Cannes 2010: Robin Who?

Blog by Gail Tolley | 14 May 2010

So, I managed to miss both screenings of Robin Hood which opened this year's Cannes Film Festival. Oh well, it's out in the UK already and has been getting mixed reviews so I wasn't too fussed about that.

The first film for me this year was Tourné e directed by Mathieu Amalric who also plays the lead character Joachim (if the name doesn't ring a bell then the face will - he starred in Quantum of Solace a few years back). It's really a film that should have been seen by our Performance Editor as it features several artists from the American New Burlesque scene. The film follows a former television producer who returns to his home country to tour a Burlesque troupe but finds that his past comes back to haunt him. Many commentators have noted the assimilation of Burlesque into main stream culture, with figures such as Dita von Teese and this looks set to be confirmed later this year with the release of Christina Aguilera's all-singing all-dancing film Burlesque. Tourné e however steers clear of an over-the-top, stylised depiction of Burlesque and instead captures the subversive and challenging nature of the genre in a pared down style. I really enjoyed it, although it does have a meandering quality which might not appeal to everyone but it's definitely one to look out for..

Today I also caught a documentary which has been causing a stir for its strong critique of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, in particular his response to the Aquila earthquake. It's very persuasive with some humour thrown in too, although I have to say that hearing the recording of his aides talking about clearing up condoms after one of his parties (which allegedly included escort girls) made me feel quite sick. The man's 73 for god's sake! The film's called Draquila: Italy Trembles and has already led to the Italian Culture Minister snubbing the festival, which is probably a good thing.

This evening the Un Certain Regard strand was kicked of by Manoel de Oliveira's The Strange Case of Angelica. The director was at the screening to introduce the film and received a standing ovation from those in the audience. He's a real stalwart of the European arthouse scene and is still making films at 101 years old. The film wasn't too bad either, if you caught his last feature The Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl which showed at Glasgow Film Festival this year then you know what to expect. A simple almost fable-like story which manages to feel classic despite being set in contemporary Portugal.

Tomorrow starts with Wall Street 2 with big Hollywood names including Michael Douglas and Carey Mulligan. Check back here for the verdict on that and other films showing here in the coming days.

So, I managed to miss both screenings of Robin Hood which opened this year's Cannes Film Festival. Oh well, it's out in the UK already and has been getting mixed reviews so I wasn't too fussed about that.

The first film for me this year was Tournée, directed by Mathieu Amalric who also plays the lead character Joachim. If the name doesn't ring a bell then the face will: he starred in Quantum of Solace a few years back. It's a film that should have been seen by our Performance Editor, really, as it features several artists from the American New Burlesque scene. The film follows a former television producer who returns to his home country to tour a Burlesque troupe, but finds that his past comes back to haunt him. Many commentators have noted the assimilation of Burlesque into main stream culture - with figures such as Dita von Teese - and this trend looks set to be confirmed later this year with Christina Aguilera's all-singing-all-dancing film Burlesque. Tournée however steers clear of an over-the-top and stylised depiction of Burlesque, capturing instead the subversive and challenging nature of the genre in a pared-down style. I really enjoyed it, and even though it does have a meandering quality which might not appeal to everyone, it's definitely one to look out for.

Today I also caught a documentary which has been causing a stir for its strong critique of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and in particular his response to the Aquila earthquake. It's very persuasive but with some humour thrown in. Although I have to say hearing the recording of his aides talking about clearing up condoms after one of his parties - which allegedly included escort girls - made me feel quite sick (the man's 73 for god's sake!). The film's called Draquila: Italy Trembles and has already led to the Italian Culture Minister snubbing the festival, which is probably a good thing.

This evening the 'Un Certain Regard' strand was kicked of by Manoel de Oliveira's The Strange Case of Angelica. The director was at the screening to introduce the film and received a standing ovation from the audience. A real stalwart of the European arthouse scene, he's still making films at 101 years old. The film wasn't too bad either, and if you caught his last feature The Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl which showed at Glasgow Film Festival this year then you know what to expect. A simple, almost fable-like story which manages to feel classic despite being set in contemporary Portugal.

Tomorrow starts with Wall Street 2 - big Hollywood names including Michael Douglas and Carey Mulligan. Watch this space for the verdict on that and other films showing here in the coming days.