We have roving reporter Brogen Hayes on location in Cannes this week; keep up with all the latest film news over the next week on Movies.ie.
The 65th Cannes Film Festival formally began this evening with the official screening of Wes Anderson’s latest Moonrise Kingdom, but by the time the stars took to the red carpet for the Opening Ceremony, we already had a full day of screenings and press conferences in the bag.
The day began early with a sneak peek at footage from Dreamworks’s upcoming movie, The Rise of The Guardians. No, this film is not about owls, but instead explores the idea of all our favourite childhood characters – Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and the Sandman – and what would happen if these characters actually knew one another. From what we have seen, the film looks beautiful, and with voice talent Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Isla Fisher, Hugh Jackman and Jude Law, this Christmas movie is going to be one to keep an eye out for.
The talking point of the day was the opening film, Moonrise Kingdom, and the good news is that Wes Anderson’s latest film – a quirky tale about first love – is just as good as we could hope. The film is wonderfully is chaotic – especially the final act – funny and heart warming, and reminds audiences of that first flush of love, where the two involved create their own world together. The film is a gentle opener for Cannes, but has a similar feel of wonder and otherworldliness to last year’s opener; Midnight in Paris. In all, Moonrise Kingdom is innocent yet rampaging, filled with the eccentric charm that makes Wes Anderson films wonderful and feels closer to The Royal Tenenbaums than Anderson’s latest live action film The Darjeeling Limited – Moonrise Kingdom is about coming of age, finding your place in life and creating bonds, rather than severing them.
Other screenings today included Baad El Mawkeaa (After the Battle), a film which examines the changes – or lack thereof – in Egypt since the revolution and occupation of Tahrir Square in 2011. The film is an interesting piece of work, but at 2 hours long it is slightly muddled and definitely too long.
Sacha Baron Cohen took to the Croisette this morning with a traffic stopping photocall at the Carlton Hotel for The Dictator, complete with camels. Speaking of photocalls, Bill Murray, who was wearing a jacket that can only be described as an eye sore – delighted photographers by posing with a tiny, hipster-esque camera on the red carpet for Moonrise Kingdom, and shouts for Ewan McGregor to face a certain direction dominated the official photocall for the feature film jury.
The 65th Cannes Film festival has only just begun, and Movies.ie will be keeping you informed of what to watch out for. Tomorrow, we are particularly looking forward to seeing Marion Cotillard’s latest, Rust and Bone, which is already garnering buzz at the festival but we will keep our ear to the ground for all the latest news from Cannes.
Words – Brogen Hayes