Top prize reflects clash of French vs. foreign sensibilities

The Cannes festival, so venerable, so vain, wears ambition on its sleeve - love me, love my films. This year, there were few films to love, and, instead, another kind of drama took over at the Palais: friction between old friends and allies. The French and their foreign guests had a war of nerves and clashing sensibilities. The Palme d'Or awarded by Patrice Chereau and his jury to Gus Van Sant for "Elephant," which also won him the best director prize, simply fanned the flames. The film was far from a favorite with many Americans, who would have preferred awarding the top prize to Clint Eastwood's masterful "Mystic River." The Columbine High School shootings in Colorado - which Michael Moore dealt with last year in his documentary "Bowling for Columbine" - are a sore subject, and Van Sant's subdued approach to violence in American society rubbed some people the wrong way. A top critic at Variety, Todd McCarthy, called "Elephant" an art film exercise, saying: "To make a film about something like the Columbine student shootings incident and provide no insight or enlightenment would seem to be pointless at best and irresponsible at worst, and that is what Gus Van Sant has done." As for the French and their Palme predictions, they got it all wrong: no prize for Lars von Trier's provocative "Dogville," and nothing for classic French cinema - neither Francois Ozon's "Swimming Pool" nor Claude Miller's "La Petite Lili." Denys Arcand's "Les Invasions Barbares" (The Barbarian Invasions), a France-Canada co-production, won awards for Marie-Josee Croze as best actress and for Arcand for best screenplay. Day by day, the disappointing roster of films rolled on, and the ideological rift between the French and foreign contingents grew, postwar resentment between the countries festered. Critics critiqued each other rather than the films. The French rushed to "defend" von Trier, Van Sant and, especially, the American director Vincent Gallo "condemned in his own country." Gallo's "The Brown Bunny" became a cause célèbre - hailed by some as a kind of "Paris, Texas," which won Wim Wenders the Golden Palm in 1984 - and the worst movie of all to almost everybody else. It was produced, written and directed by Gallo, who also did the photography and editing and starred as a loner traveling across America in search of Daisy (Chloe Sevigny), his lost love. When he finds her, they have what is called explicit sex, less boring to watch than what went on before. Thierry Fremaux, who is in charge of the selection committee, defended the choice, saying that experimental cinema has a place in the competition. "This polemic between the American and French is very interesting," he said. "It gives us food for thought. We always said this was a transition year, and we are open to criticism." The time has come for Cannes to redefine itself. What is the festival today? The best of world cinema or a boisterous public fair? Above all, the policymakers have to know where they are headed, or lose out. Is Cannes a club for auteurs? And does the rest of the world have to put up with Brown Bunnies? The festival takes place in the heartland of the auteur, where cinema and politics are - or used to be - one. The fact is that Cannes, so long the temple of high-art cinema, now bows to the invasion of Matrixes and Terminators, not to mention homegrown corn. The festival opened with Gerard Krawczyk's "Fanfan la Tulipe" and wound down with Bertrand Blier's "Les Cotelettes" - examples of popular French cinema, both produced by Luc Besson. And those malcontents who muttered about its being a bad year for quality films were happy enough to see that French movies and co-productions - including films by Arcand, Alexander Sokurov (Russia) and Samira Makhmalbaf (Iran) - exported so well. Meanwhile, the American buyers were out shopping for remake material, what is known as a "high-concept blueprint" for a movie. The festival holds tributes to filmmakers of the past, but the past is not where today's young moviegoers are looking; they prefer the posters announcing "Bad Boys II." An homage to Federico Fellini took place on the Croisette , where the maestro's disembodied voice floated above a sea of junk noise; nobody listened and not many showed up for the evening beach screenings. Along with its vociferous, vulgar fringe, Cannes has always had another side - haughty, elitist and fickle. The entire setup elevates certain guests at the expense of others. Thus, the famous card system, which allows exclusive access to this and that staircase, entrance or screening room. Having attended the festival for 24 years, I finally carry a white card. Naturally, I feel entitlement after all that scrambling up the ladder, snubbed by my betters. That doesn't mean I look down upon the pinks with gold stars, or even plain pinks - of course I don't associate with anything like a blue. But I have noticed that less favored colleagues view me with a tinge of resentment.

