Hey folks, Harry here with the 6th day of Celia's CANNES reports. This time with a very Cannes film, David Cronenberg's A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE - his first comic book adaptation. Of course, the mainstream media won't look at it like that. But hey, we geeks never look at things from the normal point of view. Great to hear this is as great a film as it had the potential to be. If you want to see a trailer for the film, Click Here! Meanwhile, I'm giddy about De Palma's BLACK DAHLIA. Here ya go...
Hi again Harry ! Here's today's report.
I really didn' t want to get up this morning. Last night was really too short !
Anyway, I don't regret it since I woke up for the Cronenberg film and I have a full of praises review to write about it ! I went to see him and his cast after the press conference : Viggo Mortensen now has a terrible moustache, so much for Aragorn sex-appeal !
I skipped "Manderlay", a Lars Von Trier film starring Bryce Dallas Howard and Danny Glover. Though Lars Von Trier is always a strong contestant to the Palme d'Or, I didn't feel really like going to see it : it's always so sad and I so didn't like his latest "Dogville" starring Nicole Kidman.
Apart from that, Cannes day 6 was also Cannes rain day 2. Everyone got soaked because of the rain falling hard during one or two hours. Now, it's 6.30 p.m. and there is a beautiful sunshine ! But my feet are still cold since I was wandering from one palace hotel to another one, looking for some cool goodies, when it began to rain.
Today's event was also the Croisette being blocked by french policemen because of some protesters who were here.
Now I just wish for some rest before tomorrow and the Jim Jarmusch film starring Bill Murray.
SOME NEWS
Brian De Palma's "Black Dahlia", from James Ellroy is on the right track. Starring Scarlett Johanson, Hilary Swak and Josh Hartnett, it finally found financial and moral support from Universal production who thinks to have a De Palma at his best.
Three film directors have been disqualified for the Camera d'Or which is an award to first films. Tommy Lee Jones, James Marsh and Karin Albou have all been directing film for the small screen, which violates the rule for this prize.
About this prize, Shane Black's "Kiss kiss, bang bang" starring Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr. made a good head start. It was very well liked, particularly thanks to its energy and the the two actors.
FILM REVIEW : "A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE" BY DAVID CRONENBERG
I never really liked David Cronenberg films. Though I recognize his talent, universes like those in "Naked lunch" or "Dead ringers" were way too weird to my taste !
But I so loved "A history of violence" !
Tom Stall lives in a small town, in Indiana. He's loved by his wife, his teenage son, his daughter and by all the community. But one day
two bloody killers come in his diner.
They are going to kill the waitress, but Tom reacts and kills very efficiently the two men. He becomes a hero, on local and national tv. And a day later, Fogarty arrives : he is a mobster from Philly and he has no left eye.
Fogarty and his men pay a visit to Tom and accuse him of being someone else : someone named Joey, who is also a mobster from Philadelphia, and also the one who did Fogarty's eye.
The film title is a perfect explanation of the film itself. It begins with a triple murder. It develops itself with a simple heroic act which will create a spiral of violence, not only for Tom, but for his family too.
In this film, when someone's head is blown away, ther's blood everywhere, bits of brain and some teeth : it's not meaningless violence, it's the most realistic ever violence. Though, in the middle of the worst slaughter, there is some humour... and all the viewers were laughing together !
But, even if violence is very present, it's not a goal in itself. It serves Tom's story and his identity's story.
Cronenberg gathered around him an amazing cast. Viggo Mortensen as Tom Stall is perfect : he plays with nuance, ambiguity and has an impressive range. Ed Harris, as Fogarty, is perfectly creepy. But my own favorite is William Hurt, who is absolutely wonderful ! If he had more than 20 minutes long a role, I would say that he would have the Male Actor Award of the Film Festival !
In short, a great film, far from the usual Cronenberg films. The topics in "A history of violence" are wonderfully developped and all actors, from Tom's son to Tom himself are excellent. The best film I've seen so far in this Festival !
