film - Delta Goodrem’s corny Netflix romcom is a saccharine mess

Maïwenn hints she’ll eventually explain why she spat at journalist

The Independent

23-05-19 14:07


French director and actor Maïwenn has declined to give her reasons for spitting at French journalist Edwy Plenel during a meeting in March, but suggested she would explain at a later date. Maïwenn, whose film about Louis XV’s mistress Jeanne du Barry opened this year’s Cannes Film Festival, has admitted to spitting at Plenel on several occasions. Plenel believes the action was in response to news site Mediapart’s investigation into rape and sexual assault allegations against Maïwenn’s ex-husband, Luc Besson.

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/maiwenn-spitting-journalist-johnny-depp-b2342142.html
The Zone of Interest, Cannes review: Jonathan Glazer’s Auschwitz film is horrifying in its banality

Telegraph

23-05-19 19:01


The latest film from British director Jonathan Glazer presents the true story of Rudolph Höss, who served as the commandant of Auschwitz. Based on an adaptation of Martin Amis’s book The Zone of Interest, the film, despite its lack of anything graphic, offers a startlingly effective narrative by presenting the daily routines of the Nazis who worked in the concentration camp. Auschwitz is never shown directly, the brutality only hinted with images which build in intensity as the film progresses. Despite key moments of repugnance, it is still described as an essential and truly moving experience.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/zone-of-interest-review-jonathan-glazer-cannes-2023/
Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones went train-spotting between gigs, filmmaker reveals

Telegraph

23-05-19 18:30


Brian Jones, the founding guitarist and public face of the Rolling Stones, had a lifelong hobby: trainspotting. According to a new documentary by filmmaker Nick Broomfield, Jones was known to watch trains race past the platform and would hunt for parts for his train set while on tour with the Stones. Broomfield learned of the music legend's secret hobby when he sat next to him on a train when he was 14 years old. The documentary, "The Rolling Stones and Brian Jones", looks into Jones's impact on the history of the iconic band.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/05/19/rolling-stones-brian-jones-train-spotting-on-tour-film-bbc/
Harrison Ford admires wife Calista Flockhart in ‘adorable’ viral photo

The Independent

23-05-19 17:29


Actor Harrison Ford was photographed peeking at his wife, Calista Flockhart, as she posed for pictures ahead of the premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny at the Cannes Film Festival. The picture of the couple, who have been married for 13 years, circulated on Twitter, with one user calling it "one of the best pictures of Harrison Ford". Ford has been married three times and has four biological children, with Flockhart having one adopted son, Liam.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/love-sex/harrison-ford-calista-flockhart-cannes-married-b2342312.html
Helmut Berger, Austrian actor who rose to fame as the muse and lover of Luchino Visconti – obituary

Telegraph

23-05-19 17:26


The Austrian actor Helmut Berger has died at the age of 78, following a career of dazzling performances in arthouse movies and TV soaps, as well as a private life which delighted gossip columnists. Berger was most famous as the lover of Luchino Visconti, the Italian director who cast him in a trio of films in the 1960s and early '70s: The Damned, in which Berger's character rapes his own mother; Ludwig, about the mad Bavarian king; and Conversation Piece, a portrayal of Visconti's own relationship with the younger man. Berger was also known for “dolce vita” style playboy antics, having a string of famous lovers of both sexes that included everyone from Ursula Andress to Jerry Hall, and both Bianca and Mick Jagger. Berger's later career was marred by breakdowns caused by drug and alcohol issues.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2023/05/19/helmut-berger-actor-visconti-damned-ludwig-obituary/
Soggy Cannes premiere for Turkish director Ceylan's 'About Dry Grasses'

Reuters

23-05-19 16:56


Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan has returned to the Cannes Film Festival, presenting his latest entry, "About Dry Grasses." Ceylan has had seven films in competition for the Palme d'Or, winning it once in 2014 for "Winter Sleep." "About Dry Grasses" tells the story of a young art teacher who is losing hope of being able to leave a remote Turkish village until he meets another teacher. Ceylan says he wanted the film to highlight the decline of personal convictions among civil servants sent to remote areas at an early age.

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/soggy-cannes-premiere-turkish-director-ceylans-about-dry-grasses-2023-05-19/
‘Ripples’: A refreshing and hilarious skewering of Japanese society

Japan Times

23-05-19 22:00


While many Japanese films about weighty topics shy away from humour, director Naoko Ogigami has stuck to her guns. Ogigami's latest feature “Ripples,” screening from May 26, is a comedy that sees Mariko Tsutsui playing a woman whose life is thrown into turmoil after the sudden disappearance of her husband, Osamu. Her previously tended flower garden becomes a sand garden, she joins a cult and takes a job in a supermarket, where she gets into altercations with a nasty old man. Funny yet poignant, the film takes an unexpected turn when Osamu returns, transformed and much chastened.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2023/05/20/films/film-reviews/ripples/
Cate Blanchett was ‘covered in bruises’ at first Cannes Film Festival