HIERARCHY AMONG RED-CARPET GUESTS

There is even a hierarchy among red-carpet guests, the stars. Some are cosseted. There are more limousines to fetch them, and they while away their time at Hotel du Cap, lunch at Eden Roc, dine at the Moulin de Mougins, and make merry with their own cast of characters - actors, producers, agents. The really top guns give no interviews, except to a chosen few. Others may be invited to dinners at the Carlton given by the festival director, Gilles Jacob, a kind of selection process in itself, with carefully orchestrated table seating. This year, Van Sant and his young actors were seated with people who appeared not to speak their language, while the presidential table was host to inner-sanctum habitués, an ambassador and choice critics. As for friends from Asia, the word was that they were not to show up en masse at any formal gathering. You can't help wondering about those all-night revels on the boats and in the villas, and how people get back and make it in time for the 8:30 a.m. screening. How to piece together a story that takes place at a beach gathering organized like a Roman orgy? Or a press lunch where the director sits down during the hors d'oeuvres and the star sidles in for dessert? Actually, the bane of the festival is the international press, the very people who caused a ruckus this year. These are mostly print people, as opposed to television journalists, and since they will soon be obsolete, the festival won't have to worry about them for long. They are a fragile breed, they get the blues - friends feud, lovers quarrel - and nobody wins ideological wars. This year, many left early. They fled the red-carpet galas, the crowds with their cameras aimed at posters announcing "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines." The French wanted to forget about their touchy guests; the visitors wanted to go home. And the Palais simply shucked off its glad rags and went back to sleep according to  Joanne Dupont.

THE GLAMOUR AND STARS OF CANNES

Photo: Uma Thurman and Quentin Tarantino side by side for the presentation of "Kill Bill: Volume 2".

Photo: The team of "Shrek 2" arrive at the top of the steps of the Palais des Festivals.

Photo: The team of "Non Ti Muovere" ("Don't Move") by Sergio Castellitto.

At the end of the competition and during the closing ceremony of the Festival, the Official Juries award :

• Palme d'Or for Best Feature Film.
• Grand Prix, for the film that shows the most originality and research spirit.
• Best Performance by an Actress presented to the best actress.
• Best Performance by an Actor presented to the best actor.

THE JURY:

MEMBERS OF THE JURY Of FEATURE FILMS: President: Quentin Tarantino. Director. Members: Benoît POELVOORDE, Director, Edwidge DANTICAT, Emmanuelle BEART, Actress, Jerry SCHATZBERG, Director, Kathleen TURNER, Actress, Peter VON BAGH,Tilda SWINTON, Actress, Tsui HARK. MEMBERS OF THE JURY OF SHORT FILMS: President: Nikita Mikhalkov, Director. Members: Marisa PAREDES, Actress, Nicole GARCIA, Actress, Nuri Bilge CEYLAN, Director, Pablo TRAPERO.

MEMBERS OF THE JURY

Photos from L to R: #1. Marissa Paredess, Actress, Spain. #2. Nicole Garcia, Actress, France. #3. Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Director, Turkey.

Photos from L to R: #1.Pablo Trapero, Director, Spain.  #2. Edwidge Danticat, Author, Haiti. #3. Jerry Schatzberg, Director, USA

Photos from L to R: #2. Kathleen Turner, Actress, USA. #3. Tilda Swinton, Actress, United Kingdom.  #4. Tsui Hark, China, Cinematographer. #5.. Emanuelle Bert, Actress, France.

CANNES HEADACHES AND CONTROVERSIES

French protesters briefly brought the fourth day of the Cannes film festival to a halt on Saturday with a loud march in front of the red carpet.

Will CANNES Bubble Again? This year's CANNES film festival is  combining Hollywood glamour, art house excellence and industry dealings.

