2011-2012 Oscars: Causes To Take Up

I'm nowhere near as involved this year in the Oscar prognostication business as I have been in previous years. My impulse to catch every nominee (my policy before) has dwindled exceptionally. I only saw the films that I really cared about seeing, some overlapping, some not. So, at this place in time, I'm really most interested in singling out the performances and works that deserve attention (that didn't get nominated) and deserve to win. I can't speak at length or in any sort of depth about the more critically maligned works ("Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, "The Help") as well as a couple I just haven't gotten around to seeing due to where I live ("Hugo," "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"). I actually haven't seen any of the Best Actress nominees, now that Tilda Swinton has been bumped.

Nominated Causes:

THE TREE OF LIFE - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography

Oh baby. Best film of the year nominated for best film of the year? That's what I call a good surprise. I'm glad that Fox Searchlight did what they could to bring this into the game (as for "Margaret," such wonders were not pulled off). If this film fails to win an award out of these three, I'll be very, very disappointed - Cinematography at least is a must. I doubt it'll take the gold, but who knows. I'm not sure if the film editing Oscar prediction still works (i.e. that a film must be nominated in that category to win big), but I'm hoping that it doesn't. This is a truly terrific film that deserves only the best.

George Clooney, The Descendants - Best Actor

My favorite male performance of the year, along with one that was unfortunately snubbed (I'll get to that later on), was given by this man, who almost made "The Descendants" into a worthy film. No other performer drew me in quite as much. He got off to a rocky start, but from a certain point onwards, I was hanging on his every emotion. I have yet to see Demian Bichir in "A Better Life," but I feel fairly confident in championing Clooney over the rest of the field (though I do like Jean Dujardin very much as well).

Christopher Plummer, Beginners - Best Supporting Actor

An Oscar-y performance, to be sure, but a devastating, human one that also fits in room for sweetness. People may criticize the McGregor/Laurent section (unjustly, in my view) but most are warm to Plummer's extraordinary work. If he wins, it'll be a great moment for someone so deserving.

Berenice Bejo, The Artist - Best Supporting Actress

As lukewarm as I am on the spectacularly overhyped film she's in, I must say that Bejo gives quite the charismatic supporting performance. She provides, along with Dujardin, the spark to keep the film from being insufferable. Quite a task, pulled off nicely; it's not her fault that the movie doesn't reach heights.

Asghar Farhadi, A Separation - Best Screenplay

So the campaign for Farhadi to get some writing honors did work. I've been underplaying this movie since I saw it at the New York Film Festival, with extremely high expectations that weren't exactly met (as it is a brilliantly-acted yet flawed piece). However, the punching quality of the dialogue provided much of what I liked about "A Separation" as a whole. I wasn't nearly as moved by "Midnight in Paris" or "The Artist," and I expect the same for "Margin Call" and "Bridesmaids."

FOOTNOTE - Best Foreign Film

Don't think we have to worry about "A Separation" losing to fellow SPC slate-mate "Footnote," but I'd be oh so happy if that were the case. Apparently the supposed lack of stakes got to some people, who've deemed it "forgettable" and "insignificant," but I found the film's ideological pull too strong to dismiss.

PINA - Best Documentary

The best use of 3-d I've seen yet. Not sure if "Pina" is a great "documentary" per se, but it's an excellent film experience, and I'd be glad to see it recognized in any category.

Snubbed Causes:

Michael Fassbender, Shame - Best Actor

Oscar chickened out at the last second on possibly the strongest performance of the year. I've felt less confident about it watching out-of-context trailer clips, but, boy, when I saw it at Telluride, I was blown aback. Far superior to Gary Oldman's work in "Tinker Tailor," and better also than Brad Pitt's in "Moneyball." I wonder if a Steve McQueen film will ever receive an Oscar nomination. I wonder if an NC-17 film will ever receive another Oscar nomination. A nod for Carey Mulligan or Nicole Beharie would have been nice as well.

Shailene Woodley, The Descendants - Best Supporting Actress

I care a little bit less about this than other snubs; however, Woodley is better than everyone in her category except perhaps Bejo. A second power supply for "The Descendants."

THE TURIN HORSE - Best Foreign Film

Better than every nominee in its category. Better than almost every best picture nominee. Of course, it couldn't get nominated, though. It's too rough.

Mysteries of Lisbon

I suppose I feel right now what the detractors of Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" felt when they stumbled out of that overwhelming picture. Raul Ruiz's "Mysteries of Lisbon" is a beautiful, painstakingly considered, 272-minute period piece that sags under the weight of its overused devices. The main one that I take issue with dominates the film: the story-within-a-story. The whole film is being narrated/acted-out-with-small-figures by grown-up Pedro (Jose Afonso Pimentel), but within this narration many characters take the time to tell their life stories, usually to the ubiquitous priest Father Dinis (Adriano Luz). The first time this happens, it's actually a story-within-a-story-within-a-story: Dinis is telling Pedro as a boy (Joao Arrais, the most engaging actor in the film by far) about his father arriving at the Dinis' orphanage and him telling about what happened to him. This is executed to dizzying effect (as much of the first 30-60 minutes are). But this narrative ploy is used again and again, and once you've seen it the tenth or eleventh time, you're struggling to concentrate on the technical facets to keep you from going insane.

The other problematic motif in the plot is the interconnectedness of everyone in the movie. We come to find that everyone is someone else's mother, son, father, lover, or belching pirate-esque guard. The appeal is understandable. This is common in books, and one of the big things people say separates this movie from others is how it actually feels a novel, like the one it was adapted from (by Camilo Castelo Branco). And the first time a character was revealed to be someone else from the past, it drew an "oh shit" from me. But, as with the layered storytelling, it got irking and corny to "Crash"-like levels at a certain point.