The Independent

23-05-19 21:59


Actor Cate Blanchett has said that when she first attended the Cannes Film Festival in 1999, she was "completely elbowed out of the way" because she was "a nobody". Blanchett, who was in Cannes to promote the romantic comedy An Ideal Husband, returned to the festival to promote The New Boy on Friday. Contrasting her early experience with her later opening of the festival, attending with a movie star, Blanchett added: "It holds both those experiences, and you don’t forget the first experience"

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/cate-blanchett-cannes-the-new-boy-b2342425.html
'Four Daughters' mixes documentary, fiction to portray Tunisian mother

Reuters

23-05-19 20:56


Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania has made her first entry to the Cannes Film Festival's top prize with her film "Four Daughters," which mixes fiction and documentary to tell the story of Olfa Hamrouni. The only Arab film in the competition, it follows Hamrouni, who criticised the Tunisian authorities in 2016 after her daughters joined Islamic State in Libya. Aware that Hamrouni had already been conditioned by journalists, Ben Hania hired actors to play the missing daughters and asked Hamrouni to coach Hind Sabri, who portrays her in the film, on specific details and motivations.

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/four-daughters-mixes-documentary-fiction-portray-tunisian-mother-2023-05-19/
Why Indiana Jones was lured back for one last crack of the whip

Telegraph

23-05-19 20:29


Harrison Ford returned for his last outing in the Indiana Jones series, on the condition that the character had an “equal relationship” with a woman and not simply be a rescuing love interest. He put this demand forward as one of several requirements, which The Dial of Destiny script had to meet for Ford, now 80, to reprise the role. In this film, that leading lady is Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the creator of Fleabag and Killing Eve, who plays Jones’s goddaughter. Addressing his character’s age was another stipulation made by Ford before agreeing to join the project.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/05/19/indiana-jones-harrison-ford-equal-relationship-woman/
The It Ends With Us movie might not be ‘faithful’ – but who cares?

The Independent

23-05-20 07:03


The pursuit of faithfulness in book-to-film adaptations is overrated, according to The Guardian's film critic, Adam White. In an op-ed, White explains that faithfulness as a concept tends to be spurious the closer it is scrutinised, and can hinder a filmmaker's ability to make creative casting choices based around race or age. White also argues that an exact representation of a novel on screen is not necessary if a film is to be considered successful, citing adaptations such as Blade Runner and Shrek as popular movie franchises that have taken liberties with the source material. There have also been successes in unfaithful casting choices, White writes, such as critics initial doubts around Renee Zellweger's portrayal of Bridget Jones, which were soon disregarded after the film's release.

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/it-ends-with-us-movie-cast-b2342266.html
New film chron­i­cles cen­tu­ry-old Os­age Na­tion mur­ders

Al Jazeera

23-05-20 06:42


Killers of the Flower Moon, the new film to be directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, tells the story of what has been called one of the most grizly, grotesque and perfectly executed conspiracies against any group in American history. The movie, dramatising the events that took place within the Osage Nation, chronicles widespread corruption, robbery and murder during an era known as the Reign of Terror. Osage land was rich with oil, bringing wealth to the community — but this prosperity was short-lived, as members were terrorised by dozens of murders orchestrated by white men thirsty for resource rights, known as “headrights”. The Osage Nation was instrumental in the FBI taking on organisation under young agent Tom White, whose work led to the arrest of many of the killers.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/20/new-film-chronicles-century-old-osage-nation-murders
Soulless seductress or helpless victim? In search of the original Little Mermaid

Telegraph

23-05-20 10:00


The mermaid is an enduring legend whose meaning lies in questions about women’s power. From Atargatis, the half-fish, half-human goddess of Assyrian mythology, to Yoruba spirit Yemoja, who is represented as a mermaid appearing under a number of different names across half the world, many mermaid myths date back to ancient times that depict mermaids as real creatures. Early explorers and fishermen have claimed to have caught mermaids in their nets but later they found out that it was manatees, seals, or dolphins. In Fairy tales, magic acts as a metaphor for the transformations people seek to effect in their own lives within themselves and in the world around them. Stories of mermaids, dragons, and other mythical creatures resonate with us because they teach us that change is possible and monsters can be overcome, making them stories of reclaiming power.

Mermaids have been reimagined to suit the changing times they are placed in. For example, The Little Mermaid by Disney retells the legend as a love story with little more than a hint of jeopardy, while fairy tales have a tendency to be reinvented to serve or speak to the needs of the changing times. The mermaid symbolism has been adopted by the trans community as a part of their identity creating a new perspective for a lost myth. Mermaids will continue to work their magic on us, be it in the trans community’s self-love, in some cosplay girls’ search for identity, or in all those seamen’s tales of capricious creatures of the deep. Mermaids now represent the freedom to be who you are and embody an aspect of social shift.


