What to See at the Cannes Film Festival

© Fruitvale Station

As the beacon of world cinema, the Cannes Film Festival (May 15–26; festival-cannes.fr) is the destination of note every year for true cineastes. However, choosing from its overabundance can be a challenge. Here, our top must-see films for those bound for La Croisette.

The Bling Ring (Sofia Coppola)
Coppola’s latest adapts an article from Vanity Fair (written by Nancy Jo Sales) about L.A. teens who rob Hollywood starlets to get a taste of the glittery life. Coppola should bring an expert eye to this critique of America’s celebrity obsession.

Blood Ties (Guillaume Canet)
Mila Kunis, Clive Owen and Matthias Schoenaerts lead this remake of 2008’s Les Liens du sang. Since Canet starred in the original, this thriller about two brothers drawn back to a life of crime looks promising.

Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler)
Coogler’s powerful neo-realist debut took Sundance by storm, earning him a slot in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. Michael B. Jordan plays struggling single father Oscar Grant, whose death at the hands of Oakland BART officers enraged a community.

Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel and Ethan Coen)
Preeminent jesters of the American art house, the Coen brothers come back to Cannes with a look at New York’s 1960s folk-music scene. Featuring rising star Oscar Isaac, it promises the poignant, the wry and the bizarrely American.

Like Father, Like Son (Hirokazu Koreeda)
Japanese director Koreeda stole our hearts with the impeccable Nobody Knows (2004). His latest—about a businessman who learns his son was switched at birth—offers up more of Koreeda’s ruminative, emotional filmmaking.

Nebraska (Alexander Payne)
The masterful American director returns to the road-movie genre after receiving his second Oscar, for The Descendants (2011). Shot in black and white, it stars Bruce Dern and Will Forte as a father and his estranged son en route to claim a sweepstakes prize.

Only God Forgives (Nicolas Winding Refn)
The Danish auteur’s neon-noir Drive (2011) soared thanks to Ryan Gosling’s charisma. His follow-up re-teams him with Gosling, an underworld thug beset by a heart of gold, with Kristin Scott Thomas as a frightening materfamilias.

The Past (Asghar Farhadi)
After the Oscar-winning A Separation, Iranian writer/director Asghar Farhadi delves into another intricate relationship drama with The Artist star Bérénice Bejo. Farhadi trades Tehran for Paris in this story of a man who discovers a long-hidden secret while finalizing his divorce.

A Touch of Sin (Jia Zhangke)
Zhangke spearheads China’s search for Cannes glory with his latest about four people in different parts of China whose lives are intertwined. A road movie with wuxia (“martial hero”) spirit, its title is a tribute to wuxia classic A Touch of Zen.

Venus in Fur (Roman Polanski)
A film by Polanski gets our attention, and his adaptation of David Ives’s play seems like choice material. Seeking a femme fatale for his erotic play, a director finds an ambitious actress who will do anything to land the role.

Report from Sundance: Winding It Down

Photo by John Parra/Getty Images

By Monday of the Sundance Film Festival the crowds on Main Street tend to thin out, creating a far nicer experience for those who stay behind to close out things. By then the well-brewed buzz makes it easier to choose films, and getting a ticket is actually possible.

The Spectacular Now proved worthy of must-see status. An insightful and emotionally complex coming-of-age story, it features a break-out performance by Miles Teller and another stellar turn by Shailene Woodley of The Descendants fame. Renowned Korean director Chan-wook Park’s English-language debut Stoker also lived up to expectations. The riff on Hitchcock’s classic Shadow of a Doubt soars on the back of Matthew Goode’s scene-stealing performance as Mia Wasikowska’s mysterious uncle with a wide smile that hides dark secrets. Magic, Magic, director Sebastián Silva’s second film at Sundance (the other is Crystal Fairy), also turned out to be a winner. An intelligent psychological thriller with the flavor of early Polanski, it features Juno Temple as a young girl whose mental deterioration ruins an idyllic vacation in the wilds of southern Chile.

Of course Sundance is as much about the films you don’t see as it is about the ones you do, and if the rumor mill is to be believed these features are also gems: Prince Avalanche; The Way, Way Back; Metro Manila; Escape From Tomorrow; The East; Inequality for All and History of the Eagles Part 1.