These two huge annoyances prevented me from appreciating this film as much as others have. Reminiscent (extremely so, in my view) of Lucchino Visconti's "The Leopard," it's a masterfully crafted work: brilliantly shot by Andre Szankowski with impeccable framing, invigorating camera movement, and excellent lighting, pretty well-scored by Jorge Arrigada (even if some elements of the music are used a little too much), and extraordinarily art directed by Isabel Branco. That's not mentioning the way Ruiz has with engrossing you that only abandons him at the end. And the story of a kid with no background who finds out about his history seems like it could lend itself to a dazzlingly immense production. But even if it spirals off in directions, the film comes to feel both too distant and then too limited. At times it seemed like it was struggling to keep moving. Some may make this argument against Malick's exceptional movie as well. Oh well. They won't be reached. I wasn't here. I can admire the skill, but the obvious, intentional emotional punch didn't hit me. B-

The 18 Best Films of 2011

Films in blue will not receive a US release in 2011. Nonetheless, I saw them in 2011 and, as you can see, they are very much a part of the film landscape for this year. It's 18 because that's the number of As, A-s, and B+s I gave. I have not gotten around to seeing a number of films that may have made an impact on here, among them "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," "Hugo," "The Adventures of Tintin," "Carnage," "The Arbor," and "Le Quattro Volte." From my reviews of them (if and when I do end up seeing them), you should be able to tell if and where they would have fit on this list.

A special mention goes to Rainer Werner Fassbinder's "World on a Wire," which blew me away during a Janus Films rerelease this year. And a huge omission based on release is Abbas Kiarostami's "Certified Copy," which I included at #8 on my Top Ten list last year and would place at #5 on the first list and #3 on the second. I didn't want to include it in multiple years as that wouldn't exactly be fair.

Dishonorable mentions to "We Need to Talk About Kevin," "Shut Up Little Man!" and "The Man Who Fell to Earth," my three least favorite films that I saw this year (the last in a re-release). "Tyrannosaur" (minus Olivia Colman) is down there too.

18. Pariah (Dee Rees)

Rees showcases her remarkable way around a scene, allowing able actors to give their best in a movie that only really falters when you pull back to survey the entire (uneven) picture. The cinematography is extremely evocative, perhaps even too much.

17. City of Life and Death (Lu Chuan)

Some sudsy subplots dilute the greatness here, but what works emotionally is magnificent and truly devastating. If Lu Chuan can harness the transcendent power given off in fits and starts by this movie and make a fuller film, the results will be breathtaking.

16. Pina (Wim Wenders)

If only Wenders had elected to make the film completely dance-based. The 3D is wonderful, and it helps create a beguiling, enjoyable experience unlike anything I’ve ever seen (even though there are apparently other movies about Bausch’s troupe).

15. Heartbeats (Xavier Dolan)

An exuberant, opulent film that moves adeptly between relaxed and quietly upsetting modes (knowing when to step on the narrative gas pedal and when to kick back and just let the images roll by). Dolan makes it quite entertaining, both by being in it and filling it with wowing design.

14. Cold Weather (Aaron Katz)

Katz takes humorous and incisive jabs at slackers with this well-made, slow-paced, strongly-acted piece. I hope to see Cris Lankenau and especially Raul Castillo again in later films; they rank high among my acting discoveries this year.

13. The Myth of the American Sleepover (David Robert Mitchell)

Enjoyable and with strong cinematic qualities, “Sleepover” disarms with its engaging characters and the smart screenwriting decisions of developing director Mitchell. I wouldn’t call it exactly indelible, but surely meaningful and diverting.

12. A Separation (Asghar Farhadi)

The most beloved foreign film this year, “A Separation” doesn’t quite live up to the colossal hype in my view. But it’s still very good, with four extremely affecting performances that should shake anyone and certain scenes (especially the ones with the judge) that heave with relentless, powerful emotion.

11. Weekend (Andrew Haigh)

Naturalism is tricky, but Tom Cullen ends up hitting all the right notes as the real lead in “Weekend” (as the film is essentially viewed from his POV). Chris New provides the ideal support, as do Haigh directing and Urszula Pontikos shooting, and the result is a terrific character study that looks at being gay in today’s world.

10. The Kid With a Bike (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)

The last scene is what lingers most to me, but “The Kid With a Bike” is absorbing from beginning to end, built on an exceptional performance from child actor Thomas Doret. The casting is exquisite and the storytelling is conventional but wonderfully spiraling a la “Bicycle Thieves.”

9. Attenberg (Athina Rachel Tsangari)

More watchable and less uncomfortable than fellow Greek New Waver “Dogtooth,” but just as observant and unsentimental. Ariane Labed puts on a disturbingly dedicated act in the lead. Friendships and father-daughter relationships have rarely been as weird, but both speak profoundly.

8. Footnote (Joseph Cedar)

I had extremely low expectations going into this film, which was a second choice at the time of the viewing, due to some bad buzz from critics I respect. Yet I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. Cedar’s gripping, transcendent, deeply moral movie about the nature of winning features an excellent performance from Lior Ashkenazi and a screenplay that should win more than just a prize at Cannes. I found the stakes to be very high (the relationship of a father and a son is hardly inconsequential), and the ending shot as haunting as anything I’ve seen this year.

7. Beginners (Mike Mills)

Attacked for being too cutesy, I found it to be sweet and loved it in all of its radiant, blissful, and tragic turns. Mills strikes a superb balance between these different modes. Ewan McGregor, Melanie Laurent, Mary Page Keller, and especially Christopher Plummer are an ensemble to be reckoned with, but they’re not the only ones: the supporting cast is startlingly good as well. I’m sad that I haven’t had time yet to see it again.

