Just announced this week, the lineup of the Cannes Film Festival. A surprise to many was the announcement of the fortnight’s opening film, Wes Anderson’s 1960s drama “MOONRISE KINGDON”, starring Bruce Willis and Bill Murray. The story revolves around two young lovers who run away from their New England homes, prompting locals to send out a search party. Anderson is best known for quirky comedies like “THE ROYAL TENNENBAUMS”, “THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU” as well as his animated adventure “FANTASTIC MR. FOX”. This year’s festival runs from May 16-27, and the jury picking the awards will be led by Italian actor/director Nanni Moretti, himself a Golden Palm winner in 2001.
This has been a great year so far for European films, filmmakers, actors, etc. Some of the credit must be given to the attention gathered by THE ARTIST, with Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, director Michel Hazanavicius. Then there was the attention brought to the origins of cinema with Martin Scorsese’s HUGO, a cinematic tribute to Georges Meilies. There are some great films coming from Europe:
This is a good one that you should look for. Opening with a limited release in the US in mid March and at the end of March in Hong Kong. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, the Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's new film THE KID WITH A BIKE is a real heart breaker. Abandoned by his father (Jérémie Renier), a young boy (Thomas Doret) is left in a state-run youth farm. In a random act of kindness, the town hairdresser (Cecile de France) agrees to foster him on weekends. Stephen Rea of the Philadelphia Inquirer says…”The Kid With a Bike grabs at the heart.” “...when they (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne) hit the mark they create understated but deeply moving dramas that are uniquely their own. 'The Kid with a Bike' is their latest effort and it is among their best.”…Leonard Maltin
This is a really good film that will be in theatres soon and on video on demand shortly, it is too good to be left on the shelf, and besides it has one of my favorite French actresses, Cecile de France. She received a Best Actress nomination at the European film awards for this role, and it is definitely a must see. Another film garnering a lot of attention is ELLES, directed by Margoska Szumowska the Polish director now working out of France who co-produced 2009’s ANTICHRIST, with Juliette Binoche who stars as Anne, a well-off, Paris-based mother of two and investigative journalist for ELLE, she is writing an article about student prostitution. Her meetings with two fiercely independent young women, Alicja (Joanna Kulig) and Charlotte (Anais Demoustier), are profound and unsettling, moving her to question her most intimate convictions about money, family and sex. One of her subjects cannot separate herself from the financial benefits of her chosen part time career. The other looks at prostitution like smoking, enjoyable and very hard to give up. The film will see limited release in the US later this year.
Okay, so we go from the really moving heart warming story to the seedy under belly of society, to what some might seem as the silly, and it has to come from Finland. The Nazis set up a secret base on the moon in 1945 where they hide out and plan to return to power in 2018. This multi-lingual film (German, Finnish, and English) has stars from many countries Udo Kier (MELANCHOLIA) Germany, Kym Jackson (SCOOBY-DOO) US, Yuki Iwamoto (NINJA ASSASSINS) Japan. This film was one of the most anticipated at the Berlin Film Festival and recently at the SXSW Festival in the US. Cinevue says”…Iron Sky transcends the absurd into a yet-unknown stratosphere of ridiculous filmmaking.” IRON SKY is called a community made film. Finnish director Timo Vuorensola and producer Samuli Torssonenhave been considerably buoyed up during the six-year production period for Iron Sky by a large online community, cultivated since the early 90s when Torssonen began offering up a series of Star Trek parodies, which you can still see on YouTube. IRON SKY appears to be a textbook example of how to harness the digital community for both marketing and crowd funding purposes.
What’s up on Eurocinema this month? Now playing J’INVENTE RIEN starring Kad Merad and Elsa Zylberstein and legendary French actor Claude Brasseur…a moving romantic comedy about finding one’s way in life.
AN ITALIAN ROMANCE with Stefano Accorso and Maya Sansa, takes place in Italy at the beginnings of WWII. Giovanni is transferred back to his hometown of Livonia to work in a bank, on the commute one day he reconnects with an old girlfriend, only to find out she is in trouble with the new, strict government.
You can always get information about current films on Eurocinema, the latest in what is going on in the European film world, gossip, new releases, etc. by visiting us at www.eurocinema.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/eurocinema
