The golden ticket "Cannes Closing Ceremony"

If someone were to ask me what experience or knowledge I garnered from this year’s festival de Cannes based purely on the films I saw…my answer would be to choose wisely. I saw 15 films perhaps a record for me considering that I had two or three meetings a day while networking at several receptions for the first 6 days of the festival. Looking back at some of the images it would be best to summarize by saying life can be very difficult and the choices we make can ultimately affect a greater community that we share. I saw this particular theme played out in films like – We Need To Talk About Kevin – The Boy with The Bike, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia & Drive.

We Need To Talk about Kevin. Eva (Tilda Swinton) puts her ambitions and career aside to give birth to Kevin. The relationship between mother and son is difficult from the very first years. When Kevin is 15, he does something irrational and unforgiveable in the eyes of the entire community. Eva grapples with her own feelings of grief and responsibility. Did she ever love her son? And how much of what Kevin did was her fault? Based on the Winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction.
 

The Boy with Bike- Le Gamin au Vélo -Le gamin au véloexplores familiar territory, with a young boy, Cyril (Thomas Doret) who’s abandoned by his father and left in the responsibility of unqualified childcare provider Samantha (Cécile De France).

 Tied with  Once Upon A Time in Anatolia for Grand Prix.

 Once Upon A Time in Anatolia – A group of men are driving through the country, looking for a corpse after the murderer has confessed the crime. They can’t find the body and while searching, they engage in what appears to be random chatter. Chatter that gets to heart of many stories sectioned off by brilliantly written characters by dir Nuri  Cyelan – CSI in Anatolia/Turkey.

 Tied with Le Gamin au Vélo for Grand Prix

Drive – The film stars Ryan Gosling as an emotionless wheelman who lives to drive, movie stunts by day and he commits robberies by night. He makes a rare stab at human connection with his fetching neighbor Carey Mulligan and her son.

Choices – we struggle with them every day from the simple ones like what to wear to most difficult…should I leave this job, does he/she love me enough for me to stay with them. Weighing each choice is a science – give too little thoughts and you may not like the results. Characters in the films mentioned above make some choices that were ultimately shocking and it evidently tested their inner strength. However, this particular theme is far from what I’ve experienced in Cannes in the last couple of years.  For example In 2009 I felt that I could not watch any more sex/nudity and perversion and in 2010 I felt I wasn’t sure what I was watching until the film Biutiful was screened. If you haven’t seen it I recommend that you get the DVD. It’s worth the watch.

Actor Kristen Dunst after the screening of Melanchioila

So why the change – when did our filmmakers began this philosophical journey by showing us our action upon the world?  I would go as far and say that some of the Auteurs were taking a closer look at themselves and the world we live in. The daily images that we tend to see and read have become clear in its message – the world we live in is evil. So evil in fact that there was a rapture on its way while I sat in a theatre unaware.  Well we all know that it didn’t happen – but from the insidious headlines on the evening news for days leading up to May 21…one would think it was the end.  There was no talk of the rapture in Cannes – we were we oblivious – only business as usual. But what is this fascination that we have with our soul and its redemption? Can it be as simple as Kristen Dunst explained in Lars Von Trier’s film Melanchioila. Her character is quoted as saying ‘we are evil and we are alone, I know this to be true” as the world comes to its ultimate demise at the end of the film. Thankfully the audience showed Lars some love for his artistic ability but when he begins to speak - someone please mute his microphone. But even still what was said is in reference to the world and the evil that we barely survived WWII.  So what about some of the good things in this world – who’s filming this and who’s telling those stories or are we buying into the coined phrase – its not hard hitting enough for regular viewers.

Straight after seeing the film Melcanchiolia I met a young lady Maria – only 17 yrs old but she had the foresight, knowledge and passion of someone much older. We met in a bar – across from the Cannes train station. She wasn’t drinking any alcohol. She was there to participle in the Karaoke night held by Creative Minds (Film Market Access’ partner with Creative Minds for the Toronto Program). Her passion was infectious and her ideas where beyond her scope but I wondered does this means that she cannot accomplish some or even a little of what she speaks of – hopefully setting the world on a better path. She started her own organization. She presented me with a card. The organization helps youths in under privilege communities to gain access to mentorship and better education.  She also visits colleges to speak to girls about taking pride in themselves by rejecting terms such as bitches and hoes, So what she doing in Cannes? She would be best suited for a humanitarian conference I figured. But she explains to me that she love documenting and the idea to make documentaries also narratives on the core values that she has is an asset. She continues to say that each film will teach and could go further than her community. I thought this was very admirable and I wonder if she was inspired in America and what influences these films at Cannes had presented her. The mirror was held up to our faces at many screenings. Were we all looking? Did we like what we see? Sometime we don’t want to see as our own reflection but what should we do about it?

I can’t help to think that this years’ Cannes I was quickly reminded that we probable are living in an evil society although thankfully we hold on to the hope that we can do better and we will try to do better. However, there is always that something that distracts us and that’s clearly the choices we make to help ourselves, family and friends. We are fallible and that’s what makes for a great story interpreted by great autuers who hope that they can continue to entertained and educated us at the same time…

Merci Cannes 2011… Rendez-vous l’année prochaine

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