The Parties

Although the bulk of partygoers had departed, there were still a few notable extracurricular events for those who remained. New York nightlife impresario Nur Khan created a pop-up club—Nur Khan presents NK with Mint and the Branding Bee—hosting première after-parties for The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman, Very Good Girls and Jobs. The Charlie Countryman party saw the likes of Shia Labeouf, Emile Hirsch and Freida Pinto, while Dakota Fanning, Elizabeth Olsen and Jake Gyllenhaal attended the Very Good Girls event and star Ashton Kutcher slated to attend Friday’s get-together for Jobs. A perennial favorite is ChefDance—a five-night roster of meals from celebrity chefs. Sponsored by WishClouds this year, Tuesday’s dinner featured a five-course meal prepared by celebrity chef Marcel Vigneron.

But sometimes it’s nice to forego the guest list and have a relaxed dinner with friends. For Sundance veterans, High West Distillery & Saloon (703 Park Ave.; 435-649-8300) is the best place to escape the festival madness. Featuring artisanal whiskies and savory cuts of elk, High West doesn’t take reservations but is well worth the wait. At least Sam Rockwell must have thought so, since he was spotted at the saloon bar sipping one of its signature variations on the Manhattan while he waited for his table—just like everyone else.

Report from Sundance: A Sunday to Remember

Photo by Michael Stewart/ Getty Images

The Sundance Film Festival reached its apex on Sunday with the highly anticipated premiere of Before Midnight in the evening, the sequel to Richard Linklater’s indie classics Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. Starring Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke as a couple whose romance has spanned decades and continents, the newest offering continues the trilogy’s tradition of smart writing, adding an extra dimension of mature insight and emotional complexity.

Elsewhere Michael Winterbottom’s The Look of Love seemed to slightly disappoint the fans of his beloved 24 Hour Party People, though Steve Coogan shows off his dramatic chops well. The buzz around Drake Doremus’s Breathe In concluded that Guy Pearce dazzles. Ain’t Them Bodies Saints was another hot ticket, filled with lush cinematography and a scene-stealing Ben Foster.

On the documentary front, The Crash Reel apparently elicited in-theater tears while Google and The World Brain didn’t quite live up to its provocative title. Blackfish made a splash—CNN Films and Magnolia Pictures acquired it for distribution.

Finally, the fuss over Fruitvale culminated in a late-night bidding war, with the Weinstein Company acquiring it for distribution. The film is a moving, disturbing story about the last day of Oscar Grant, who was shot and killed by a police officer on January 1, 2009, at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland, California.

The Parties

Sunday held plenty aside from movies. Celebrity football fans could catch the AFC and NFC championship games at Paige Hospitality Group’s Football Viewing Party at Sky Lodge with the likes of Adrian Grenier, Kristen Bell, Alison Brie (pictured above) and Lil’ Jon. Peter Sarsgaard hosted a celebration for BAMcinemaFest’s fifth anniversary, while Sea Wolf played at the Sundance ASCAP Music Café.

But the real draw that night, as the glitterati got ready to depart the next day, were the parties thrown by Hollywood’s powerful agencies—all within a few feet of one other on Main Street. UTA took over Riverhorse on Main with Lake Bell, Juno Temple and Daniel Radcliffe in attendance; WME occupied Wahso, where Paris Hilton, Mia Wasikowska and Toni Collette partied the night away. But the king of excess was CAA’s party at Claim Jumper, where Danny McBride, Alex Skarsgård and Miles Teller marveled at burlesque dancers and a risqué review by Simon Hammerstein The Act.

Report from Sundance: The Weekend Edition

Photo by Greg Hayes 2013

By Saturday the Sundance Film Festival was in full swing, with the good and the bad emerging from party gossip and idle chatter as the movie faithful sniffed out which films were worth begging, borrowing or stealing for to see.

The first spike of celebrity fervor erupted over Dave Grohl’s documentary Sound City, about a legendary recording studio in the Van Nuys district of Los Angeles. The premiere drew the likes of Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty, Taylor Hawkins (Grohl’s bandmate from the Foo Fighters), and many others, who later performed with Grohl during an impromptu concert. Grohl and friends, including Rami Jaffee (pictured above), also popped up at Eco Hideaway at the Chateaux for more concerts on Saturday and Sunday.

