The French Connection: Viva la France!

By Dave McCoy
MSN Movies Lead Editor

I was just finishing up my final dispatch when the word came down that the Cannes jury had made their award selections. Coincidentally, I was writing a rave review of the second to last film I saw Friday at the festival. It's called "Entre les murs" ("The Class"), directed by Laurent Cantet. It's passionate, pulsing with life and along with Nuri Bilge Ceylan's "Three Monkeys" the best film I saw at Cannes.

Apparently, the jury agreed with me.

In an unanimous decision, "The Class" just received the coveted Palme d'Or, which not only means the jury got it right, but in the process, ended 21 years of French failure and frustration at Cannes. The last French film to win the festival's top award was "Under the Sun of Satan" in 1987. That Cantet is among the best current French filmmakers (rent "Human Resources" or "Time Out" for proof), rather than a one-time knock off, is icing for a French nation hungry for a win. Jury president Sean Penn set the tone two weeks ago when he said the Palme d'Or winner would (and I'm paraphrasing) reflect what is going in the world i.e. a social or political work. "The Class" is definitely that. It's entirely set within the walls of in an inner-city Paris junior high school, either in a class room or a teacher's lounge. It's the anthesis of typical American maudlin underdog teacher-student movies, like "Stand and Deliver" and "Lean on Me," instead presenting school realistically, difficultly. Cantet made enit tirely with non-actors and it's easily the smartest, most authentic film about school I've ever seen. It's also hilarious (the kids could have collectively shared the acting award) and riveting, and delves into socio-political-racial issues (not to mention educational approaches) in naturalistic ways. Never does the film stoop to preachy, heavy-handed sentimentality. Hopefully the Palme means the film will find an audience in America. It has the potential to be a huge art house hit.

The jury also made me do the happy dance by awarding Ceylan the Best Director award for "Three Monkeys." Other winners included: two Italian films, "Gomorra" and "Il Divo" won second and third place prizes, respectively; the Dardenne brothers, who failed in their third attempt for a Palme d'Or, settled for Best Screenplay for "The Silence of Lorna"; Best Actress went to Sandra Corveloni for "Linha de Passe" and Best Actor to deserved Benicio del Toro for "Che." That award, plus special jury prize for Clint Eastwood and "Changeling," was the closest thing to an American win. Yanks were otherwise shut out. Also shut out was the well-received, visionary Israeli feature, "Waltz with Bashir." I guess the jury doesn't like animation.

For the rest of the list, click here.

There is an slight irony with "The Class" winning. Cannes wrapped up the weekend today, ending 10 weeks for misery and pain. I don't mean the event itself; I had a great time again (and no full body heat rash or food poisoning this time!). But, thematically, almost every film that played during the festival was more brutal than the one before it. If I go next year, remind me to bring Prozac. Hell, even what figured to be the "comedy" in the official competition group, Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York," ended up being so black and bleak it left people gasping rather than chuckling. But, hey, this isn't the multiplex. Cannes often mirrors what's going on in the world. Pick up a newspaper; it's not pretty right now. Anywhere. So, for the jury to give its highest award to something difficult, yet with tinged of hope like "The Class"... it's a nice touch.

Final Thoughts
Before bidding adieu, a couple final observations on films I saw late in the festival...

"Synecdoche, New York" -- I mentioned Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut earlier (if you don't Know him, he is the screenwriter behind "Being John Malkovich," "Adaptation." and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind") but wanted to say a bit more. You rarely see ambition like this from a first-time filmmaker, but ambition doesn't make for great cinema. Have you seen "Southland Tales" yet? So, I give Kaufman a round of applause for ambition. The film is about theater director (Philip Seymour Hoffman, who is the best actor on the planet right now) who is both physically and mentally breaking down. He receives grant money and decides to create a play of, well, life. He rebuilds New York City, hires thousands of actors to play real people, including himself and everyone he knows... and then hires more actors to play the lives of the actors, and so on. The snake eats its tale here, pukes it up and re-eats it, over and over. It spans 30 years (maybe?), is non-linear and we're never sure whether we're in reality or fantasy (for example, Samantha Morton, Hoffman's object of desire, lives in a house perpetually on fire). It starts of promising but becomes an exhausting exercise over time. It's a big mess, but it's also very effective at times. It's blackly funny, but ultimately really bleak and tough to watch. It offers no hope, both within the confines of the very insular film (all inside Hoffman's head) or, really, in life either. We live, we struggle, we try to make sense of it all, but we simply die and with us any pretense that we matter or have anything to contribute or that will last. Good times.

"Of Time and The City" -- It won no awards (it wasn't in competition), but Terence Davies' comeback film (he was last seen in 2000, when his masterpiece, "The House of Mirth," tanked) was the most beloved movie at Cannes. It's Davies' 70 minute personal poem, of his life and memories, to his home city of Liverpool, and to a life slipping away. It's a mixture of newsreel footage and Davies' own filmed footage, a mixture of words from great writers and Davies' memories (he's so good, you can't tell them apart), and it's overwhelming.

During it, I had the moment of my festival. I was sitting next to a very old English couple. During the film, the man kept pointing to the screen in recognition of something he remembered. He often chuckled, said "oh my," or made a number of sounds. Davies' memories were his, on some level, and he too was looking back at his life. At one point, I laughed at one of Davies' many wry jokes. The man quickly turned to me and put his hand on my shoulder, looked at me, nodded and said something I couldn't understand, while pointing back at the screen. And at that moment, I became part of this man's memories, and in return he became part of my mine. In a movie theater, watching a film about memory and experience, two strangers shared a wave of camaraderie, all stemming from one artist's work about personal reflection. It was... the only word I can think of to describe it is holy. I may one day be old and watching a movie and reflecting back on my life. And when I do, that old man will be part of it... and he'll appear in my mind, with great tenderness, as newsreel footage. May, 2008. Cannes, France.

I had a lot of moments at Cannes this year, but it will be those 5 seconds forever etched in my mind. And people ask me why I spend so much time in movie theaters...

Au revoir...

Dave McCoy is lead editor for MSN Movies.

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