6. Into the Abyss (Werner Herzog)

What do you want from a Herzog documentary? You might not be totally satisfied with “Into the Abyss” if you’re looking for the usual Herzog personality, though there are some of his hallmarks. He’s reined in many of his quirks here to deliver some of the most potent moments of his career. Taking apart a Texas town, he closely examines a continuing history of felony that doesn’t look to be ending anytime soon. Not only is “Into the Abyss” wrenching with its intense personal scenes, it’s also an exceptional example of pristine nonfiction craft, beautifully assembled. It’s easily his best film in some time and a strong work of emotional, empathetic, precise journalism.

5. Shame (Steve McQueen)

One of my most anticipated films of the year when I saw it at Telluride, and for me and many other critics at that festival and Venice, it did not disappoint. However, once it hit Toronto (after buzz had started to build), things changed; many of the Twitter tastemakers who are now championing “Margaret” as a cinematic messiah bared their teeth. The film was turned very fast from a superb follow-up to an overhyped piece of Oscar-bait. Now the film isn’t really taken seriously anymore (see the Film Comment and New Yorker reviews, which, due to a quirk of release, both tackily compared it to Julia Leigh’s “Sleeping Beauty”), and I doubt McQueen’s future films will be seen in the same light.

Admittedly, I’m developing apologist tendencies for McQueen, but it must be said that the man is making unique, powerful, atmospheric, artistically sound works about intensely interesting subjects. Though “Shame” appears to be more domesticated due to its urban setting, it’s as alive as “Hunger” was, even as it follows a man falling deeper and deeper into himself. And even though certain parts are vague (which, as I see it, is intended), I doubt many filmmakers working today could make a film with the candor of “Shame,” with regards to both relationships (familial and otherwise) and sex. Oh yeah, and Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan and Nicole Beharie are all astonishing. I have some quibbles about a certain scene (cited by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky and Blake Williams as well) that has some weird connotations, but otherwise, this really isn’t a movie to just toss out. Just like McQueen isn’t a director to just forget about.

4. The Turin Horse (Bela Tarr)

Black and white movies to me provide many of the most memorable and often times excruciating film experiences. “The Turin Horse,” perhaps Tarr’s final film, may eventually come to be seen as the king of the relentlessly colorless. Due to brilliant means of evocation (wonderful sound design, dulling cinematography), the uncompromising director gets his point across and does so while leaving many behind. Definitely not recommended as entertainment (as it serves a similar purpose to “Jeanne Dielman,” a title wisely invoked by Mike D’Angelo that used many of the devices “Turin” does), but as a valuable film that invades viewers and throws them into the windblown environment of its characters.

3. Outbound (Bogdan George Apetri)

It’s hard to understand the lack of distributors chomping at the bit for this formal masterwork. Attention must be allotted to it. Working from an albeit formulaic idea (there were at least a couple of other movies using the same race-against-time device at New Directors/New Films, where I saw it), Apetri employs his incredible craft and tension-building skills to create the year’s strongest, most despairing thriller. I hope this isn’t the last from this amazingly talented director, though his future efforts have much to surpass.

2. Nostalgia for the Light (Patricio Guzman)

Guzman’s extraordinary, revelatory exploration of the human and solar galaxies deserves inclusion in the short list of significant documentaries (like “Waltz With Bashir”) to sit alongside “Shoah” in the canon of remembrance cinema. Among patrons of the independent, this got some attention, but, due to a number of factors (including time of release), it received nowhere near the reverence that it truly commands.

1. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick)

I don’t think it’s perfect. I can understand some of the arguments against it. But I couldn’t possibly ignore “The Tree of Life”’s unprecedented achievement and the overwhelming feelings of wonder it inspired in me. The bar was set so, so high, and, even if he didn’t satisfy everyone, Malick surely delivered, in that he created a work of historic technical virtuosity and ambition. A film that could have died out as a little project called “Q” but instead came bursting to the best sort of life possible.

A more proper (w/r/t US release dates) Top ten list might look like:

1. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick)

2. Nostalgia for the Light (Patricio Guzman)

[Certified Copy (Abbas Kiarostami)]

3. Shame (Steve McQueen)

4. Into the Abyss (Werner Herzog)

5. Beginners (Mike Mills)

6. Weekend (Andrew Haigh)

7. A Separation (Asghar Farhadi)

8. The Myth of the American Sleepover (David Robert Mitchell)

9. Cold Weather (Aaron Katz)

10. Heartbeats (Xavier Dolan)

Best performances of the year coming at later date.

The Tree of Life

Despite having a monumental idea that has all the makings for a project that never gets made, “The Tree of Life” satisfies the grand reach that it sets for itself. It may not give a universal look at the growth of the world and of humanity, but that’s because it can’t: Terrence Malick is an American, Christian filmmaker and thus can only be expected to filter his story through that sort of lens. But even if he’s unable to make the film that everyone wants, what he’s done here is simply unbelievable.

Overwhelming is a dramatic understatement when describing “The Tree of Life.” The audience watches the universe meld together, with ripples, explosions, and, to be certain, dinosaurs. All of this would be enough to blow anyone’s mind completely. But it doesn’t end there: we also see childhood, and every influence by which it is affected. If this childhood seems too idealized, then that’s because it is supposed to be: it’s the product of memories.

These memories are subjective and objective, and the whole film, both in its design and in its action, is about the meeting between these two POVs. There are often dolly shots through houses, or into trees. These seem to be depicting the presence of God, as he moves through the world, watching. I originally thought these shots didn’t have a purpose in the film, but they ultimately are very important.

The movie starts with something that seems to throw it off, which I realized in hindsight was the intention of the brilliant structure by Malick. After a biblical quote (from Job) and a motif of light that appears a few times in the film, we are shown some important passages that color our understanding of the rest of the movie. Mrs. O’Brien (Jessica Chastain), the mother in a small-town post-WWII family, narrates the differences between the forceful nature and the passive grace. This is over a flood of images, which at this point are frustratingly incomprehensible. She then finds that her second son, R.L., has died in a war (implied to be Vietnam), depicted with a chillingly executed shock cut between violent sobbing and airplane propellers. We then move to the present where Jack (Sean Penn), her oldest son, is having problems keeping interest in his wife, his job, and his world (“gone to the dogs,” he calls it in a perceptive moment). He has apparently said things he didn’t mean about his brother’s death, which happened very long ago, and is reminiscing about when he was a kid, egged on by his father and increasingly disillusioned as time went on.

