THE GLOBAL FUTURE OF FILMS WAS EVIDENT AT FESTIVAL DE CANNES 2021

The Temple of Cinema was jammed with sunburned worshippers as the Festival De Cannes returned for the first time in two years. The environment was electrifying and heated. For 11 chaotic and colorful days, it seemed that festival life as some of us once knew it- the glorious, ritualized adoration of magic on the screen- had returned. A lot has happened since 2019, other than the pandemic. The need to create a more equitable story engine and re-imagine creativity has never been more urgent. A new mythology is desperately needed. And films do more to immortalize our time than any other medium.?

It was as if the roster of films illustrated the points I made on my panel about the future of cinema. To Cannes' credit, the top prize went to the French-Belgian production, "Titane," a transgressive clusterfuck of ideas that the Oscars would soundly reject, but the best films were not the USA, UK, or France. Submissions from these countries were still the big draws- technically marvelous and highly stylized, all-flash and bang but mostly without substance or surprise. The West is running out of stories, and our imagination is drying up. So, other than "Titane," the risky, dangerous, and delightful films came from Iran, Russia, Israel, Chad, Mexico, and India. In fact, I cannot think of a single American film that was not a regurgitation of the past.?

?What does all this mean? First, storytelling platforms should know that to enrapture the world and keep them engaged; we will need to tell authentic stories from every corner of the earth, not just the West. Second, we will need to empower local filmmakers to tell their own stories, especially those who don't have a voice, and step out of the way. Third, we will need to take risks and go beyond the franchises and formulas of the past. In doing so, we need to create a new lexicon for cinema – one that more accurately reflects all the humans that wander the earth. And that's where true magic and success lies.

Here is my list of films from the future and the past I saw at Cannes:

THE FUTURE

"Titane" Julia Ducournau- FRANCE/BELGIUM

Revolting, scary, and highly inflammatory- this insane masterpiece by a woman about a woman impregnated by a car won the top prize at Cannes, and guess what, it deserves it. Thank you, jury.

"Petrov's Flu," Kirill Serebrennikov- RUSSIA

An explosive, unsettling, and dangerous film- part satire, part horror, and social commentary. The director, Kirill Serebrennikov, could not attend the premiere because he is in jail. The film's cast wore decals of this face in protest. "Petrov's Flu" is a cinema of subversion and protest and does what art is meant to: interrogate culture and pin its villains to the wall even though the exercise is risky and probably pointless in an age where dictators can crush dissent like flies under a boot.?

The Guardian thinks otherwise .

"Ha'Berech" or "Ahed's Knee" (Nadav Lapid)- ISRAEL

Shocking, bold, and unhinged, this might be the best film from Israel I've seen in a decade. A brutal self-examination of director Nadav Lapid's past and a searing critique of modern Israel, "Ha'Berech" is propulsive, risky, forward-looking cinema in a field of homogeneity and formula. But, of course, not everyone will agree with this assessment, especially not the country's politicians.?Here's the Hollywood Reporter review.

"Lingui," Mahamat-Saleh Haroun- CHAD

Elegiac and uplifting. A Chadian director's film tells a culturally specific, inspiring story of Chadian women, beautifully shot, acted, and directed. We need more movies like this from Africa and other under-served places of the world.?

“A Hero,” Asghar Farhadi- IRAN

Another sublime, wonderfully written, and layered film from the master. It examines ethical and moral dilemmas while shining a light on the hypocrisies and contradictions riddling our societies. The "axis of evil" continues to produce subversive, subtle films that are cloaked critiques of oppression. It should win the best director for Farhadi and best actor for Amir Jadidi at the Oscars.

“Lamb,” Valdimar Jóhansson- ICELAND

A hypnotic meditation on morality located correctly in bucolic Iceland rather than Africa or Asia, the usual backdrops for white moral reckoning and self-discovery. Hilmir Sn?r Gudnason and Noomi Rapace are superb in their roles as a couple on a rugged, lonely farm who must face the shocking consequences of a gift they did not ask for but lovingly accepted.

"A Night of Knowing Nothing," Payal Kapadia- INDIA (Quinzaine Des Realisateurs- Directors Fortnight)

?This powerful, brave, and evocative documentary restored my faith in Indian cinema which has been sucked dry of all originality, experimentation, and risk-taking by the Bollywood machine. A must-see.?

?“Everything Went Fine” or “Tout s’est bien passé,” Francois Ozon- FRANCE

?A moving film about a serious and important subject; it is competent without breaking any new ground.

"Revolution of Our Times" - Kiwi Chow- HONG KONG?

Kudos to Festival De Cannes for a last-minute inclusion of this courageous and bracing chronicle of the subjugation of Hong Kong. Variety's take here.