Word spread that U.S. dramatic competition entry Toy’s House enchanted viewers with a hint of Wes Anderson, while Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan highlighted Circles, an intriguing revenge tragedy birthed from the Bosnian-Serbian conflict. Chilean director Alicia Scherson’s Il Futuro succeeded in capturing the spirit of the Roberto Bolaño novel from which it was adapted, thanks in large part to Rutger Hauer’s Herculean presence. Rumor had it that Soldate Jeannette was not worth waiting in the cold, but those who endured the late-night deep freeze for a midnight showing of S-VHS were rewarded with heart-pounding horror. And buzz started building around little-known Fruitvale…more on that later.

Josh Radnor and Michael Cera fired up the late-night party scene when they descended on the Touchy Feely premiere party, hosted by Chase Sapphire Preferred. Will Smith was spotted with his son Jaden at the Toy’s House party. Those who didn’t want to endure Saturday’s rigid waitlist at Hyde attended a poker tournament hosted by Ali Nejad before moving on to James Franco’s late-night after-party and catching an early-morning cab home.

Report from Sundance: Day 1

Photo by Annie Leibovitz for Stella Artois

The glitz, glamour and indie madness of the Sundance Film Festival descended on Park City, Utah, on Thursday with a quadripartite set of premieres: documentaries Who Is Dayani Cristal? and Twenty Feet from Stardom and narrative features Crystal Fairy, by Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Silva, and May in the Summer from Palestinian-American director Cherien Dabis. Of the openers, Crystal Fairy seems like a particularly intriguing prospect since Silva’s previous films, The Maid and Old Cats, demonstrate a gritty, ironic flair tempered with engaging humanism. Sundance’s official day-one party followed at the Legacy Lodge.

The festival kicks into high gear today as the last bulk of journalists, cineastes and fashionistas hop off early morning flights into the deep mountain freeze. The most pressing question (second only to “Where did I put my jacket?”) is what to line up for first? The advance word and star wattage of Don Jon’s Addiction and Kill Your Darlings secure them as Friday’s main events. The former, directed by indie prince Joseph Gordon-Levitt (and starring himself and Scarlett Johansson), apparently lives up to its celebrity quotient. As for the latter, if industry insiders are to be believed, Daniel Radcliffe pulls it off as Allen Ginsberg ensnared in a murder during his formative years at Columbia. (Also intriguing, based on their synopses on the Sundance app, are Circles and Sightseers, though one hears mixed opinions about Austenland.)

For a guaranteed dose of gripping, thoughtful filmmaking, check out No and The Gatekeepers—both nominated for Oscars this year in the Best Foreign Film and Best Documentary categories, respectively. No stars Gael García Bernal as an advertising wunderkind who helped topple Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet with a peppy TV campaign after the international community pressured Pinochet to put his rule before a plebiscite. In The Gatekeepers, director Dror Moreh interviews the six heads of Shin Bet, Israel’s secret service, offering a compelling and necessary examination into the failure of the Middle East peace process. Both films offer political junkies eye-opening food for thought and grist for many a late-night conversation.

The Parties

Sundance is far from just sobering cinema; there are plenty of parties on Park City’s Main Street. Chase Sapphire sponsors afternoon cocktails with indie godfather/actor/director/writer Ed Burns, and Sony Classics has evening drinks planned in honor of No and The Gatekeepers with García Bernal and Moreh.

Stella Artois, one of the festival’s sponsors and by far the most ubiquitous beer at Sundance, is throwing a party hosted by Noah Huntley to celebrate the launch of its new campaign (a sneak peek is pictured above), which Annie Leibovitz photographed.

Later, club bunnies can warm up from the cold at Hyde Lounge, the venerable L.A. club Hyde’s Park City outpost for the weekend, and the nonprofit Minga will throw a private bash with an appearance by Adrian Grenier + the Skins. As always, too much to do.

The Artist

Courtesy The Weinstein Company

Hollywood has saved its best for last this year. A rich selection of high quality films opens in theaters this Thanksgiving, making postprandial multiplex-hopping this weekend’s can’t miss cultural event. Here are recommendations for movies you must see, once you’ve loosened the belt a notch or two.

