regard: Australia/New Zealand, dir. Jane Campion)</Font> - Working in reverse chronology, Campion captures the rue of failed friendships without losing thrill, humor, and color (<a href=2friends.html>full review</a>) </Font><br> <br> <a href=passlmom.html><i>Passionless Moments</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(Un Certain Regard: Australia/New Zealand, dir. Jane Campion)</Font> - Another sublime short, its Lynchian framings suffused with Campion's zig-zaggy humor and her distinctive warmth </Font><br> <br> <a href=workgrls.html><i>Working Girls</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(Directors' Fortnight: USA, dir. Lizzie Borden)</Font> - Rough edges and low budget sometimes show, but bracing and smartly staged observations </Font><br> <br> <a href=noirblan.html><i>Noir et blanc</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(Perspectives of French Cinema: France, dir. Claire Devers)</Font> - Impressive formal tension conveys extremes of masochistic abandon; rough but imposing </Font><br> <br> <a href=colrpurp.html><i>The Color Purple</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(Out of Competition: USA, dir. Steven Spielberg)</Font> - For better and worse, a corker of thick-brush emotion via antique devices. Too glossy, but moving. Goldberg A+. </Font><br> <br> <a href=shegotta.html><i>She's Gotta Have It</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(Directors' Fortnight: USA, dir. Spike Lee)</Font> - Frisky, funny, a clear calling card for Lee's talents and for some of his foibles (<a href=shegotta.html>full review</a>) </Font><br> <br> <a href=strecroc.html><i>Street of Crocodiles</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(Short Film Competition: UK, dirs. the Brothers Quay)</Font> - Incalculably influential short film that I find visually strong but impenetrable </Font><br> <br> <a href=cactus.html><i>Cactus</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(Directors' Fortnight: Australia, dir. Paul Cox)</Font> - Delicate drama of blind lovers needs more muscle but Huppert, sound, and lensing are gorgeous (<a href=cactus.html>full review</a>) </Font><br> <br> <a href=esther.html><i>Esther</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(Critics' Week: Israel, dir. Amos Gita&#239)</Font> - Merging straight Biblical storytelling with modern gimmicks, Amos Gitai half-succeeds at both (<a href=esther.html>full review</a>) </Font><br> <br> <a href=sleepwlk.html><i>Sleepwalk</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(Critics' Week: USA, dir. Sara Driver)</Font> - Ambitiously shot and edited but I struggled to square story gaps, dream logic, ironic tone </Font><br> <br> <a href=declamer.html><i>The Decline of the American Empire</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(Directors' Fortnight: Canada, dir. Denys Arcand)</Font> - As is Arcand's wont, full of spry but smug chatter, only half-ironized (<a href=declamer.html>full review</a>) </Font><br> <br> <a href=opmaland.html><i>&#211pera do Malandro</i></a> <Font Face="Arial Narrow">(Directors' Fortnight: Brazil, dir. Ruy Guerra)</Font> - Comic-colored, Weill-ish street opera should delight but assembly verges on inept (<a href=opmaland.html>full review</a>) </Font><br> <br> <hr> <br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066"><b>Competition Films I'm Curious to See:</b></Font><br> <Font Size=-1><b>Ranked in order of interest; more on this year's lineup <a href="http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/1986/allSelections.html" target="_new">here</a></b> (opens in a new window)</Font><br> <Font Size=-2>  <br></Font> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091385/"><i>The Last Image</i></a>, Algeria, dir. Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina<br> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090967/"><i>Down by Law</i></a>, USA, dir. Jim Jarmusch<br> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092688/"><i>Boris Godounov</i></a>, USSR, dir. Sergei Bondarchuk<br> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091771/"><i>Poor Butterfly</i></a>, Argentina, dir. Ra&#250l de la Torre<br> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091244/"><i>I Love You</i></a>, Italy, dir. Marco Ferreri<br> <br> <hr> <br> <Font Face=Garamond Color="#660066"><b>Sidebar Films I'm Curious to See:</b></Font><br> <Font Size=-1><b>Listed alphabetically; more on this year's lineup <a href="http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/1986/allSelections.html" target="_new">here</a></b> (opens in a new window)</Font><br> <Font Size=-2>  <br></Font> <TABLE border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=8><TR><TD valign=top><Font Color="#660066">Un Certain Regard</Font>:</TD><TD> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088866/"><i>Burke & Wills</i></a>, Australia, dir. Graeme Clifford<br> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090934/"><i>Desert Bloom</i></a>, USA, dir. Eugene Corr<br> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169085/"><i>The Human Promise</i></a>, Japan, dir. Yoshishige Yoshida<br> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090336/"><i>Welcome in Vienna</i></a>, Austria/Germany, dir. Axel Corti<br> </TD></TR> <TR><TD valign=top><a href="http://www.quinzaine-realisateurs.com/archives/1986/" style="text-decoration:none" target="_new"><Font Color="#660066">Directors' Fortnight</Font></a>:</TD><TD> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090944/"><i>Devil in the Flesh</i></a>, Italy, dir. Marco Bellocchio<br> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092219/"><i>Golden Eighties</i></a>, Belgium, dir. Chantal Akerman<br> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091470/"><i>Man of Ashes</i></a>, Tunisia, dir. Nouri Bouzid<br> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091954/"><i>Sid and Nancy</i></a>, UK, dir. Alex Cox<br> </TD></TR> <TR><TD valign=top><Font Color="#660066">Out of Competition</Font>:</TD><TD> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090585/"><i>Absolute Beginners</i></a>, UK, dir. Julien Temple<br> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090636/"><i>El Amor brujo</i></a>, Spain, dir. Carlos Saura<br> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092130/"><i>A Man and a Woman... 20 Years Later</i></a>, France, dir. Claude Lelouch<br> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091757/"><i>Pirates</i></a>, France, dir. Roman Polanski<br> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0301915/"><i>You've Got Beautiful Stairs, You Know</i></a>, France, dir. Agn&#232s Varda<br> </TD></TR></TABLE> <hr> <Font Face=Garamond> <table cellpadding=12><tr> <td>Trackbacks:</b></td> <td><b><a href=cannes86.html target="_top">Permalink</a></b></td> <td><b><a href=cannes.html target="_top">Cannes Page</a></b></td> <td><b><a href=movies86.html target="_top">1986</a></b></td> <td><b><a href=movarchs.html target="_top">Home</a></b></td> <td><b><a href="http://blog.nicksflickpicks.com" target="_new">Blog</a></b></td> <td><b><a href=email.html target="_top">E-Mail</a></b></td> </tr></table> </Font> </center> </body>