Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho took the top prize of the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival for his well-received dark family farce, "Parasite". The director has shown at the fest before, with "Mother", "The Host" and "Okja", and this is his first time taking a major award. Mati Diop, an actress and writer-director in France, returned to her home country of Senegal to make her first feature film, "Atlantiques (Atlantics)" and won the runner-up prize of Grand Prix. This drama tells the story of a young woman in the Senegalese capital of Dakar, whose lover disappears while seeking better opportunities in Europe and Diop made history as the first black female filmmaker to compete in Cannes' main competition.
Antonio Banderas, who has worked with Pedro Almodovar eight times previously, received the Best Actor award for his work in the Spanish director's latest, "Dolor y Gloria (Pain and Glory)". The actor plays a sort-of-alter ego to Almodovar in this film about a long-time director who is in physical and emotional decline. Emily Beecham won Best Actress for her performance in "Little Joe", a British sci-fi drama about a scientist who creates a genetically-engineered flower that causes strange changes in living creatures. And Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, the Belgian film making brothers who have won many prizes at Cannes (including the Palme d'Or twice for "Rosetta" and "L'Enfant") received the Best Director prize for the first time with "Le Jeune Ahmed (Young Ahmed)". This disturbing yet timely film revolves around a young Belgian boy who plots to murder his teacher in the name of his religion.
Here is the list of winners of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival:
Palme d’Or: "Parasite"
Grand Prix: "Atlantics"
Jury Prize(Tie): "Les Misérables" and "Bacurau"
Special Mention: "It Must Be Heaven" Best Director: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, "Young Ahmed" Best Screenplay: Céline Sciamma, "Portrait Of A Lady On Fire" Best Actress: Emily Beecham, "Little Joe"
Best Actor: Antonio Banderas, "Pain And Glory"
Camera d’Or: "Our Mothers" Short Film Palme d’Or: "The Distance Between Us And The Sky" Special Mention: "Monster God" Fipresci Director's Fortnight-Critic's Week Prize: "The Lighthouse" Fipresci Un Certain Regard: "Beanpole" Fipresci Competition Prize: "It Must Be Heaven"
Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. April 30, 2019 3:00 PM
For Rudolf Nureyev, the provocative Russian ballet dancer, dance was just as important to him as breathing. Fearful that his government was going to cut off his life support, he made the fateful decision to defect from his country while on tour in Paris in 1961. "The White Crow", the latest move behind the camera for actor Ralph Fiennes, covers this period in Nureyev's life and what lead up to this difficult moment. While the film is beautifully rendered with exquisite camerawork by Mike Eley, features outstanding performances and several thrilling dance sequences, "The White Crow" feels far too conventional in telling the story of the highly idiosyncratic performer.
This drama wisely doesn't try to cover the dancer's entire life and narrows it's focus on three key moments in Nureyev's life; his impoverished childhood, the training he received as a dancer at theVaganova Academy of Russian Ballet and his exposure to other possibilities while he was traveling with the Kirov Ballet outside of his country. Born on a train traveling to Siberia in 1938, Nureyev's family struggled to get by with very little when the country was known as the Soviet Union. After his mother took him and his sisters to a ballet performance, the young boy was mesmerized and determined to one day be on the stage himself.
Nureyev (played by Oleg Ivenko, a principal dancer with the Tartar State Ballet who had no previous acting experience) began dance lessons at the renowned school in St. Petersberg at the age of seventeen. While that was considered old to begin, the teachers recognized his raw talent but he was resistant to adhering to the classic techniques. The ballet master, Alexander Pushkin (played by Mr. Fiennes and performed impressively in Russian) took an interest in the hard-working Nureyev, offering to let the young student live with him and his wife, Xenia (Chulpan Khamatova) to help him out.
By the time he had reached Paris for the Kirov Ballet's first visit to the West since the end of the second World War, Nureyev had become known as an exceptional talent even outside of the Soviet Union. But his non-conformist behavior was a serious concern which lead to KGB agent, Strizhevsky (Aleksey Morozov) making sure he was watched and followed wherever he went outside of the tour. This didn't prevent Nureyev from socializing with French dancers and developing a close friendship with Clara Saint (Adèle Exarchopoulos), a young woman with a troubled past and would play an important part in his defection.
This is the third film directed by Mr. Fiennes with his first, "Coriolanus", a 2011 contemporary adaption of a Shakespeare tragedy, was an admirable yet modest debut. His follow-up, "The Invisible Woman" was a far more satisfying feature which had Fiennes playing Charles Dickens and involved his secret, thirteen year affair with a young actress (Felicity Jones). And "The White Crow" falls somewhere in between these two films.