In The Artist, French director Michel Hazanavicius dazzled Cannes’s perpetually critical audiences with a story about a silent-movie star who falls in a love with a rising starlet just as his career is eclipsed by the talkies. Remarkably, The Artist is itself a silent film in striking black and white shot on the back lots of old Hollywood studios. However, don’t let that scare you off. Hazanavicius captures all the beauty of silent cinema in this absolute charmer while constructing a movie that feels fun, breezy and modern. It might even leave you yearning to check out some old Chaplin classics after you leave the theater.

The Descendants

Courtesy Merie Wallace / Fox Searchlight

Hollywood has saved its best for last this year. A rich selection of high quality films opens in theaters this Thanksgiving, making postprandial multiplex-hopping this weekend’s can’t miss cultural event. Here are recommendations for movies you must see, once you’ve loosened the belt a notch or two.

It’s been seven years since Sideways, Alexander Payne’s Oscar-winning romp through Santa Ynez’s wine country, and the director returns at the top of his game with The Descendants. George Clooney stars as an aristocratic Hawaiian paterfamilias struggling to connect with two teenage daughters while dealing with the revelation of his coma-bound wife’s infidelity. Touching but not maudlin, playful but not precious, The Descendants is a finely observed gem of beautifully honest storytelling. Clooney’s remarkable performance infuses Payne’s signature mix of wit and drama with a poignant humanity that makes this perhaps his most moving film to date.

The Muppets

Courtesy Walt Disney Pictures

Hollywood has saved its best for last this year. A rich selection of high quality films opens in theaters this Thanksgiving, making postprandial multiplex-hopping this weekend’s can’t miss cultural event. Here are recommendations for movies you must see, once you’ve loosened the belt a notch or two.

Muppets just make everything better. When a nefarious Texas oilman aims to tear down the bankrupt Muppet studios in search of oil, Kermit gathers the gang together for one final telethon to save their legacy. However, does the Muppets’ sincere humor still fly in our cynical world? Simply put, yes. Writer and star Jason Segel brings his genuine adoration for Jim Henson’s legendary creations to a family friendly film that introduces the joys of being green to a whole new generation. That’s not to say there aren’t laughs for the non–Happy Meal set. We’ll just say this: Chris Cooper’s gangster-rap tap dance number.

Hugo

Courtesy Paramount Pictures

Hollywood has saved its best for last this year. A rich selection of high quality films opens in theaters this Thanksgiving, making postprandial multiplex-hopping this weekend’s can’t miss cultural event. Here are recommendations for movies you must see, once you’ve loosened the belt a notch or two.

You might be wary of all the subpar 3-D movies out there, but when Martin Scorsese decides to experiment with anything cinematic, you’re guaranteed to get a one-of-a-kind spectacle. Who else would think to combine 3-D, a lush costume period piece, the birth of cinema, Ben Kingsley and Sacha Baron Cohen? The enthusiastic buzz in the blogosphere and on the festival circuit seems to indicate that Scorsese has crafted the first truly must-see 3-D movie since Avatar. This one just might be worth the surcharge and funny glasses.

Thanksgiving Movies to Steam on Netflix

Courtesy Warner Brothers Pictures

Hollywood has saved its best for last this year. A rich selection of high quality films opens in theaters this Thanksgiving, making postprandial multiplex-hopping this weekend’s can’t miss cultural event. Here are recommendations for movies you must see, once you’ve loosened the belt a notch or two.

Should a turkey coma leave you couch-ridden, you can recreate the feel of our recommendations through the miracle of Netflix instant streaming. Interested in The Artist? Check out Chaplin’s classic The Gold Rush, to which Hazanavicius pays loving homage. For Alexander Payne fans, there’s About Schmidt, which nabbed Jack Nicholson a Best Actor Oscar nomination. Netflix also has Jim Henson’s remarkable HBO series The Storyteller, in which whimsically designed Muppets reenact beguiling European folktales. And if you need a Scorsese period piece fix, order The Age of Innocence, his adaptation of Edith Wharton’s classic novel featuring a dashing, young Daniel Day-Lewis. If all else fails, dial up Christmas Vacation on AppleTV.