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/the-little-mermaid-2023-why-the-world-went-mad-for-mermaids/

'Zone of Interest' star: watching myself as Auschwitz commandant frightening

Reuters

23-05-20 15:48


“The Zone of Interest” screened at Cannes on Friday, a film which turns its lens on the Auschwitz death camp, and the commandant who oversaw the extermination of over one million prisoners. A shocking portrayal of events, the film brings a unique perspective to what is a familiar story that will shock and disturb even the hardest of viewers. The film was shot entirely at the Auschwitz concentration camp, for authenticity and impact, and it has emerged as a standard bearer for this year’s Cannes.

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/zone-interest-star-watching-myself-auschwitz-commandant-frightening-2023-05-20/
Jonathan Glazer rocks Cannes with a chilling Holocaust drama from a different perspective

Associated Press

23-05-20 15:21


The Zone of Interest, directed by Jonathan Glazer, delivered Cannes' first critical sensation by approaching the Holocaust from an unlikely perspective. The chilling drama uses a fictional German family with a home that borders Auschwitz, who live their mostly peaceful lives while incinerators rumble on in the background. The father is Rudolf Höss, a Nazi commandant who designed Auschwitz, and who lives with his wife and children. Critics said the film's formal rigor captured the capacity of people to compartmentalise horror and predicts it will win the Palme d’Or, which will be handed out May 27.

https://apnews.com/article/zone-of-interest-cannes-jonathan-glazer-auschwitz-0e5665079c18a37762cc4de19ddba4a1
Harrison Ford defends de-ageing technology in new Indiana Jones film

The Independent

23-05-20 14:01


Harrison Ford has defended his use of digital de-ageing technology in the opening scenes of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this week. Many reviewers had questioned the believability of the technology, which shows a digitally recreated Ford at the start of the film, despite the action occurring many years after previous Indiana Jones movies. “I know that that is my face,” he said. “It’s not a kind of Photoshop magic – that’s what I looked like 35 years ago."

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/harrison-ford-indiana-jones-deaging-b2342672.html
McQueen documentary juxtaposes Amsterdam's Nazi-occupied past with the present

Reuters

23-05-20 13:28


Filmmaker Steve McQueen has premiered his new four-and-a-half-hour documentary, "Occupied City," at Cannes film festival. The film focuses on the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam by using contemporary shots of the city alongside a narrated account of what happened in specific locations under Nazi rule. McQueen said the film is about showing a connection between World War II and the present, and that he hopes the documentary will help viewers better understand the rise of the far-right and the war in Ukraine. The film has been compared to some of the great World War II films and has received Universal acclaim from critics. McQueen's upcoming feature film, "Blitz," is also set during this time period.

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/mcqueen-documentary-juxtaposes-amsterdams-nazi-occupied-past-with-present-2023-05-20/
British novelist Martin Amis has died, according to his agent. Amis was 73.

Associated Press

23-05-20 19:59


British novelist Martin Amis has died at the age of 73 from cancer of the esophagus. Amis was a leading voice among a group of writers including the late Christopher Hitchens, Ian McEwan and Salman Rushdie.

https://apnews.com/article/amis-novelist-british-bad-boy-f99baaeef67d689eaf0c05bab2560baf
Scorsese's eagerly awaited 'Killers of the Flower Moon' premieres at Cannes

Reuters

23-05-20 18:07


The cast of Martin Scorsese's new movie, "Killers of the Flower Moon," attracted large crowds at the Cannes film festival. Based on a best-selling book about a series of 1920s murders targeting the oil-wealthy Osage Nation in Oklahoma, the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser, John Lithgow and Lily Gladstone. Shown out of competition, the film was extended an invitation to run for the Palme d'Or, thanks to agreement with Apple to release it in theatres before streaming it globally.

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/scorseses-eagerly-awaited-killers-flower-moon-premieres-cannes-2023-05-20/
It’s daft to ditch Life of Brian’s Reg/Loretta skit – the film’s least controversial gag

Telegraph

23-05-20 17:22


John Cleese has recounted removing a joke from his upcoming theatre adaptation of Monty Python’s The Life of Brian due to concerns it would cause offence. The joke, dealing with a character wishing to be called Loretta, was cut from the stage show after other performers stated it was inappropriate. Cleese, 83, argued that the skit had provided no reason for complaint during the past four decades and stated his confusion over the need to dilute such material. In the UK, the original film was controversial due to perceived mockery of Christianity, resulting in bans by some councils and demonstrations by religious groups. The new production will be overseen by Caroline Jay Ranger and will be the first Pythons performance without an input from Eric Idle, who stated: “I have nothing to do with this production or adaptation”.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/its-daft-to-ditch-life-of-brians-reg-loretta-skit/