After showing the making of the known world and giving cinema some of its most glorious images (drawing from some famous telescopic shots), Jack’s growing up is magnificently realized. We see how he became the man that he is, each pivotal moment. The resentments he (played here by Hunter McCracken) bears towards his domineering father (Brad Pitt) are most prominently noted. Hard on all of his kids, Mr. O’Brien wants them to step boldly ahead in the way of nature, not to roll with the punches as grace would (which he calls “naïve,” along with his wife). Other determining forces are seen: criminals move through the town (whom Mrs. O’Brien gives water, a symbol used to such great effect to make Tarkovsky proud), the drowning of a friend, engaging in transgressive activities. Overall, the film’s meticulous, detailed view of maturation has few, if any, peers in recent memory.

But that’s not the only area in which that happens. Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, who worked with Malick on “The New World,” gives one of the most astonishing performances in camerawork in cinema history. It’s the stuff to spawn thousands of visual essays. What he does is innovative and immersive: he imitates the emotion of the scene in the photography. For example, to convey Jack’s going-through-the-motions feelings as a grown man, he has the camera race through public spaces at waist level and uses a disjointed form of Snorricam (where the camera is attached to the actor, charting their movement). Also strong is the use of music (some of which is composed by Alexandre Desplat), which overpowers you. Obviously referential of Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” in how it pairs space actions with opera, it uses the music to try to reach the sublime (and it often does).

It’s a wonder that Malick can actually make another film (namely “The Burial”) after this one. This movie is a marvel, for not only all of what I’ve said above but also having one of the most believable views of the afterlife (if that’s what it is) that I’ve ever seen. (Also worth mentioning is his giving of voiceovers to many of his characters, both biblical and similar to Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying.") I’ll need to see it more than once, but it feels (though it’s definitely not) almost absolute. If it had never been made, only speculated, people could have united completely around it. Even if it doesn’t appeal to everyone, and even if it admittedly isn’t impeccable start-to-finish (the human section working better than the planetary one), it’s a treasure, worthy of its Palme d'Or and (one can only hope) more awards. A

Cannes 2011: Competition Awards

For your viewing pleasure:

Palme d'Or:

The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick

Gran Prix:

The Kid With a Bike, Dardenne Brothers AND Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Jury Prize:

Polisse, Maiwenn

Best Actor:

Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Actress:

Kirsten Dunst, Melancholia

Best Director:

Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive

Best Screenplay:

Joseph Cedar, Footnote

Cannes 2011 Power Rankings: Selection Day Edition

Palme d'Or (Best Film):

1. The Tree of Life, Malick

2. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Ceylan

3. The Skin I Live In, Almodovar

4. Le Havre, Kaurismaki

5. We Need to Talk About Kevin, Ramsay

Just outside: Pater, Cavalier; This Must Be the Place, Sorrentino

Gran Prix (2nd place):

1. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Ceylan

2. We Need to Talk About Kevin, Ramsay

3. House of Tolerance, Bonello

4. Footnote, Cedar

5. Polisse, Le Besco

Jury Prize (3rd place):

1. House of Tolerance, Bonello

2. We Need to Talk About Kevin, Ramsay

3. Footnote, Cedar

4. Polisse, Le Besco

5. The Skin I Live In, Almodovar

Best Actor:

1. Lior Ashkenazi/Shlomo Bar-Aba, Footnote

2. Antonio Banderas, The Skin I Live In

3. Sean Penn, This Must Be the Place

4. Ryan Gosling, Drive

5. Nanni Moretti, We Have a Pope

Just outside: John C. Reilly, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Actress:

1. Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

2. Noemie Lvovsky, House of Tolerance

3. Emily Browning, Sleeping Beauty

4. Elena Anaya, The Skin I Live In

5. Cecile de France, Boy With a Bike

Just outside: Cary Mulligan, Drive

Best Director

1. Maiwenn Le Besco, Polisse

2. Alain Cavalier, Pater

3. Lynne Ramsay, We Need to Talk About Kevin

4. Joseph Cedar, Footnote

5. Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive

Just outside: Takashi Miike, Hara-kiri: Death of a Samurai

Best Screenplay

1. Julia Leigh, Sleeping Beauty

2. Lynne Ramsay and Roy Kinnear, We Need to Talk About Kevin

3. Aki Kaurismaki, Le Havre

4. Radu Mihaileanu, The Source

5. Joseph Cedar, Footnote

Just outside: Pedro Almodovar, The Skin I Live In; Hossein Amini, Drive

Cannes 2011: Competition Preview

I've imposed an exile from Twitter on myself while writing this feature, so that these are my and only my reactions to the news about the festival today. (I will, however, use IMDb to get plot information.) Like last year, I want to evaluate my eagerness to see each film and each film's chance at winning awards, and I will do this in this feature. I won't tackle the sidebars (the main ones being Un Certain Regard and Director's Fortnight) for a couple of reasons: not knowing about them yields surprises later on in the year, and also, the work in covering each of those films on top of the Competition would be too hard.

So as to avoid delaying too long, here goes (organized by director's last name, as I'm getting this info from the press release):

The Skin I Live In (Pedro Almodovar, 120 minutes)

Almodovar is said to be pushing his comfort zone with this one, and I'm very excited. Apparently this one goes all out, and although "Broken Embraces" and "Volver" (the two films of his that I've seen; I know, I'm incredibly behind on his work) inspired uneasiness, I think this'll be in another ballpark. Antonio Banderas in the lead could really be something to behold, and my hopes are up that he'll turn in one of his better performances. All-in-all, one of my most anticipated films of the year. If I could pick a film from the Competition to watch right now, this would be towards the top. The plot summary from IMDb: "Based on Thierry Jonquet's novel "Mygale", this revenge tale tells the story of a plastic surgeon on the hunt for the men who raped his daughter."