Mr. Fiennes had become interested in Nureyev's story after reading Julie Kavanagh's biography on him almost twenty years ago. The actor/filmmaker attempts to avoid the pitfalls of the biopic by shuffling the story and connecting scenes through related themes. And while it's not entirely successful with several moments in this drama feeling mannered and restrained, the film still manages to offer some intriguing observations on the impact of art during the political tension of the Cold War.
With a solid script by playwright, David Hare, "The White Crow" does capture the unbridled passion, overbearing confidence and tempestuous charm of Nureyev. This is further aided by a riveting performance by Mr. Ivenko who brings to life these qualities that made the temperamental dancer appealing to people of both genders (and Nureyev was open to experience either in a friendly or romantic way) yet they also made their relationships with him complicated and challenging.
It has been over twenty-five years since Rudolf Nureyev passed away of complications from AIDS. Since much of his important work had been experienced before a live audience, the memory of this extraordinary artist has faded with time. While uneven, "The White Crow" puts a warm spotlight back on this enigmatic figure and serves as a reminder of how much Nureyev's artistic impulses had push the boundaries, particularly for male dancers, of the long-held traditions of ballet.
One of the last surviving performers of Hollywood's golden age, Doris Day has died today at the age of ninety-seven. She had a good-girl image with a spunky screen persona but there was still an intriguing edginess that helped make her universally appealing. Day would go on to make thirty-nine feature films over a twenty-year period and was the number one box-office star for four years.
She was born Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff in Cincinnati, Ohio and came from a musical family with her father being a a music teacher and choir master. She was initially interested in becoming a professional dancer but a car accident in 1937 ended that dream. While recovering, Doris enjoyed singing to the radio and her mother enrolled her in lessons. With a natural ability, she was soon hired for performances at restaurants and radio programs. This lead to her working with prominent bandleaders of the era and to perform on several successful recordings.
Hollywood soon came calling and she signed a contract with Warner Bros. Day's first screen appearance was in 1948 with "Romance on the High Seas". She played a singer and had replaced the original star, Betty Hutton who had become pregnant. The film was a hit and she became one of the studio's musical stars, appearing in "Lullaby of Broadway", "April in Paris", "Calamity Jane" and "Young at Heart" with Frank Sinatra in 1954.
Day left Warner Bros. in 1954 and wanted to pursue more dramatic work. Her first attempt, "Love Me or Leave Me", a bio-pic of jazz singer, Ruth Etting, managed to combine music and drama. Day received some of the best reviews of her career and the film was one of her biggest box-office successes. She would also appear in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense drama, "The Man Who Knew Too Much" with James Stewart and the noir thriller, "Julie" in 1956 which both received less acclaim.
Day soon returned to musicals and romantic-comedies and appeared in "The Pajama Game", "Teacher's Pet" and "The Tunnel of Love". But it would be her screen pairing with Rock Hudson (with Tony Randall along for the ride) that would help her become one of the biggest movie stars of all time. They first teamed-up for the romantic-comedy, "Pillow Talk" in 1959 (with Day receiving a Best ActressOscar nomination). This became such a smash that they all would appear again in "Lover Come Back" (1961) and "Send Me No Flowers" (1964). Day would also find success with "The Thrill of It All", "Move Over, Darling" (both with James Garner), "That Touch of Mink" (with Cary Grant), "Midnight Lace" and "Please Don't Eat the Daisies". Day's last film appearance was the comedy, "With Six You Get Eggroll" in 1968.
When her third husband, Martin Melcher died in 1968, Day was shocked to learn that he had squandered all of her earnings and left her heavily in debt. She also discovered that he had committed her to a television show. Day hated the idea of working on television but felt she had to do the program. After insisting on creative control, the sitcom, "The Doris Day Show" ran for five years on CBS from 1968 to 1973. After the show ended, Day largely had retired from show business. She would appear occasionally on television specials and a talk show, "Doris Day's Best Friends" which ran for a year in 1985.
Day would later become a serious animal activist and founded the non-profits, Doris Day Animal Foundation in 1978 and the Doris Day Animal League in 1987 with both having a mission to protect animals from pain and suffering.
I don't think Doris Day was nearly as appreciated as she should have been in her lifetime. There was never any doubt that she was a gifted performer but she made it all look effortless, making many overlook how hard it is to accomplish that. She was a special, one-of-a-kind talent that is truly rare to find and won't be easily duplicated.
The summer movie season is almost upon us and this year there are no surprises. You should expect to see plenty of super-heroes, sequels, remakes, reboots, thrillers, comedies and documentaries throughout the next few sizzling, hot months. After scanning many of the upcoming releases, I have selected a few movies to put a spotlight on that look very appealing to me.
All release dates are subject to change:
"THE TOMORROW MAN"
Release date: May 22, 2019
"The Tomorrow Man" is a romantic-drama that stars John Lithgow and Blythe Danner in a story about a man who is focused on preparing for the end-of-the-world while she is a compulsive shopper. This creates some unusual and additional problems for the mature couple's blossoming romance. Noble Jones, who began his career as a music video director, makes his feature film debut as a writer, director and cinematographer.
