It's that Time Again!

Film review writing time. That's what I have been doing all day. Well, that's not true. I slept for half of the day. Few films are playing in Cannes today, so I decided to stay in JLP to write my reviews. I've just completed my first one on Antichrist. Now I'm trying to decide which film I want to do my second review on. That's pretty much it. I will write more tomorrow.

More Pictures:

Gary Coleman!

My Fancy Badge That Gets Me Nowhere

Movie on the Beach!

No Tarentino For Me

When I told people I was going to Cannes in May, several told me "GO SEE TARENTINO'S NEW MOVIE! ARE YOU GONNA?"
Today was the premiere. I honestly have no interest in Tarentino. I don't understand why people are so crazy about the guy. I can do without excessive violence.

Yesterday I saw Oh My God, which was a documentary on...well...God. This guy went all over the world asking people what they thought God was. It was very interesting. I wrote down some of the responses that I liked the most. I didn't have time to write down who said them, so if this movie gets picked up--you can see for yourself!

"Why is the God of one club more important than the God of another club? Do I need to be in a club?"

"God is ONE."

"The ocean can be God, but God cannot be the ocean."

"War is always over two things: religion and land"

"There are four major things we use God for:
1. An explanation for creation. How did we get here?
2. As a policeman. He watches over us and we do good deeds to please him.
3. Death. No one knows what comes after we die.
5. Scapegoat. If something bad happens, people always say 'It's God's will.'"

"Borders are created by Man. We own NOTHING. We are just caretakers."

"God is between us. He is the gap."

"God is money."

"He is the essence of nature."

"God is our best ally who guides us on our path."

"He is like a smile."

"If anyone tells you who God is...mistrust them."

"God is LOVE."

"He is the glue."

They gave me a booklet with some quotes in it as well.

"If you put Buddha, Jesus Christ, Socrates, Shakespeare, Arjuna, Krishna at a dinner table together, I can't see them having any argument."
-Hugh Jackman

"It's rubbish. Why are you looking for a reason?"
-Sir Bob Geldof

"Our knowledge is very, very limited. We think we know a lot. We may be learned but we are not wise."
-K.P.S. Gill

"God to me, my God is my life, God is love."
-Ringo Starr

"Over the years, I have chosen to see God in people."
-Seal

"Religion is politicized. Hindu-Peace; Islam-Peace; Christianity-Peace. They're all peace."
-Idapedanda Gede Putra Telabah

Director's statement:

We are experiencing days of religious turmoil, of fundamentalism, fanaticism and the breakdown of spirituality through technology and reason. After the collapse of the piety that was rooted in religion, cult, occult and ancient myths, I ask the question, "What is God?" It's not so much "Who is God?"; but: "What is God?"

Over a period of three years, I traveled across 23 countries asking this question; to see what this entity that goes by the name of God means to individuals from children, to religious leaders, to celebrities, to fanatics and to the common Man. The film is not about religion and the tribes in which people eke out their lives; the film is about what God means to people.

The results of this journey are sometimes predictable, and sometimes surprising. From birth and throughout our education we are conditioned as human beings-- influenced by our parents, school and the religious beliefs of our home country. If we have religion, perhaps we should spend a little longer studying our chosen belief instead of blindly following other human beings who claim to have the authority of God. It seems evident that Man has taken the power, the concept of God and politicized it; for agendas that are the antipathies of the dignity and tolerance that the prophets of all the major religions preached in their day.

Did Man create God, or did God create Man?

-Peter Rodger

Yup.

AS FOR TOOODAY.....

I saw three movies: Looking for Eric, Dogtooth, and Hierro.

The first two were pretty good. The last one was a little cliche as far as scary/psychological thrillers go.

I did get harrassed in the theater during Dogtooth, though. This creepy older man sat next to me before the movie began and he reeked of cologne. He took up the entire armrest and slowly had his hand hanging off on my side. I felt his hand against my leg, so I scooted over a little--thinking it was just an accident, or whatever. Then I felt his hand again. I guess he was slowly creeping it closer to me...I scooted over AGAIN..and sure enough....