Could it win the Palme? Certainly. With the abrasive tone and subject matter, it could be a bit of a stretch, but Almodovar is due for a Palme after coming to Cannes three times and winning Best Director and Screenplay.

House of Tolerance (Bertrand Bonello, 122 minutes)

I've never heard of this director before, which, as I've always said, creates the perfect arena to be blown away. Bonello does have some prior Cannes experience: his "Tiresia" was up for the Palme in 2003. The synopsis, from Films Distribution, is as follows: "At the dawn of the XXth century, in a brothel in Paris, a man disfigures a prostitute for life. She is marked with a scar that draws a tragic smile on her face. Around the woman who laughs, the life of other girls, their rivalry, their fears, their joy, their pain...From the external world, nothing is known. Their world is closed." I have really no clue what to say about that synopsis, but it sounds better than worse. The reviews will decide it for me.

Could it win the Palme? I'm thinking a Best Actress trophy for the portrayal of the prostitute in question is more likely to happen. If a major award is won for the film itself, it will be probably either the Grand Prix or Jury Prize, as it sounds like the type of film that would cop one of those, but I'm not too sure. It will probably not win the top prize.

Pater (Alain Cavalier, 105 minutes)

Another director I'm unfamiliar with, Cavalier has been in Competition a couple of times, winning the Jury Prize for "Therese" in 1986 (which won a bunch of Cesars as well). I cannot find any information on his new work, and thus I will have to wait until the Cannes website develops synopses (probably I should wait until then to do this feature, as it would have much more depth, but then again, I want to get something out today).

Could it win the Palme? On the basis of his previous Competition brushes, I would say that Cavalier could possibly walk out of the festival with either a Palme or a Best Director. And maybe the actor who plays the titular character (if it's a father) will get something? Who knows until we see the synopsis.

Footnote (Joseph Cedar, 105 minutes)

Cedar is best known for his Oscar-nominated film "Beaufort," which I haven't seen and which played Berlin a few years back. Never before in Competition, Cedar's new film, as described by IMDb, "the story of a great rivalry between a father and son, both eccentric professors in the Talmud department of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The son has an addictive dependency on the embrace and accolades that the establishment provides, while his father is a stubborn purist with a fear and profound revulsion for what the establishment stands for, yet beneath his contempt lies a desperate thirst for some kind of recognition. The Israel Prize, Israel's most prestigious national award, is the jewel that brings these two to a final, bitter confrontation." I think this sounds very interesting, and I'm glad to see that an Israeli film is playing on the festival circuit's biggest stage.

Could it win the Palme? A Best Actor prize, dual or singular, is most likely, but other awards (the main three prizes, Best Director) are not out of the question.

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 150 minutes)

Now, here's an artist I know much about. I think his photography is (much) better than his filmmaking, but "Distant" was decent and "Climates" did look pretty nice as well. No plot summary yet, or at least not on the big sites, but nonetheless I'm glad to see a big new film from this guy.

Could it win the Palme? This is a film that I think has one of the biggest chances to get it. Ceylan won Best Director for "Three Monkeys" (unseen by me) and directed his leads to a dual Best Actor prize with "Distant." He's ready to take the next step.

Boy with a Bike (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, 87 minutes)

I've seen two films by these guys ("The Son," "Lorna's Silence"), and their among my favorite filmmakers as a result. Experienced Competition veterans, the two have won the Palme TWICE and, on top of that, directed an actor to Best Actor and won Best Screenplay. These guys get something every time they bring a film in. The synopsis from IMDb: "Abandoned by his father, a young boy is left in the hands of an unqualified childcare provider." Whom, I'm assuming, is played by Cecile de France, who didn't really help the cause of "Hereafter" that much in my opinion. But who knows? I'm willing to go where the Dardennes take me, although this seems like something a little different than their usual (this production shot allays that especially).

Could it win the Palme? No. Not gonna happen. Three Palmes?! Nope. Best Actress is always a possibility, since the Dardennes seem to be on their way to being the first directors to win every single award available.

Le Havre (Aki Kaurismaki, 103 minutes)

A much noted filmmaker, I have never seen any of his films. He's won the Gran Prix (for "The Man Without a Past"), being nominated three times for the Palme. No synopsis as of yet, I don't think.

Could it win the Palme? Yes. This could be his year.

Hanezu No Tsuki (Naomi Kawase, 91 minutes)

Kawase's "The Mourning Forest" is a film I've been meaning to watch for a very long time, as it won the Gran Prix. No synopsis yet.

Could it win the Palme? Another definite possibility.

Sleeping Beauty (Julia Leigh, 104 minutes)

First films in Competition are rarities, and here is the first of two (!). Why is this here, since most filmmakers have to climb the ladder? Leigh is a "novelist" (according to Wikipedia) and (according to the Playlist) the screenplay was on the Black List. Synopsis as follows, from IMDb: "A haunting erotic fairytale about Lucy, a young University student drawn into a mysterious hidden world of beauty and desire." This movie has (minor) star power, with Emily Browning, famous for "Lemony Snicket," "The Uninvited," and (though she'd probably like to forget) "Sucker Punch." I don't know exactly what to think about this... Trailer is here, which tackily says that Jane Campion presents and then goes on to quote her in praise of the film.

Could it win the Palme? Best Actress for Browning is far more likely, as well as Best Screenplay.

Polisse (Maiwenn Le Besco, 121 minutes)

Like her sister Isild, Le Besco also first acted then directed, and here's her forth film, under the credit "Maiwenn." The synopsis from IMDb, goes as follows: "A journalist covering police assigned to a juvenile division enters an affair with one of her subjects." Okay-sounding.

