MORE TRAVEL PROBLEMS…
CANNES – Well, due to the eternal vigilance of the guys in the badly cut blue jackets, the Cannes Festival went by without any member of the press blowing up the Palais de Festival.
On the other hand, this morning a chunk of Charles DeGaulle Airport’s new terminal 2E collapsed, which I suspect may have an impact on those of us flying home through Paris tomorrow.
The Palmes have been handed out, and there were some surprises.
Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 won the Palme D’Or, the first documentary to do so in almost 50 years – the last was Louis Malle’s The Silent World in 1956.
Indeed, the finest moment of the evening was when Moore, as stunned as anyone, and trying to catch his breath, looked over to see Jury President Quentin Tarentino cracking up at his discomfort and said “You’re just doing this to mess with me, aren’t you?”
Other prizes went to:
Grand Prix du Jury, effectively second place, to the Korean revenge drama Old Boy. One has to feel a bit of sympathy for the makers of old boy. They showed up at Cannes with the perfect jury for their film – Tarentino, Hong Kong action master Tsui Hark (Once Upon a Time in China, producer of John Woo’s The
Killer), and Belgian director Benoit Pooleverde, one of the creators of Man Bites Dog. They then run into the historical moment.
Jury Prize – Split between Irma P. Hall, for her performance in the Coen Brothers film The Ladykillers and Tropical Malady, the first ever Thai film in the
Competition and the once choice which drew a hearty chorus of boos from the audience of working press watching the film on simulcast in the Salle Debussy.
Best Director – Tony Gatlif, for Exiles.
Best Screenplay – Agnes Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri for Comme Une Image
Acting Prizes to Maggie Chung for Clean and Yagira Yuuya, the 14 year old star of Hirakazu Kor-eda’s Nobody Knows.
Surprising in their absence were both Wong Kar-Wai’s 2046 and Walter Salles’ The Motorocycle Diaries.
Oddest thing to hear was the Best Actress announcement – For the French film, Clean, Maggie Cheung. The French film with the English title, the Chinese star
and the largely Canadian setting. Good to see one of the finest actors produced by the Hong Kong cinema – Ashes of Time, In the Mood For Love, Hero, The Soong Sisters, Centre Stage, New Dragon Inn, and who can
forget her turn as Jackie Chan’s slightly scatter-brained girlfriend in the first three Police Story films? – get this sort of recognition. Didn’t hurt that one of the jury members, Tsui Hark, has directed her four times.
I’m outta here…
Til next year, I suspect.
