Celluloid's Cannes Coverage: Day 4

Biutiful- This is probably the film that went into Cannes with the most Oscar potentiality, perhaps from director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's last film Babel, or from lead actor Javier Bardem's career boom since his success in No Country for Old Men. Either way the film had a lot to live up to, and I can't say it did. People aren't saying it's bad by many measure, or a collosal disappointment. It just has quite a few controvercial detractors.

Now there are plenty who are ready to line up to praise the film, such as Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter, saying "More than any of the director's previous films including Babel and 21 Grams, which came loaded with star power, Biutiful is destined for the art house. There it should enjoy a warm reception since its only star, Javier Bardem, delivers a knockout performance as a hero whose last days are detailed with Joycean elan, filled with ambiguity, contradictions and lyricism."

But every rose has it's thorn. Playing the thorn is Sukhdev Sandhu from The Telegraph, describing that "Biutiful is another laborious stretch of designer depression, a remorseless headache that begins with a mysterious chap telling a ponytailed Javier Bardem: “When owls die they spit hairballs out of their beaks.” Does that sound profound? Or does it reek of cod-spiritual phooey?" The film hasn't been playing too well domastically to critics as it has been internationally. It'll be a long road to the Oscars for the film, but I think Bardem has a good chance at snagging Best Actor.
Tamara Drewe- How can people be so depressed about comedy films? It may be because most of the comedy output these days is crap (Grown Ups, because you know it will be). However, people have been downright joyful about Stephen Frear's latest comedic venture. Below is a rather large excerpt from Kirk Honeycutt's review of the film for The Hollywood Reporter, but he really sums up the consensus about the film.

"Posy Simmonds' (the author of the source material) fans should be happy as Frears and screenwriter Moira Buffini make pleasing work of her material with plenty of laughs. Cinematographer Ben Davis also makes the heaths, woodland and vale plus the cottages in the county of Dorset look ravishing enough to please Hardy himself. Alexandre Desplat's agile score employs gifted soloists along with the London Symphony Orchestra to help paint the pretty pictures."

I'm a collosal fan of Alexandre Desplat, and any film he does has at least the guarantee of a beautiful sound. The film may be a departure from Frear's usual works in the vein of The Queen, but I have no doubt that he hasn't lost his touch.