Could it win the Palme? Yes. But after Mathieu Amalric won Best Director last year for his first feature helmed, Le Besco, in the same position as him with her first Competition entry, might win that award instead.

The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 138 minutes)

Do I need say anything about this? Everyone's most anticipated film of the festival. If you haven't heard about it, you've been living under a rock. Go find the synopsis and watch the unbelievable trailer on your own (partially because I don't want to expose myself to the former just yet). One note: I thought this film would be much longer. My friend says he knows that it was cut down, but this still seems short for a film this ambitious.

Could it win the Palme? THIS WILL WIN. No question. I thought they would play fair and play it outside, but since not, it's got it in the bag, especially with Robert De Niro as the jury head (although he runs TriBeCa, he has a bias towards American cinema) and with Malick having never won the Palme before (though having won Best Director the only other time he bowed in competition, in 1978 for "Days of Heaven"). The rug could be pulled out from underneath, but this is the frontrunner as of yet and the Goliath to everyone else's David.

The Source (Radu Milhaileanu, 135 minutes)

Known to me from his mediocre-sounding, Golden-Globe nominated "The Concert," Milhaileanu has scored the first Competition birth of his career. And this sounds just as mediocre, from the synopsis given by IMDb: "A comedy/drama set in a village and centered on a battle of the sexes, where women threaten to withhold sexual favors if their men refuse to fetch water from a remote well." The full translation of the French title is "The Source of Women."

Could it win the Palme? Possibly. But comedies don't usually win.

Harakiri: Death of a Samurai (Takashi Miike, 126 minutes)

Totally unexpected to see Miike get in (especially with Brilliante Mendoza, Lou Ye, and Giorgos Lanthimos nowhere to be found). Reportedly the first 3D entry ever in Competition, this is crazy shit, which can only be expected on a regular basis from Miike, who himself has never played in the big dance before. Synopsis from Ropeofsilicon.com goes as follows: "Set during the 17th century, the story centers on Hanshiro (played by Ebizo Ichikawa), an honorable, poverty-stricken samurai requesting to commit hara-kiri in the courtyard of feudal lord Kageyu's estate. Trying to dismiss Hanshiro's wish to save face, Kageyu (played by Koji Yakusho) recounts the tragic story of a similar plea years ago from young ronin Motome (played by Eita). But the arrogant lord is unaware of vengeful Hanshiro's bond to Motome." Ok, I'm mildly interested.

Could it win the Palme? Probably not, but, in a move of wild card insanity, maybe.

We Have a Pope/Habemus Papam (Nanni Moretti, 102 minutes)

"A story centered on the relationship between the newly elected Pope and his therapist." (IMDB). Um, what does that sound like to you? A comparison that has already been made, but needs be noted. Not too interested. Nanni Moretti stars and does his thing, apparently.

Could it win the Palme? Well, maybe this template won't win another major award, but who's counting? Most likely, though, Moretti will sit this one out, having won the Palme before.

We Need to Talk About Kevin (Lynne Ramsay, 110 minutes)

I've never seen "Morvern Callar" or "Ratcatcher," but I've heard great things about them, and thus I'm looking forward to Ramsay's new film. "The mother of a teenage boy who went on a high-school killing spree tries to deal with her grief -- and feelings of responsibility for her child's actions -- by writing to her estranged husband." says IMDb. Admittedly, it sounds corny, but with John C. Reilly, Tilda Swinton, and "Afterschool"'s Ezra Miller, it could work. But...

...could it win the Palme? Most definitely. She's gone through the Cannes system, and now could be her time. Keep in mind: these are relative statements, since I think "Tree of Life" holds an overwhelming lead. And Swinton or John C. Reilly could pull something out as well.

Michael (Markus Schleinzer, 94 minutes)

The other debut, about which there is no information. Apparently Schleinzer acted as casting director on a bunch of films and appeared in "The Robber." No synopsis on the major sites.

Could it win the Palme? An out-of-nowhere upset? Unlikely, though it would be interesting.

This Must Be the Place (Paolo Sorrentino, 118 minutes)

Relatively high-profile as these things go, Sorrentino's latest feature length film (after "Il Divo," which won the Jury Prize a while back as well as a nomination for Best Makeup at the Oscars) has Sean Penn at his most garish-looking. Derived from the title of a great Talking Heads song, the synopsis here comes from IMDb. DON'T READ IF YOU WANT TO GO IN COLD: "Cheyenne, a wealthy former rock star (Penn), now bored and jaded in his retirement embarks on a quest to find his father's persecutor, an ex-Nazi war criminal now hiding out in the U.S. Learning his father is close to death, he travels to New York in the hope of being reconciled with him during his final hours, only to arrive too late. Having been estranged for over 30 years, it is only now in death that he learns the true extent of his father's humiliation in Auschwitz at the hands of former SS Officer Aloise Muller - an event he is determined to avenge. So begins a life-altering journey across the heartland of America to track down and confront his father's nemesis. As his quest unfolds, Cheyenne is reawakened by the people he encounters and his journey is transformed into one of reconciliation and self discovery. As his date with destiny arrives and he tracks down Muller, Cheyenne must finally decide if it is redemption he seeks ....or revenge. Starring two time Academy Award winner Sean Penn and marking the much-anticipated English-language debut of acclaimed director Paolo Sorrentino, THIS MUST BE THE PLACE is a gripping examination of a man on the precipice of obsession." Interesting stuff.

Could it win the Palme? Yes, but Best Actor, with Penn going-for-broke, could happen.

Melancholia (Lars Von Trier, 130 minutes)

The trailer is here, and I've said that this movie looks like "Birth" meets "Another Earth" meets "Antichrist." An interesting combo, to be sure, and this looks like prime Von Trier, especially with the logo at the end. IMDb says: "Two sisters find their relationship challenged as a nearby planet threatens to collide into the Earth." But I'm only moderately anticipating, as I have some minor issues with what it seems to be.

