I have rewritten this intro about three times, hoping to publish this before I left Seattle for Cannes. Then when I landed in New York. Then from the plane as I flew into Nice. Obviously none of those options worked for one reason or another so now that I have arrived in Cannes (yes, that’s the view from my apartment balcony above), here it is…
My coverage of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival begins now and just like I did last year before I went to the Toronto Film Festival, I thought I would share my anticipated schedule for the next several days, as coverage won’t be the same as it normally is on a day-to-day basis around here, which I’m sure you already figured out since yesterday was the first Monday in forever that I haven’t provided any content. But let’s cut the babble and get to the good stuff.
First off, since I will be in movies a lot throughout the next several days, I hope to provide updates via Twitter (should my iPad finally connect to the cellular service over here) as I head in and out of the theater, giving you an update on what I what I’m about to see and quick reactions to what I have just seen. So, if you are not yet following me on Twitter, you can do so right here. If all works out as planned the updates should also appear here on the site.
That said, here’s a look at my schedule for the next ten days. Like Toronto, this is what I expect it will be, but as you’ll see the are still a few tentative titles on the schedule. Last year I think I saw something like 26 films, but I only ended up reviewing 18 of them. This year, I don’t plan seeing as many so I can keep my wits about me as falling asleep in the middle of a movie last year was always a possibility.
I will be reviewing all of the films you see below as soon as I possibly can, but sometimes that can take up to twelve hours.
The festival begins tomorrow, but tonight I will be seeing Kung Fu Panda 2. The goal now is to get my press badge and some rest before the 8 PM screening.
- 8 PM – Kung Fu Panda 2
Wednesday the festival officially begins with Woody Allen’s latest film, which it looks like I’ll have time to review immediately afterward before heading off to see the potentially controversial Sleeping Beauty starring Emily Browning (Sucker Punch).
- 11 AM – Midnight in Paris
- 7 PM – Sleeping Beauty
Thursday offers Lynne Ramsay’s We Need to Talk about Kevin starring Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly and Ezra Miller as well as Gus Van Sant’s Restless, which stars Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre) and Henry Hopper. Polisse is the unknown of the bunch, it’s a French film from director Maiwenn centering on the cops of the Police Department’s Juvenile Protection Unit.
- 8:30 AM – We Need to Talk about Kevin
- 11 AM – Restless
- 4:30 PM – Polisse
Friday is a real toss up and may be a day I take it lightly. We Have a Pope looks like Italy’s answer to The King’s Speech, Michel Petrucciani is a documentary centered on the great jazz pianist directed by Michael Radford (The Concert) an Miss Bala is an Un Certain Regard selection centering on a young aspiring beauty queen who finds her dream turned against her when she unwillingly gets involved with a criminal group at war.
- 8:30 AM – We Have a Pope
- TENTATIVE:
- 11 AM – Michel Petrucciani
- 2 PM – Miss Bala
Kicking things off with a little Pirates action followed by a film called Return, a film that may feature Linda Cardellini (“ER”) in a role that may help her shed her TV and Scooby-Doo persona. Return co-stars Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road) and John Slattery (“Mad Men”). Finally, The Boy with a Bike seems to be a film everyone is interested in seeing, and I’m sure that has a lot to do with the fact it stars Cecile De France and Jeremie Renier. That’s enough to get me interested.
- 8:30 AM – Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
- 2 PM – Return
- 7:30 PM – The Boy with a Bike
Sunday is a crazy day, it starts off with a silent film starring John Goodman, Missi Pyle, James Cromwell and Penelope Ann Miller. Then I move to film centering on a guy plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions. Then comes a Sundance standout thriller. And finally you can click here for more on the fourth film.
- 8:30 AM – The Artist
- 11 AM – Take Shelter (Tentative Based on Timing)
- 2 PM – Martha Marcy May Marlene
- 7 PM – House of Tolerance
Monday is likely to be a one film day as Tree of Life will certainly dominate the first half and the review for that will be a top priority before any other films… sorry Hors Satan.
- 8:30 AM – The Tree of Life
- 11:30 AM – Hors Satan
Tuesday may also be a light day and for more on Snowtown you can check out my earlier post right here to watch a clip and trailer for the film centered on John Bunting, Australia’s most notorious serial killer.
- 8:30 AM – Snowtown
Lars von Trier opens the day, a film centered on Nicolas Sarkozy’s rise to power continues it and Takashi Miike ends it in 3D. Sounds good to me.
- 8:30 AM – Melancholia
- 11:30 AM – The Conquest
- 7 PM – Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai
My final day in Cannes features Pedro Almodovar and Nicolas Winding Refn. With them they bring Antonio Banderas, Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan. Sounds like an excellent way to end what will hopefully be an amazing festival.
- 8:30 AM – The Skin I Live In
- 7:30 PM – Drive
So there you have it. I don’t think I will catch all of the films above, but if all goes well I should end up seeing 18-19 films at Cannes is year and will have reviews of them all for you. Hopefully I will find a few not on the list to explore as buzz circulates the festival and hopefully you’ll stick with me for the duration.
On top of reviews, I will also be bringing periodic videos, pictures and more from around the south of France. So stay tuned and hopefully you’ll like what I have to offer.
For all of my Cannes overage you can always find it on the homepage, or right here on the designated Cannes hub. Here are also a few links from last year to give you an idea of what kind of coverage to expect beyond movie reviews.