"BOOKSMART"
Release date: May 24, 2019
Actress Olivia Wilde makes her directorial debut with the raunchy teen comedy, "Booksmart". It tells the story of two high school best friends (Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein) who spent all their time studying to get good grades for college. Now on the eve of graduation, they begin to feel that might not have been the best plan and decide to make-up for all of that lost time of crazy fun and wild partying in one night.
"HALSTON"
Release date: May 31, 2019
Frédéric Tcheng, the director who previously brought us documentaries on two important figures in the fashion industry, Diana Vreeland and Raf Simons, is back with his latest, "Halston". First achieving acclaim for designing the pillbox hat for Jacqueline Kennedy, Halston went on to redefine American fashion with his minimalist designs. He was one of the first to have celebrities at his shows and signed a licensing deal with the retail chain, J.C. Penny that made him rich and well-known. Although it has become common today for high-end fashion designers, this move at the time would severely damage his brand and image.
"ROCKETMAN"
Release date: May 31, 2019
"Rocketman" is a bio-pic on the life of the flamboyant pop star, Elton John. Taron Egerton plays him from the beginning when he was a young man named Reginald Dwight and a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music to him meeting his songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin and becoming one of the biggest rock musicians in the world. It also covers John's darker moments with his struggles with depression, substance abuse and coming to terms with his sexuality. Dexter Fletcher (who stepped in to replace Bryan Singer on last year's Queen bio-pic, "Bohemian Rhapsody") directs.
"THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO"
Release date: June 7, 2019
"The Last Black Man In San Francisco" has already made a big impression earlier this year when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and it won the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award and a Special Jury Award for writer/director, Joe Talbot for his feature film debut. Jimmie Falls stars as "Jimmie Falls" (and he co-wrote the story with Talbot), a young man who wants to reclaim his childhood home , a Victorian house in the Filmore district that was built by his grandfather, but it has been sold years ago. Danny Glover, Tichina Arnold, Mike Epps, Finn Wittrock and Thora Birch also star.
"LATE NIGHT"
Release date: June 7, 2019
Mindy Kaling has found great success on television with her writing for the comedies, "The Office" and "The Mindy Project" and she is now turning her talents towards the big screen. Her first screenplay is "Late Night" and Kaling also stars as a recent diversity hire as a writer on a long-running talk show. With the ratings in a slump, the female host (Emma Thompson) is hoping she will be able to shake-up the all-white male writer's room to help save the late night program.
"SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME"
Release date: July 2, 2019
Tom Holland returns as Peter Parker and his alter-ego, the amazing web-slinger in "Spider-Man: Far From Home". This time Peter goes on a school trip to Europe when Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) interrupts his vacation. He needs his help in fighting the Elementals who have all arrived from another dimension to cause the world harm. With some knowledge on these immortals, Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) offers to join them in this battle. Jon Watts also returns to direct.
"THE FAREWELL"
Release date: July 12, 2019
We know Awkwafina as a rapper and comedian but with "The Farewell" we see her in a more serious light. She plays Billi, a Chinese-American who travels to China to visit her ailing beloved grandmother. However, she has been diagnosed with terminal cancer but the family has decided to keep this information from her, much to the horror of Billi. Lulu Wang wrote and directed this dramedy based on her own experience with her grandmother's illness.
"ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD"
Release date: July 26, 2019
Quentin Tarantino is finally back with his ninth feature film, "Once Upon a Time In Hollywood". This tale takes place during the final year of the golden age of Hollywood in 1969 and looks at Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), a fading television actor who is trying to break in to the movies. With his loyal friend and stunt double (Brad Pitt) by his side, Dalton has only limited success. Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), a rising young movie star and married to film director Roman Polanski, just happens to be Dalton's neighbor and that means that the Charles Manson cult makes an unwelcome appearance in to all of their lives.
"WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE"
Release date: August 16, 2019
Based on the best-selling novel by Maria Semple, "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" looks at Bernadette Fox (Cate Blanchett), a troubled wife and mother, who goes missing during a family trip to Antarctica. Her fifteen year old daughter, Bee (Emma Nelson) sets out to find out where she's disappeared to and what really happened to her mother. This mystery-comedy is directed by Richard Linklater ("Boyhood") and features Billy Crudup, Judy Greer and Kristen Wiig.
