I've been watching the opening ceremonies of the Cannes Film Festival (the *60th* Cannes Film Festival) and all the hoopla and press conferences surrounding it and it appears that, unlike last year, there may be some pretty interesting films, both in competition and out of it.
Out of competition there will be "Sicko," of course, and "U2 3D," which sounds pretty interesting -- a live U2 concert filmed in 3D. In competition there will be a new David Fincher flick, "Zodiac," which is always of interest because it's a David Fincher flick. There will be new films from the Coen brothers and from Gus Van Sant and Tarantino. There will be what looks in the preview clips like a wonderful animated film from (I think) Iran that seems to reveal a great deal about what life is really like there. Iran has troubled youth and hippies and humor. :-) But the one that most has my attention after the opening day's hoopla is a new film by Chinese director Wong Kar Wai called "My Blueberry Nights." I just watched the press conference on this one, featuring the director talking about his first English-language film, and two of the stars, Jude Law and Norah Jones. Yes, that Norah Jones. The director cast her without ever meeting her, just on the basis of her voice. She's never acted before. Judging from her presence at the press conference and the awed reaction of the journalists who had just seen the film that she and Jude Law had not yet seen, I think we can expect a *stunning* performance from her, and from the more seasoned actors she got to work with like Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Tim Roth, and Rachel Weisz. "My Blueberry Nights" is a road movie, and that alone would have me looking forward to it, but the sense of *family* that I perceived between the actors and the director during this press conference *really* has me looking forward to it. More from Cannes as I find it by clicking through the French satellite channels. It's not as if I'm really there or anything, but the surprising availability of so much footage of the films themselves and the press conferences and ceremonies is almost like being there. I may put on my tux before clicking further.