Could it win the Palme? Unlikely. This is just a trip to the Crosiette for Von Trier, and I don't think it'll play very competitively, since Von Trier has already won for "Dancer in the Dark." Expect some gasps to be drawn, though maybe not as many as from "Antichirst."

Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn, 95 minutes)

I've highly disliked both of the films I've seen by this guy ("Bronson" and "Valhalla Rising"), a hipster standby who gets by on little more than hyperstylized violence. Thus, you may be surprised to hear that I'm willing to give this guy another shot with "Drive," which sounds good (again via IMDb): "A Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a wheelman discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist gone wrong." Ryan Gosling and Cary Mulligan are the leads, and the film is adapted from a book by James Sallis. I'm looking forward to it, but if this is a dud, I don't know if I can offer any more of my time to Refn.

Could it win the Palme? I would say no, mostly due to the genre but also because this guy hasn't played many major competitions (save Sundance).

Here are my first predictions for the awards (to be expanded into power rankings soon):

Palme d'Or: "The Tree of Life," Terrence Malick

Gran Prix: "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia," Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Jury Prize: "House of Tolerance," Bertrand Bordello

Best Actor: Lior Ashkenazi and Shlomo Bar-Aba, "Footnote"

Best Actress: Tilda Swinton, "We Need to Talk About Kevin"

Best Director: Maiwann (Le Besco), "Polisse"

Best Screenplay: Julia Leigh, "Sleeping Beauty"

As for Un Certain Regard, I'm looking forward to "Loverboy" by Mitulescu, "Arirang" by Kim, and the year's Sundance film, "Martha Marcy May Marlene" by Durkin.

More to come, people.

Cinematic Resolutions: 50 Films on DVD/Instant Watch I Will See in 2011 + 50 Films I'm Anticipating In Theaters

Structure of this whole post inspired by this.

Here are 50 films I would like to see in 2011 to fill my cinematic gaps. Some of it is from the TIFF Essential Cinema List, others I just feel the need to catch up with, and others I started but never finished:

1. Au Hasard Balthazar, Robert Bresson (which I have out from Netflix)

2. Fanny and Alexander, Ingmar Bergman

3. La Dolce Vita, Federico Fellini

4. The Passion of Joan of Arc, Carl Theodor Dreyer

5. Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino

6. Ran, Akira Kurosawa

7. The Battle of Algiers, Gillo Pontecorvo

8. Playtime, Jacques Tati

9. Sonatine, Takeshi Kitano

10. The Decalogue, Krzysztof Kieslowski

11. Silent Light, Carlos Reygadas

12. Battleship Potemkin, Sergei Eisenstein

13. Andrei Rublev, Andrei Tarkovsky

14. The Ballad of Narayama, Shohei Imamura

15. The Koker Trilogy (Where is the Friend's Home?, And Life Goes On..., Through the Olive Trees), Abbas Kiarostami

16. The Apu Trilogy (Pather Panchali, Aparajito, The World of Apu), Satyajit Ray

17. Blissfully Yours, Apichatpong Weerasethakul

18. Satantango, Bela Tarr

19. The Conformist, Bernardo Bertolucci

20. Scenes From A Marriage, Ingmar Bergman

21. Band of Outsiders, Jean-Luc Godard

22. Casablanca, Michael Curtiz

23. Diabolique, Henri-Georges Clouzot

24. The Wages of Wear, Henri-Georges Clouzot

25. L'Avventura, Michelangelo Antonioni

26. Grand Illusion, Jean Renoir

27. The Rules of the Game, Jean Renoir

28. Black Girl (La Noire de...), Ousmane Sembene

29. Tokyo Drifter, Seijun Suzuki

30. Peeping Tom, Michael Powell

31. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Robert Wiene

32. Amarcord, Federico Fellini

33. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring, Ki-Duk Kim (surprisingly in the IMDb Top 250)

34. Ikiru, Akira Kurosawa

35. F for Fake, Orson Welles

36. Sans Soleil, Chris Marker

37. The Birth of a Nation, D.W. Griffith

38. Jeanne Dielman, Chantal Akerman

39. Platform, Jia Zhang Ke

40. Shadows, John Cassavetes

41. A Woman Under the Influence, John Cassavetes

42. Three Times, Hsiao-hsien Hou

43. The River, Tsai Ming-Liang

44. The Child, The Dardenne Brothers

45. Persona, Ingmar Bergman

46. Rififi, Jules Dassin

47. Topsy-Turvy, Mike Leigh

48. Still Walking, Hirokazu Koreeda

49. Ugetsu, Kenji Mizoguchi

50. Yi Yi, Edward Yang

Others: Distant Voices, Still Lives, Terrence Davies; Chungking Express, Wong Kar-Wai; Beau Travail, Claire Denis; Ratcatcher, Lynne Ramsay; films by Otar Iosseliani; The Piano Teacher, Michael Haneke

50 Anticipated Films of 2011

Note: This is a list heavily inspired by the Time Out London and IFC.com lists. Some are 2011 premieres, some are festival films I haven't had the chance to see that will have their US releases next year. Of course, when I see this year's full Cannes and Berlin lineups, this list will change quite a bit.