So I start freaking out a little. I want to get up and move, but I'm right in the middle and people are on both sides of me. I looked over at Melanie, but she was watching the movie. I tried writing down what was going on and passing it to her, but she didn't read it all and was confused. I started pushing his arm as a I shifted my body. Then he would come back. So I pushed again. This lasted for an hour. I didn't want to make a scene. I didn't even know if this guy spoke English. I made one last attempt at shoving and put my notebook against my leg as a "barrier." He got the point, got up and left. If I see him on the street, I am going to kick him. I can't seem to get through one day here without having a person disappoint me.

I decided to come back early. I have 2 more reviews due on Friday, so I should probably get started on those.

Goodnight! Sorry if I spell things wrong. I don't use much brain power for these entries because I save it all for my film reviews.

Oh yeah. Here are some pictures:

Before the UP Premiere

Square Toilet--Paper was in there before

Random Westie!
Hanging out with Scorsese and Roger Ebert
Heart Sunglasses and Gelato!

The Day of Two Antichrists

Comment ça va?

It's a beautiful morning in JLP. I am currently sitting at my desk letting the sun creep in with the window open in front of me. Yesterday was a full day, so I didn't have time to write. Je regrette beaucoup.

We left for Cannes around 9ish to pick up our temporary market badges (woo hoo!). Now we have access to the Palais (where many theaters are located and where production companies set up booths and display their one sheets ) Some of us decided to beg for tickets for the 11:30 showing of Antichrist with Willem Defoe and directed by Lars von Trier (a former Dogma 95 participant). Here's some of the review from Reuters:

Jeers and laughter broke out during scenes ranging from a talking fox to graphically-portrayed sexual mutilation.

Many viewers in the large Debussy cinema also appeared to take objection to von Trier's decision to dedicate his film to the revered Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky. Applause from a handful of viewers was drowned out by booing at the end.

Antichrist opens with a heavily stylized, black-and-white, slow-motion portrayal of the child's accidental death set to soaring music by Handel.

Dafoe's character, who is a therapist, tries to help his wife deal with her grief and encourages her to come off heavy medication that sedates her for weeks after the death.

They decide to go to an isolated wooden cabin in an unspecified forest to recover, but the woman Gainsbourg portrays loses control of her senses.

The abuse she submits herself and her husband to drew shocked gasps from the audience.

The reaction suggested that von Trier, who won the top prize in Cannes with "Dancer in the Dark" in 2000, could be in for a rough ride from reviewers and journalists on Monday.

One U.S. critic said he and others found the film "offensive," and questioned why it was included in the main competition of 20 films in Cannes.

In production notes for Antichrist, the 53-year-old director said that the movie was a "kind of therapy" for depression he was suffering from two years ago.

---------------

It was AWFUL. I took copious amounts of notes and wanted to walk out towards the end. I have issues with walking out of movies, though. If I managed to get as far as I did, surely I could make it to the end. The film was on the brink of being pornographic (they showed everything) and it suddenly turned into a SAW movie around the last third of the movie. I can't even say the things I was forced to see...I get lightheaded again. I think someone passed out, because as I was leaving I saw EMTs frantically run in the theater. It wouldn't surprise me. People were exiting the theater in packs during the film. This movie was a perfect example of what Paul Cox meant when he said "There's a lot of shit out there."

ANYWAY

We met with another speaker around 2 named Duane Byrge. He is a critic for the Hollywood Reporter. I actually read his article on The Misfortunates the night before while I was writing my own review. Didn't even realize I would be seeing the guy the next day.

Even though I am not a journalist, I found his discussion very interesting. He got a job working for the Writer's Guild when he was only a second year film student. When that went kaput, he got a call from the Hollywood Reporter shortly after. He told us to take advantage of every opportunity and you never know where you are going to end up. He was a good guy. I liked him.

Afterwards, Sarah and I went to the booth for Lymelife and asked if we could get tickets. The film's executive producer is Martin Scorsese and the cast includes: Alec Baldwin, Keiren and Rory Culkin, Timothy Hutton, Jill Hennessy, Cynthia Nixon, and Emma Roberts. The theater it was playing in only had 40 seats, so we thought our chances were slim. BUT, the lady at the booth said if we came 10 minutes early she would give us tickets.

