Cannes wrap-up: High on drama, low on star power
Women stand up, but festival sees a diminished turnout after Netflix pulled its films.
CANNES, France – Leave it to 50 Cent to tell it like it is.
Hours after the rapper walked the red carpet for Solo: A Star Wars Story, he took the stage at Hotel du CapEden-Roc at a glitzy party honoring Gotti star John Travolta.
“I don’t see as many celebrities as I usually see when I come out here, because they’re not (dealing) with Netflix,” he told the crowd, using more choice language. “But I’m still here!”
Indeed, a lack of A-list star power has plagued the Croisette this year. The festival saw a diminished turnout after Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, pulled the streaming service’s five films just weeks before the festival began.
The beef began when Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux announced that Netflix’s films — all backed by prestigious filmmakers — would be banned from screening in competition here, citing an outdated French law that films can’t stream for three years after their theatrical release. Slamming the decision, Sarandos pulled all of his films from the schedule.
Such jockeying left films like Solo, Spike Lee’s political dramedy BlacKkKlansman, Lars von Trier’s fetishized murder flick The House That Jack Built and David Robert Mitchell’s trippy Under the Silver Lake as the festival’s marquee Hollywood-infused events.
Hot international titles included French director Christophe Honoré’s gay drama Sorry Angel and Argentinian director Gaspar Noé’s horror dance party Climax.
The quieter festival went unnoticed by precisely no one. Here’s a look at this year’s winners and losers:
WINNER: Cold War
The Polish love story from director/ writer Pawel Pawlikowski (set for release by Amazon in December) topped almost every critic’s list in an informal poll by this writer.
WINNERS: Female filmmakers
Six months into the Me Too and Time’s Up movements, women in Cannes refused to take a back seat. Up and down the Croisette, they marched for parity, demanded change and walked away with a signed pledge from Frémaux to be more transparent about how films are accepted to the maledominated festival.
Attitudes on the ground are definitely changing: When French director Eva Husson hoisted her young son on her hip as she walked to her seat at the premiere of her Kurdish war film Girls of the Sun, the audience cheered.
WINNER: Cate Blanchett
This year’s jury president was omnipresent, from her moving leadership during the women’s march alongside Agnes Varda to Frémaux’s pledge, which happened on her birthday. And on a purely sartorial level, Blanchett’s glamorous turns on the red carpet were pretty magical, too.
WINNER: Spike Lee
The Brooklyn filmmaker had one of the best debuts at this year’s festival with BlacKkKlansman, his 1970s-era dramedy based on the true story of a Colorado black cop infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan. BlacKkKlansman hits theaters Aug. 10.
WINNER: Young love
Bella Hadid and The Weeknd, now on again, were just about everywhere, from Naomi Campbell’s annual Fashion for Relief show to von Trier’s gala premiere for The House That Jack Built. A haute rekindling if there ever was one.
WINNER: Jessica Chastain
Chastain came to Cannes on assignment. The actress/producer made a huge splash with a starry sales presentation for the all-female spy thriller 355, alongside co-stars-to-be Penélope Cruz, Lupita Nyong’o, Fan Bingbing and Marion Cotillard. Mission accomplished: Backed by Universal for a U.S. release, the film quickly sold out internationally with a string of million-dollar deals. “Buyers were ravenous” for this film, Deadline reported.
LOSER: Lars von Trier
The controversial Danish filmmaker’s latest work was so steeped in sadism and violence against women and children it prompted more than 100 people to walk out, with many tweeting their disgust.
LOSER: Under the Silver Lake
Though many a critic hoped to like the Andrew Garfield-led trippy noir film, most left the theater wholly underwhelmed.
LOSERS: The parties
This year gave way to a series of supposedly glamorous bashes that were, in person, more of a D-list wreck. From the insanity surrounding Chopard’s “Secret” bash (which took hours to get into for most invited guests) to blank calendar spaces left by Vanity Fair and Netflix, the late-night circuit was duller than the Croisette demands. Thank Disney for Solo: The movie’s massive bash, held beachfront under fireworks with Stormtroopers guarding the gates, provided a much-needed shot of electricity as the festival neared its close.
LOSER: Civility
It may be Time’s Up in Hollywood, but festival attendees in Cannes need a time-out. This reporter was shoved and pushed at many screenings and events, including Christopher Nolan’s masterclass. Get a grip, cinephiles.