Cannes 2009: Palme d'Or List A Mixed Bag
Cannes Competition Lauds European Veterans and Cinematic Upstarts
Apr 23, 2009
The Cannes Film Festival, surely, needs no introduction. And nor does its most prestigious honour, the Palme d'Or, awarded by a jury each year in celebration of the finest film screened in competition on the Croisette.
So far, most of the headlines regarding the 62nd edition of the festival have focussed on this years out of competition opening slot, which was awarded to Up, the first time an animated film has opened Cannes and a major coup for the Disney-Pixar team. But rest assured, come the awards ceremony in late May, all the talk will focus on the winner of the 2009 Palme d'Or.
The Feature Film Jury
This year, legendary French actress Isabelle Huppert becomes just the fourth woman to lead a Cannes jury and will select the Palme d'Or winner alongside Asia Argento (actress, director and, of course, daughter of Italian schlock shocker Dario), US actress Robin Wright Penn, British writer Hanif Kureishi, prolific Taiwanese actress Shu Qi, US writer/director James Gray, Korean writer/director (and former Minister of Culture) Lee Chang-Dong, and revered Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan.
'Heavyweight Auteur Smackdown'
Despite assurances last year that the festival would likely focus on lesser-known directors and more avant-garde works, this years charge for top honours is lead by a litany of familiar names, something Variety have referred to as a 'heavyweight auteur smackdown'.
Spain's Pedro Almodóvar returns to Cannes with Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces), starring recent Oscar winner (and Almodóvar favourite) Penélope Cruz, while veteran French director Alain Resnais will premiere Les Herbes Folles, Michael Haneke will screen Das Weisse Band (The White Ribbon) and Gasper Noe continues his controversial ways with Enter The Void.
A 'Palme' In The Hand...
Lars von Trier, Ken Loach, Jane Campion and Quentin Tarantino will all be hoping to gain the distinction of being just the seventh director to bag two Palme d'Ors. Tarantino, of course, debuts his WWII revenge flick Inglourious Basterds at the festival, while Campion will present her John Keats biopic, Bright Star.
Loach returns to the Croisette with Looking for Eric, in which Eric Cantona acts as mentor to a lovesick postman, his second film since winning the 2006 Palme d'Or with The Wind That Shakes The Barley. Ever the provocatuer, Lars von Trier will debut his psychological horror Antichrist, starring Willem Defoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg.
The dominance of European auteurs is confirmed by the inclusion of films by Andrea Arnold (Fish Tank, UK), Jacques Audiard (Un Prophète, France), Marco Bellocchio (Vincere, Italy), Isabel Coixet (Map of the Sounds of Tokyo, Spain) and Xavier Giannoli (A L'Origine, France).
Bridging the gap between Europe and the Middle East is Palestinian-Israeli filmmaker Elia Suleiman's The Time That Remains.
Eastern Hopes
It's been over ten years since an Asian film last won the Palme d'Or - Japanese director Shohei Imamura's The Eel shared the honours with Abbas Kiarostami's Taste of Cherry in 1997 - but a number of Asian auteurs are in the running this year.
Malaysian director Tsai Ming-Liang continues his obsession with the French New Wave with Visage, while Korean director Park Chan-Wook will debut his tale of a vampire monk, Bak-Jwi (Thirst) and Hong Kong action director Johnnie To will show Vengeance. 'Sixth Generation' Chinese filmmaker Lou Ye returns to Cannes with Spring Fever, whilst Ang Lee is also back with Taking Woodstock, a comedic account of the legenday rock concert, and Brilliante Mendoza will premiere Kinatay.
With this years lineup looking distinctly like a mixed bag of established veterans and relative newcomers, who will go home victorious at the end of May is anyone's guess.
The 62nd Cannes Film Festival commences on 13 May 2009, with the Closing Award Ceremony taking place on May 24.
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