Cannes at the Countryside
As the Cannes Film Festival rolls up the red carpet for another year, it's a curious point to note that one of the enduring impressions of the festival, to some observers, has been the relative fallowness of glamour and extravagance. Indeed, there are suggestions that Cannes was an austere anomaly; a couple of yachts short of a marina, you might say. An iota of credibility might attach itself to such a claim had anyone spotted Lars Von Trier and Quentin Tarantino go halfers on a crate of cheap lager from the local offy, or had Ang Lee arrived straight from a nightshift at Morrisons smelling of pastrami and shame.
If festival organisers really did have designs on pinching their pennies, then perhaps they should have really pushed the boat out, so to speak, and moved the festival to somewhere more suited to its newfound humility. What better place than the honest toil of the countryside? Judging by today's releases, a growing affinity for the countryside is in evidence, but whether the elite at Cannes share the same affection is another matter. Michael Haneke deservedly scooped the Palme d'Or for The White Ribbon, but would his ploughmanship be worthy of similar fanfare? And what of Gaspar Noe? Let's see him try to avant-garde his way out of scrubbing a trough.
Besides, there's alot more to France and its film industry than the Riviera, and Modern Life is a languid case in point. Directed by Raymond Depardon, it's a quietly observed film that displays an admiration for rural France, as well as the farmers that lament an increasing exasperation towards a younger generation reluctant to grasp their culture. Modern Life has been available since its official release in April, but the Glasgow Film Theatre will give you another chance to catch it from today.
Modern Life is not the only film out today that encourages the idea of Cannes in a different context. Sleep Furiously is another meditation on rural life screening at the GFT, this time based a little closer to home in Wales. Set in the phonetically challenged community of Llareggub, this Gideon Koppel feature depicts the blinding pace of change felt by locals, instigated by the shift from increasingly industralised methods of farming. The soundstrack to such a gentle film is provided, naturally, by Aphex Twin, although you'd hope that there'll be no mention of comings or goings of daddies of dubious origin, or the eating of souls.
Which brings us, er, nicely, to Sam Raimi's first foray into straight up horror since Army Of Darkness in Drag Me To Hell, now on general release. An ambitious loan officer, Christine (Alison Lohman), turns down an extension to bedraggled Mrs. Ganush's (Lorna Raven) loan repayments in a bid to impress her boss, against her better judgement. As Christine discoveres to her horror, the elderly Mrs. Ganush cannot be fobbed off with a coffee voucher and a poppy badge. Raimi's horror schlock has always beena cut above the standard fare, so expect some form of satirical ruminations on the US mortgage market in addition to loads of screaming and kitsch pentagram tat.
Fireflies In The Garden, available at the Cameo from today, is a decidedly more down to earth offering. A family drama with an ensemble cast including Willem Dafoe, Julia Roberts, Ryan Reynolds, and Emily Watson, Fireflies In The Garden is pretty weighty stuff - detailing a complex family rift that flits back and forth over a twenty year span. Charles (Dafoe) is a domineering father who rules with an iron fist, and yet his authority is constantly challenged by his rebellious and sensitive son, Michael (Reynolds). After a tragic car crash that strikes at the heart of the family, old wounds are re-opened, chiefly due to Michael's as-yet unpublished manuscript of his difficult childhood experiences. Dennis Lee is behind the camera for this one.