"La Civil" - Teodora Mihai - MEXICO (Un Certain Regard)

No dearth of great female directors- this is a bracing Mexican saga of a mother who tires of paying ransom for her kidnapped daughter and takes matters into her own hands, as women often do. Teodora Mihai's earlier doc, "Waiting for August," is also a great watch.

WORTH MENTIONING

"Une Histoire d'amour et desire" or "A Tale of Love and Desire"- Leyla Bouzid- TUNISIA

The film does the world a favor by casting its Arab protagonists as ordinary, every day horny young men and women with desires, ambitions, and conflicts instead of the turbo-charged terrorists harboring secrets we usually see on screen. In addition, its use of amorous Arabic poetry and literature from the past is lovely. Still, the director exercises too much restraint, and its lackluster soundtrack is a missed opportunity for the film to gain cult status.

FILMS OF THE PAST

"Annette," Leos Carax - USA

The festival opened with the premiere of Leos Carax's "Annette ," produced by Amazon?Studios,?starring Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver in a musical scored and inspired by the Sparks. When the film ended, the crowd stood and cheered for a full five minutes, maybe more.?

Carax ("Holy Motors," "Bad Blood,") who won the Best Director is an off-kilter genius, and the film has received breathless reviews, so I might be the only asshole disagreeing with the frothy superlatives and high praise.?

Yes, it's gorgeously shot, nimbly directed, and Adam Driver and Marianne Cotillard radiate a magical, unattainable loveliness and deliver superb performances as a cracked comedienne and superstar opera singer, respectively.?

?But one has to wonder at the purpose of this elaborate and pointless extravaganza which also features a supernatural, wooden, eponymous doll, the lovechild of the high wattage couple. There's no need for spoilers in this weird, glossy but flawed escapade featuring murder, jealousy, and arrogance that will undoubtedly gain millions of additional Prime subscribers.

Carax's earlier edgy, poetic style and rough magic have been sanded by Amazon and fitted into a Hollywood template that is predictable, boring, and often unwatchable. Even the notorious, lovely erotic scenes couldn't enrapture me, and I found myself looking at my watch several times.?"Annette" is beautiful nonsense and 30 mins too long.?

But of course, this is one man's view. You might find it ridiculous or sublime. Who knows, it might even win several Academy Awards. While standing ovations are nothing new at Cannes (neither are boos), the adulation felt like both a celebration of Carax's film in a turbulent time for cinema and the return of the festival itself.?

"The Velvet Underground," Todd Haynes- USA

Todd Hayne's Apple-produced "Velvet Underground" doc received much attention and polite applause at Cannes, but, frankly, it's a bloodless affair.

VU is a seminal band for me, and I am a big fan of Haynes, whose wild and underappreciated Dylan project "I'm Not There" was a new way of looking at music biopics. But, I am sorry to report that "The Velvet Underground" is a one-trick pony, despite glowing reviews. It's beautiful to watch for 15 mins- there is gorgeous archival footage (The Factory, Andy Warhol, Barbara Rubin, Jonas Mekas, etc.) and excellent interviews - but the split-screen technique, absence of danger, and cardboard characterization are tiring after a while.

A subversive, experimental, and transgressive band like VU deserved a more radical treatment than this conventional, risk-free approach. Perhaps Apple set some parameters? As someone at the Lumiere remarked- "it's passionless sex." Still, it was thrilling to watch this electrifying band burn the big screen even if a formal invite, suit and BOWTIE, and a Covid test were prerequisites for the screening, and you could be turned away regardless that you were wearing a Commes Des Garcons shirt, JW Anderson Converse and earrings.

?Lou Reed would have sneered and shrugged.

"The French Dispatch," Wes Anderson- USA

Wes Anderson is a brilliant filmmaker and artisan who needs to make a movie we haven't seen before.??The film received endless applause, which was the subject of a New York Times article . But, unfortunately, the director and cast themselves were uncomfortable with the adoration. Go figure.

"Memoria," Apichatpong Weerasethakul- THAILAND

I so desperately want to admire this film. It's from a Thai director I love and stars Tilda Swinton, whose every move could be enshrined in an NFT. But I wonder if this film would compete in Cannes if a Black, Asian or Middle-eastern actress played the lead role? Because in its current iteration, this is also a story we have seen many times before, even if Apichatpong Weerasethakul's variation is meditative and its final scenes are subliminal.?

"Mothering Sunday," Eva Husson- FRANCE/UK

A gorgeously shot and well-acted period piece from post-World War 1 England, which is not exactly the need of the hour. How many such films per year do we need to see? Still, Colin Firth and Olivia Colman are flawless. Josh O' Connor's gloriously lit body, languorous love-making scenes, and Odessa Young's unhurried, naked walk through the mansion are worth the sacrifice, even if the fate of the universe doesn't depend on all this useless beauty.?