Cannes, 5/20.

By David Hudson on 05/20/2009

"Samuel Johnson wrote, 'When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.' And that, for the modern film lover, is Cannes in a nutshell: the big, bustling center of the world; the crossroads between Hollywood and international cinema; the place where exquisite and expensive parties nestle uncomfortably close to micro-budget indie films, each making the other self-conscious by its very presence." James Rocchi's just warming up; what follows is the first part of his Cannes diary for MSN, four days' worth of movie viewing and reviewing.

"Cannes has become, in a way, the sundowner party of Day of the Locusts," writes Roger Ebert. "There was once a world, much deprecated at the time, of patriarchal studios, star machines, genre movies, fan magazines, searchlights, and filmmakers who wanted their movies to play big to everybody all over the world. Now what survives of that old world, hunched and inward, is no longer show business but just - business. A screenplay is evaluated for its demographic appeal, its video game possibilities, its spin-offs, its potential for commercial tie-ins. The suspense of its premiere is diluted by pale, gnome-like creatures hunched over computers down in their parents' basements, busy as bees ripping off video copies of new films and posting them on the internet, to be downloaded by thieves who get more of a thrill out of stealing a film that by watching it."

Cannes still "matters because cinema still matters," argues indieWIRE's Eugene Hernandez. "Industry insiders, film critics and festival programmers are constantly pondering the merits of both the art and industry, but from my vantage point, in a year where there is an apparent decline in attendance, the festival and market here in Cannes are still delivering on both fronts."

"My short answer to the question of whether Cannes will still be relevant to somebody in five years is absolutely yes," writes Salon's , "but we'll also still be afflicted with the same damn navel-gazing about whether it will be relevant in five more."

How have the French papers assessed the Competition so far? A roundup from Ronald Bergan for the Guardian.

"'Police, Adjective' - along with Bong Joon-ho's 'Mother' and Lee Daniels's 'Precious' - has elicited some aggravation in and around the Palais that Un Certain Regard, which is a secondary competition, is where the best movies have been programmed," notes the Boston Globe's Wesley Morris. "The main competition this year seems bloated with big names not working at the height of their powers. Lars von Trier aside, the young and lesser known are causing most of the excitement all over the festival at both ends of the quality spectrum."

"Journalists at Cannes are always eager to sniff out trends and themes," writes Melissa Anderson for Artforum, "and many have noted that 2009 may be the bloodiest on record: Gallons of the red stuff have either spurted or, as in Park Chan-wook's vampire tale, 'Thirst,' been consumed. But with Thanatos comes Eros, and several films at this year's festival--particularly in the Directors' Fortnight - have obliterated the Kinsey scale."

"And now for something completely awesome," announces Mike D'Angelo at the AV Club. "'Everyone Else,' the second feature from Germany's Maren Ade, pretty much wiped the floor with me." It "somehow manages to be at once plotless and gorgeously structured, its theme emerging slowly and taking on additional heft with each successive, apparently rambling scene. Birgit Minichmayr ('Downfall,' 'Falling') and Lars Eidinger (who I'd never seen before) play a couple so intent on avoiding bourgeois cliché that they effectively choloroform any hint of genuine affection; without pounding you over the head, Ade makes a case for the importance of kitsch in romance, for the need to embrace with your lover the same gestures and platitudes that so nauseate you when you see them indulged by others. And yet the film is way thornier than that, contradicting itself in fascinating ways at every turn. (Both actors are stupendous.) Ade is clearly a major new voice in world cinema; I expect to see her at Cannes many times in future, and not in the Market, either."

In The Auteurs' Notebook, Daniel Kasman lists more "Favorite Moments," these from Days 4 and 5.

Anne Thompson offers a rundown of "Cannes' Eight Buzziest Films" at the Daily Beast.

Via Movie City News: Nigel Andrews's mid-fest roundup for the Financial Times.

Little White Lies offers a few festival survival tips.

Online viewing tip #1. For the Guardian, Charlotte Higgins talks with Thelma Schoonmaker about the restoration of Michael Powell's "The Red Shoes."

Online viewing tip #2. "This year's Cannes Film Festival was the occasion of the European premiere screening of films from One Dream Rush, a film series sponsored by 42 Below and the Beijing Film Studios in which 42 directors were commissioned to create 42-second short films dealing with and hailing from the world of dreams." Filmmaker's Scott Macaulay has the trailer.

Tags: Cannes 2009, Maren Ade