"Burning Cane", the debut feature from writer/director, Phillip Youmans, won the Best Narrative Feature Award at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. Youmans became the youngest person to ever receive this prize at the age of nineteen and was only seventeen when he shot the feature. He also took the prize for Best Cinematography while Wendell Pierce received Best Actor for his work in the film. This drama tells the story, set in Southeastern Louisiana, of a preacher (Pierce) struggling with his wife’s recent death. Haley Bennett won Best Actress for the film, "Swallow" which she plays a pregnant woman who begins compulsively consuming dangerous objects. "House of Hummingbird", the South Korean film directed by Bora Kim, was awarded Best International Feature, Best Actress for Ji-hu Park and Best Cinematography. And "Scheme Birds" the debut feature from the team of Ellen Fiske and Ellinor Hallin, was named Best Documentary. The film follows a teenager trying to make her way through her declining steel town called Motherwell, located southeast of Glasgow, where she faces few options for her future.
Here is the list of winners from the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival:
Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature: "Burning Cane" Best Screenplay: Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy, "Blow the Man Down" Best Actress: Haley Bennett, "Swallow"
Best Actor: Wendell Pierce, "Burning Cane" Best Cinematography: Phillip Youmans, "Burning Cane" Best International Feature: "House of Hummingbird (Beol-sae)" (South Korea, USA)
Best International Screenplay: Cenk Ertürk, "Noah Land (Nuh Tepesi)" (Germany, Turkey, USA) Best International Actress: Ji-hu Park, "House of Hummingbird (Beol-sae)" Best International Actor: Ali Atay, "Noah Land (Nuh Tepesi)" Best International Cinematography: Kang Gook-hyun, "House of Hummingbird (Beol-sae)" Best Documentary Feature: "Scheme Birds" (Scotland, Sweden) Best Documentary Cinematography: Yang Sun and Shuang Liang, "Our Time Machine" (China) Best Documentary Editing: Jennifer Tiexiera, "17 Blocks" (USA) Best Narrative Short: "Maja" (Denmark) Best New Narrative Director Award: Edgar Nito, "The Gasoline Thieves (Huachicolero)" (Mexico, Spain, UK, USA) Albert Maysles New Documentary Director Award: Ellen Fiske and Ellinor Hallin, "Scheme Birds" (Scotland, Sweden) Narrative Audience Award: "Plus One"
Documentary Audience Award: "Gay Chorus Deep South"
Nora Ephron Award: Rania Attieh. "Initials S.G. (Iniciales S.G.)" (Argentina, Lebanon, USA)
The image of the late French filmmaker Agnès Varda, who passed away in March, was selected for the poster of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. It is taken from her at work while filming her 1955 debut, "La Pointe Courte" which played at Cannes that year. The seventy-second edition of the fest will begin on May 14th and run through May 25th.
The Opening Night Film will be the latest from American indie director, Jim Jarmusch with "The Dead Don't Die". This dark comedy is about flesh-eating zombies who begin to terrorize a small town. The amazing cast will feature Adam Driver, Bill Murray, Selena Gomez, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, RZA, Tilda Swinton, Tom Waits, Danny Glover, Rosie Perez and Carol Kane.
Some of the films in the Official Selection for Competition will be the latest works from acclaimed filmmakers from across the globe which includes Pedro Almódovar ("Pain & Glory"), Bong Joon-ho ("Parasite"), Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne ("Young Ahmed"), Xavier Dolan ("Matthias And Maxime"), Arnaud Desplechin ("Oh Mercy"), Ken Loach ("Sorry We Missed You"), Céline Sciamma ("Portrait Of A Lady On Fire"), Ira Sachs ("Frankie"), Terrence Malick ("A Hidden Life") and the late addition of Quentin Tarantino ("Once Upon a Time In Hollywood") .
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu has been selected as president for this year's jury who will decide on the winners of the prestigious prizes. The Oscar-winning Mexican director will have an impressive International line-up on his panel; American actress Elle Fanning; actress and director, Maimouna N’Diaye from Burkina Faso; American director, Kelly Reichardt; Italian filmmaker, Alice Rohrwacher; French author Enki Bilal; French filmmaker, Robin Campillo, Greek director, Yorgos Lanthimos and Polish filmmaker, Paweł Pawlikowski.
Special Screenings at the fest will feature Werner Herzog's latest, "Family Romance LLC" which is about a man hired to impersonate the missing father of a twelve year old girl, "Tommaso" from director, Abel Ferrara and stars Willem Dafoe and the Elton John biopic, "Rocketman" that will make its global debut at Cannes in a special Out of Competition Gala screening on May 16th, two weeks before it's released in the U.S.
And French movie legend, Alain Delon with receive an honorary Palme d’Or in tribute to his career. The now eighty-three year old sex symbol made over eighty feature films and some highlights includes "The Leopard, (which won the Palme d’Or in 1963), "Rocco And His Brothers", "Plein Soleil (Purple Noon)", "L'Eclisse (The Eclipse)", "The Samurai", "The Swimming Pool" and "Le Cercle Rouge (The Red Circle)".