1. The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick

2. My Joy, Sergei Losnitza

3. Shame, Steve McQueen

4. 13 Assassins, Takeshi Miike

5. The Skin That I Live In, Pedro Almodovar

6. The Grandmasters, Wong Kar-Wai

7. The Housemaid, Im Sang-Soo

8. City of Life and Death, Lu Chuan

9. The Congress, Ari Folman

10. We Need to Talk About Kevin, Lynne Ramsay

11. A Dangerous Method, David Cronenberg

12. The Last Circus, Alex de la Iglesia

13. Le Quattro Volte (The Four Times), Michelangelo Frammartino

14. We Are What We Are, Jorge Michel Grau

15. Outrage, Takeshi Kitano

16. The Future, Miranda July (even though I couldn't finish her last film)

17. Take Shelter, Jeff Nichols

18. Kinyarwanda, Alrick Brown

19. Tyrannosaur, Paddy Considine

20. Melancholia, Lars von Trier

21. Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, Tsui Hark

22. Mysteries of Lisbon, Raul Ruiz

23. Nostalgia for the Light, Patricio Guzman

24. Submarine, Richard Ayoade

25. Tabloid, Errol Morris

26. Vanishing on 7th Street, Brad Anderson

27. Curling, Denis Cote

28. Cold Weather, Aaron Katz

29. Kaboom, Gregg Araki

30. Promises Written in Water, Vincent Gallo

31. The Trip, Michael Winterbottom

32. On the Road, Walter Salles

33. This Must Be the Place, Paolo Sorrentino

34. Black Venus, Abdellatif Kechiche

35. Attenberg, Athina Rachel Tsangari

36. The Ditch, Wang Bing

37. Post Mortem, Pablo Larrain

38. Carancho, Pablo Trapero

39. Passione, John Tuturro

40. Cold Fish, Sion Sono

41. Silent Souls, Aleksei Fedorchenko

42. Martha Marcy May Marlene, T. Sean Durkin

43. Another Earth, Mike Cahill

44. Coriolanus, Ralph Fiennes

45. Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, Sophie Fiennes

46. Project Nim, James Marsh

47. Bobby Fischer Against the World, Liz Garbus

48. The Guard, John Michael McDonagh

49. Restoration, Yossi Madmony

50. Tuesday After Christmas, Radu Muntean (but since I was shut out in a rush line for this movie, my enthusiasm has dropped)

Others include Best Foreign Film submissions Incendies by Denis Villneuve and In A Better World by Susana Bier, which are technically 2010 movies but I wasn't able to see them then, plus Heartbeats by Xavier Dolan, The Time That Remains by Elia Suleiman, and The Princess of Montpensier by Bertrand Tavernier.

And (drumroll) I'm planning to go to the 2011 Telluride Film Festival! Which means that I'll be able to catch a bunch of premieres, Cannes flicks, and other stuff. Hopefully (as my resolution states) I'll be able to see upwards of ten films (in 3 days, mind you, which is hard business).

What are your most anticipated films? What classic films do you need to see that you haven't?

Black Swan

"Black Swan," like the production of "Swan Lake" at its center, depends much on its lead performance to carry it. And so it's a good thing for the film as a whole that Natalie Portman is extraordinary as Nina Sayers, a Lincoln Center ballerina who aspires to become the Swan Queen in a revival of the aforementioned ballet. Director Darren Aronofsky is able to coax out of her some tones unseen by audiences before. This may be as good as she'll ever be. This is paralleled in the film with the ballet's director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel), who is insistent that she must abandon her restraint and high focus on hitting all the marks to master the part of the Black Swan (just as important as the White Swan, whom Nina is excellent as).

Nina is so intensely driven and absorbed by the part that her own life soon develops into a mirror of the play. (The film's credits take this idea and run with it.) She encounters Lily (Mila Kunis), who she resents, since she is considered a more natural dancer than Nina. Even though Nina manages to win the part of the Swan Queen, she remains convinced that Lily wants to steal it from her. However, Nina still goes out tippling with Lily, after which she's so drugged out that one can't help but wonder where the cut-off point of reality is.

On the side is the underexposed character of Nina's mother (Barbara Hershey), who apparently sacrificed her career for Nina (no mention of a father anywhere). She acts as Nina's moral center and tries and tries to wrench her away from Lily's and also Thomas' attempts to turn her into an ideal Black Swan. Just like many seemingly happy mother-daughter relationships, there are layers underneath that, when provocation abounds, can blast the whole thing apart. Another cloudy individual is the suicidal Beth Macintyre (Winona Ryder), who used to be the centerpiece of the company and who, when the film takes place, is basically being let go of. She further emphasizes Thomas' lecherous streak, suggesting (with a repeated term of endearment) the path that Nina may ultimately go down.

The film plays interestingly and contrastingly against Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" (especially because the two were originally thought of as a diptych). One follows the ascendance of someone who still has a long way to go in their career, the other observes the downward spiral of someone far past their prime. One is flashy and fantastical, the other is almost entirely a product of realism. In both, there are strained familial relationships, seen from different perspectives (as the main character is in one the child and in the other the parent). And finally, both end metaphysically, though it's interesting that the ending is left wide open to interpretation in the realistic film and clearly explained in the fantastical one.

The acting in "Black Swan" is outstanding from all corners, not just from Portman. Kunis (a winner at Venice), Hershey, and Cassel (in perhaps the most uncharacteristic role of his career, despite echoes to past performances) should be in the consideration for supporting acting awards. However, the film as a whole leaves something to be desired. It's vapid, garish, at times laughable (the mutilation; the masturbating while Mom slumps in the chair), and (due to the overall abundance and intensity of the images of Nina's insanity) onerous. By design, of course, but still, these are flaws to me. Aronofsky doesn't manage to improve on "The Wrestler," which found more power in having its devastation mounting and forseeable (an attribute that drew much criticism) than "Black Swan" does. Granted, Aronofsky does well in creating an edge-of-your-seat uncertainty, but such things easily slip from your mind. "The Wrestler" in its verisimilitude for me is harder to shake than "Black Swan," despite all of its successful scenes, masterful production design (including magnificent compositions by Matthew Libatique), and ability to unsettle at the moment. B

(Just to let you know, this film is rated R for a reason.)

The trailer for "The Tree of Life," which played before the film and is unavailable online (update: here it is), is perhaps the greatest I've seen. I nearly cried at it. Terence Malick seems as if he's pulled something unbelievably spectacular off.