Last year's Cannes was widely proclaimed as one of the dullest in festival history, with a paucity of stars, controversy and films to set the movie world alight. But this year, there are signs the annual bonanza on the French Riviera could return to form. A-list stars should be in abundance, with Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz and Tom Hanks among those with films in the official selection.  Cannes will be a launch pad for Greek epic Troy, in which Pitt plays Achilles, while Shrek 2 - using the voice of Diaz - and The Ladykillers, starring Hanks, are both in the running for the festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or.  But the most attention could be given not to a screen idol but to the outspoken documentary-maker Michael Moore, whose new film, Fahrenheit 911, is also among the 18 movies in competition.  "Already, the entire world is going to be watching Cannes because of Michael Moore," according to Steven Gaydos, executive editor of Variety magazine and co-author of Cannes: 50 Years of Sun, Sex and Celluloid.  "It's the most anticipated film of the year now. So I think Cannes is going to benefit from that," he told BBC News Online. The buzz generated at Cannes could make or break the 46 movies that will get their world premieres at the event.

Photo: Kill Bill director Quentin Tarantino will head the festival jury.

Thousands of film-makers, executives and journalists will be on the look-out for the next Crouching Tiger or Pulp Fiction - a movie that emerges from the pack and goes on to become a classic.  One contender is Zhang Yimou's martial arts romance House of Flying Daggers, according to Mr Gaydos.  "No-one has seen the movie so nobody really knows what it is but there's a lot of expectation," he adds. Even if there is not a new Pulp Fiction, its director, Quentin Tarantino, will be heading this year's jury, and will ultimately decide who wins the festival's big prizes.  "His presence there will be magnetic," Mr Gaydos says. "Lots of stars, big controversy, a celebrated festival president - it all sounds good to me." And Cannes' artistic director Thierry Fremaux has put genre films like martial arts flicks, horrors and animations - not usually considered "serious" - on a par with the weighty arthouse offerings, Mr Gaydos says.  Mr Fremaux, in his first year solely in charge, has had the job of picking the best films from the 3,562 that were submitted - up more than 1,000 on last year.  The chosen films, which will be shown during the festival fortnight, are "as varied as imaginable", he has said.  "There is nothing to compare between them, if nothing other than a very strong direction resulting in strong stylistic differences." Last year's choices suffered from a hangover from the end of Mr Fremaux's predecessor's reign, according to Nick James, editor of Sight and Sound magazine.  "It was an atrocious selection last year," Mr James says. "But I'm optimistic that this year is going to be very exciting - I think it feels like a really vibrant mix." The festival is trying to be more "welcoming" to Americans after some US reviewers had a "paranoid edge" last year, he says. And there are more new film-makers on this year's list. "Most of the list is usually made up of auteurs who have been around a very long time.  "It feels a lot more flexible this year. And there does also seem to be a rather pronounced disinterest in British films." The only UK films in this year's selection are Dear Frankie, in the Un Certain Regard section, and three shorts in the Cinefondation - or film school - section. But Nick James adds: "For me, it's bound to be better than last year. I love Cannes - I'm somebody who has a good time every year, even when the films are bad."

MADE IN BRITAIN FOR CANNES

Time has no meaning here. Hours scuttle past, sneaking away the day. Tramping round the beachside marquee of the Brit-promoting UK Film Centre, sun beating down and brain giving up, I was contemplating various aliens-abducted-my-dog style excuses for the absence of today's column (figuring, "Watched pretty waves," just wasn't going to cut it) when my desperate eye chanced upon a fine pair of legs. This isn't the point at which Cannes Canned descends to an unsightly level of lechery and lust (that's next week), but it was with a firm grip on another's thigh that I approached Simon - the cameraman who's drawn the short straw of accompanying me around Cannes. The expression of bunny-in-headlights horror with which he reacted to being presented with a severed leg is something I will cherish throughout the festival. The limb in question belongs to Mike Kelt, a special effects whiz whose company, Artem, has recently worked on both Troy  and Terry Gilliam's upcoming Brothers Grimm. It is uncannily realistic: its chill fake flesh clammy against my hand; real human hair puncturing its skin; bony, bloody stump freaking out everyone in sight (either that, or I really do have a face for radio) (You do - Ed.). Mike is here to raise business and bang the drum for behind-the-scenes British talent, as a recently elected board member of the tentatively titled UK Post, an association created to raise the profile of professionals toiling away in the post-production work of editing, sound, music and special effects; an organization for what UK Film Council spokesperson Ian Thomson calls the "unsung heroes" of our movie industry. 

