The Cannes Film Festival has reached its midway point, and thanks in part to Lars von Trier the second half has commenced with all cylinders firing. Common traits of the films screened to date -- both in official competition and in the festival sidebars -- include sweeping but bleak period drama (Bright Star, Agora, Vincere) and slice-and-dice bloodshed, some with titles to match (Vengeance, Thirst, Tsar, Mother, Antichrist). And though purely unintentional, the stakes heighten in the days ahead with premieres from Cannes veterans Pedro Almodóvar, Michael Haneke and Quentin Tarantino. But what's getting the most buzz?
Usually by this time the critics and journalists are making predictions and guessing which films might garner prizes. Not so much this year; perhaps the economic meltdown has put people in a foul mood, or perhaps Antichrist was so offensive to the (fragile, simpleton) critical establishment that the media no longer care about their favorite fest pastime.
Whatever the reason, what little buzz there is in Cannes right now circles a relative handful of films. One of them is Marco Bellocchio's Vincere, a punishing look at the life Ida Dassler, the mistress of Benito Mussolini and mother to his son. As Dassler, actress Giovanna Mezzogiorno turns in an exceptional performance as a fierce woman who goes to extraordinary lengths to protect her son, Benito, and prove that she was actually married to Mussolini. Sure, we still have a half a festival to go, but of all the performances at the festival so far, this one stands out as the best.
Another movie getting attention is Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank, about the hardscrabble life of an Essex girl. Though some members of the press were down-in-the-mouth about it, Variety said that what makes the film special is its "unflinching honesty and lack of sentimentality or moralizing." Indeed, the teen star, Katie Jarvis (pictured above), had never acted before, and Cannes juries historically love nonprofessional performers (look at the Palme D'Or winner in 1999, the Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne film Rosetta, which also featured nonpros).
Nevertheless, word on the street is that the best is yet to come. And judging by the lineup in the remaining days — Alain Resnais's White Grass, Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, Gaspar Noé's Enter the Void, and Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon — it seems pretty likely.