We went to eat food at Cafe Roma--it was delicious.

A lot of us managed to make it in to Lymelife, and it was pretty good. Very American Beauty-esque. I thought it was cute and kind of quirky. One of those indie movies.

When we walked out of the film, we noticed two women watching one of the TV's on the wall. It was showing who was currently on the red carpet. Once and a while a person would pass in front of them (it was a public space, after all) and one of the ladies would shout a rude comment like "Learn some manners baby" or "Were you raised in a barn?" One woman was about to cross in front of them and the evil lady took her by the shoulders and turned her in the other direction. "Walk around!" she said. We stood in disbelief that this old woman was so rude. Causing a commotion about something as small as a person crossing in front of your view (IN A PUBLIC AREA!) is inexcusable.

Finally, Anna spoke up.

"Maybe you should stand closer to the TV."

"Why are you getting yourself involved in this?"

"Or maybe you could put cones around you..."

"Funny. You're funny."

"Well, you're being really rude."

"You're rude for calling me rude!"

"You just asked that woman if she was raised in a barn!"

"We're so lucky to have your generation following ours."

I won't write Anna's response, but it was hilarious. The woman flicked her off when Anna walked away. That was the second Antichrist. How can people have such a false sense of entitlement? I can't believe people like her exist in this world.

After that ordeal we went to the movie on the beach, which was Ziggy Stardust. The band Blue Foundation played first, and they were awesome. No one was up and dancing, though. Only one guy outside the barrier with a beer in his hand was rocking out. I thought that was unfortunate, and had the impulse to go up and dance. I was a little nervous about dancing alone, but I remembered what Mr. Cox said about fear. So I leapt up and joined the dancing bum. He was pretty filthy and didn't speak a word of English, but the barrier separated us. He was pretty harmless. Elisa joined me after a few minutes and then some guys from Spain decided to come up as well. The rest of the people just watched and smiled. It was fun.

After the Bowie showing, we all went back to JLP and I passed out.

Today, we have a "master class" with the Dardenne Brothers. They did the movie L'enfant, which won the Palme d'Or in 2005. I haven't seen any of their movies, but I've learned from every speaker so far. I haven't decided which films I am going to see today, or if I am going to beg for premiere tickets. It's such an exhausting exercise and you always feel like crap when you don't get a ticket. We'll see.

A demain!

I See the Light!

Today, my class had the honor of listening to Mr. Paul Cox speak. He is good friends with Dr. Kohn and Roger Ebert. He lives in Australia, and he his wonderful. He spoke of religion, politics, beauty, war, news, truth, and film making. Everything he said I loved. He managed to voice what I have always wanted to say so eloquently. Some people might think he was spitting out liberal BS, but I thought his overall message was brilliant. I wrote down some of the things he said. Jenn Smith (the other teacher) is getting a copy of his little speech, so I might be able to post it later. It was long, but excellent.

On movies today:
"There's a lot of shit out there."
"Being a film maker means you have a lot of responsibility."
"Invent, don't imitate."

On the news:
"Nothing is the truth in the news."
"Investigate everything."

On art/society:
"As aspiring artists, you have to be anarchists."
"We never learn from history."
"We have hideous people as our role models."
"Our identity has become the identity of the hopeless."
"We are a spoiled race."
"Lose all fear. Don't compromise."
"Follow your instincts and your heart."
"The history of Man is the history of madness."
"Art is a mixture of vision and kindness."
"Modern society has betrayed humanity."
He hates canned laughter on sitcoms b/c we are told when to laugh.
He is not a "professional" film maker. It is his hobby. Anyone who says they are a professional is full of crap.

On religion:
"Professional believers created the concept of 'God.'"
He spoke of a religious woman on TV who said: "God wanted me to have a facelift." It became his inspiration for his film Salvation.

He thinks Cannes is the whore of film festivals. I have slowly come to realize this.