Both appear confident in British abilities, although no one is disputing Quentin Tarantino's assessment , at the jury press conference, that Blighty's stars tend to disappear to Hollywood. Dan Jolin, the features editor of Total Film, also agrees with the banana-chinned auteur in his opinion that the UK needs to make films with more variety. But the primary reason for Hollywood dominance is obvious: money. For British product to consistently bust blocks on a Hollywood scale, we need investment and daring. We need someone to go out on a limb (I'm sorry. I can't help myself. I'm legless. Oh, no... Have I gone a step too far? Etc etc.

PART FIVE

GOLDEN GLOBES

RETURN OF THE KING WINS BEST PICTURE

The final installment of the fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won four trophies at Sunday's Golden Globe Awards, including best drama and best director for Peter Jackson. The last film in the blockbuster trilogy, it also gathered two musical awards for Toronto-born composer Howard Shore, who won for best original score and for best movie song Into the West, which was performed by Annie Lennox. "I never realized that seven years on this movie would end up turning me into a Hobbit," Jackson joked, referring to the shortish, big-footed magical characters in the J.R.R. Tolkien stories. "Doing these movies for a composer is a gift," Shore said on stage. "It's a labor of love, really, to translate Tolkien's words. I have great inspiration from his books and from Peter Jackson's great filmmaking." Charlize Theron won best actress in a drama for her work in the film Monster. The Barbarian Invasions by Montreal filmmaker Denys Arcand failed to win in the foreign language category, as a movie called Osama from Afghanistan took the prize. In other categories, Diane Keaton as an older woman in love in Something's Gotta Give and Bill Murray as an aging actor in a platonic romance with a younger woman in Lost in Translation collected Golden Globes for lead comedy performances. "Getting to play a woman to love at 57 is like reaching for the stars with a step ladder. I know I got lucky," said Keaton. Lost in Translation won best comedy picture.

MURRAY DRYLY MOCKS HOLLYWOOD AWARD SPEECHES

Murray thanked Lost in Translation writer-director Sofia Coppola and went on to dryly mock Hollywood award speeches, declaring he had fired all his agents and representatives and had no one else to thank. He also poked fun at the idea that comedy performers are overshadowed by dramatic stars. "Too often we forget our brothers on the other side of the aisle -- the dramatic actors," he said. "I'd just like to say: Where would our war, our miseries and our psychological traumas come from?" Coppola collected the best screenplay trophy, and thanked her father -- The Godfather director and co-writer Francis Ford Coppola, calling him "a great screenwriting teacher." Among TV nominees, HBO's six-hour adaptation of playwright Tony Kushner's Angels in America won five trophies, including best miniseries or TV movie. But movies got most of the attention. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association event is regarded by many in Hollywood as one of the year's biggest parties, but it's also a way to generate front-runner buzz for the Oscars.

TIM ROBBINS AND RENEE ZELLWEGER COLLECTED SUPPORTING PERFORMERS HONORS

The Globes are distributed by a relatively small group, about 90 journalists who cover entertainment for foreign-based media outlets. Tim Robbins and Renee Zellweger collected supporting movie performer honors. Robbins' supporting role as a grown child-abuse survivor suspected of murder in Mystic River earned him the first trophy of the evening. "Wow! We just sat down. The good thing about this coming early is that I get to drink now," Robbins joked. Later in his acceptance speech he shouted to director Clint Eastwood: "Clint, you are the man! I have never felt so trusted and in such good hands as when we were on the set for that movie." Zellweger received the supporting movie actress award for playing a tough-as-bark backwoods woman in Cold Mountain. She previously won two lead comedy actress Golden Globes for Nurse Betty in 2001 and last year for Chicago. Zellweger told the crowd that playing the character of Ruby was "one of my greatest joys." To her co-stars Nicole Kidman and Jude Law, she said: "It was a privilege to shovel out the barn with you."

MERYL STREEP AND AL PACINO GET BEST TV MOVIE LEAD PERFORMERS HONORS

The Globes have a history of honoring future Oscar winners, including Titanic, American Beauty and Gladiator. A win often bodes well for performers, too, with previous Globe winners including Hilary Swank for Boys Don't Cry, Julia Roberts for Erin Brockovich and Jack Nicholson for As Good as It Gets. Besides winning best TV movie or miniseries, Angels in America won four performing awards. Co-star Meryl Streep and Al Pacino were picked best TV movie lead performers and supporting TV honors went to Jeffrey Wright and Mary.

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