These few quotations cannot do justice to what he said. I really hope to get his speech. It made me cry several times. It helped restore my faith that I lost last night. It was just what I needed. He spoke of how terrible the Grand Prix is. People race around in circles and waste so many resources--and for what? He spoke of anarchy. That we must shake the foundation to change the way the business works. I wanted to hug him. I just learned he is dying of liver cancer from Sophie, Dr. Kohn's daughter. She said he is like an uncle to her. The world needs more people like him, and it's a shame that he has to leave it too soon.

Now. I must write my reviews.

Bad Day...

It had to happen, I suppose.

Today began with the meeting with the Swedish producers of Let the Right One In. They discussed how they came across the novel and the process of turning it into a movie. It was neat.

A few of us went to see a Belgian film called The Misfortunates. Here's the "pitch."

Gunther Strobbe, 13, lives with his father and three uncles at his grandmother's. There, he daily faces enormous quantities of alcohol, picking up women and shameless hanging out and doing nothing. Everything points to Gunther suffering the same fate. Or will Gunther yet manage to escape his misfortune?

It was pretty good. There were a lot of gross instances--lot of vomiting and such. It had funny and dysfunctional parts. Best film I've seen at Cannes so far.

Came back. Well. We waited at the train station for about an hour before getting back. I hadn't eaten anything, so that was painful.

THEN we came back to JLP (the town we are staying in). I changed clothes for the premiere of Taking Woodstock. Ate some foods. Then we made our way back to Cannes to beg.

After standing for a while with my sign, a German/French guy came up to me and said he had an orange ticket, so he wasn't sure if I would be able to use it. I said it was worth a try. Basically, if you have an orange ticket--you must have a market badge as well. If you have a blue ticket--you're in no matter what. SO. We get to the first set of guards. They let me through. We get to the second set--two young guys. They wouldn't let me pass. The German/French man started arguing with them in French. I stood there...feeling kind of awkward. They told him to try the balcony entrance.

We rushed over there, but no one was around. He decides to give the first entrance another try. We get through the first pair of guards again. Then the shouting began. The German/French man was screaming at the guard. The police had to come over and they told me to leave the line. They instructed us to try the "Last Minute Queue." We run over there and see a bunch of people with orange tickets standing around. I look up at the screen that broadcasts who is currently on the red carpet--and there's Demetri and Ang and Emile Hirsch. They go inside and we stand there for a few minutes. They tell us they can't let us in. I part with the angry German/French man.

Feeling rejected and exhausted from running back and forth in heels, I wandered back toward the train station. I got confused on my way there and started calling all the people I could think of that might not have gotten in. No one was picking up and I was getting panicky from being on my own. George finally calls me back and I meet up with him and Melanie. We get some gelato and visit the petit bar at the Carlton. Melanie's 21st birthday is tomorrow/today, so she got a glass of wine. We decided to go back to JLP, and on our way out I saw Jane Campion and the lead actor from her movie in the lobby of the hotel. That was neat.

We get to the train station and they say no more trains were going. We figure out that a bus was not coming for another hour, and no taxis were showing up at the taxi stand area. Sophie and Chris were down at another taxi stand, so we met up with them. Chris ran off to get a drink, so Sophie let the group behind her take the taxi. The next cab pulls up, and the group behind us tries to get in. They claimed we had jumped in at the front, when really Sophie had been waiting for much longer than they had. We all started arguing with them. I got pretty angry. My feet were sore from the heels, I didn't get to see the movie, and this group of rich nobodies were accusing us of something we didn't do. I started to tear up a little because this one woman was being really rude and difficult.

So, we made our way to the other taxi stand near the train station and finally managed to grab a cab home.

And when I looked in my mirror, I realized one of my earrings was missing. Hizzah.

I think people are going out for Melanie's 21st birthday, but I am too upset and tired to celebrate. I don't plan on seeing any movies tomorrow because I still have to write 2 reviews that are due on Monday.

I think I'm realizing how much I really hate the shallow, ritzy atmosphere of the film industry. I don't know if I'm cut out for this business.