Last Day Fast Day

Well, this was it. The last day of the film festival. Goodbye Cannes, for now. I will be going back for the flower ice-cream and the waffle factory.

Today, me and beth woke up at 12. It was glorious. We decided to be productive so we got dressed and headed for the trains. Once we got to Cannes we went shopping for a bit before our movie at 6:00. We went to a shop I can't remember, Pull & Bear, and Zara. It was fantastic as always. Then I accidentally said the word "smoothie" which got Beth on the move. We "found" a smoothie place online and tried to navigate ourselves to it. Lucky us, we did not find it. So, instead, we settled for an Irish Pub with good wifi. I wasn't complaining. The servers spoke English and they had wings on the menu. It is now my favorite place ever and I am not leaving France until I go back.

After eating, me and Beth walked over to the Palais for the last time. Soaking in all of the pretty lights and big open spaces I started to feel a little nostalgic. We went up to the Bunuel theater to watch It's Only The End Of The World. We stood in line for about and hour and a half then were rushed inside of this huge theater. The film was not too bad actually. It had very interesting themes and undertones. I enjoyed it, and I enjoyed the french part of it as well. I like to think I am good at French. So when I get a chance, I like to watch French movies and pretend I know what is going on without subtitles.

We got out of the Bunuel a couple hours later and headed back to the train station. On the way we caught a glimpse of the closing ceremonies on a T.V. Man do they go all out. They showed a clip from a movie with the main actor from Masculine Feminine. All it did was remind me how much
I absolutely hated that film. After looking at the Palais one more time and soaking in my ability to wear a lanyard and not look like a tourist mom, I finally left the Palais for good. Me and Beth caught our last train from the Cannes Film Festival, and headed to Juan.

This festival has been an absolutely amazing experience. I cannot believe that I had the opportunity to go on this trip and watch all of these incredible films and meet all of these amazing people. I am so very thankful for this trip and to the advisors that made it possible. If there is any chance ever again in my life that I can come back to this festival, I would do it in a heartbeat. This experience is defiantly a milestone in my life, and I can't wait to take everything I learned back with me and have the Cannes Film Festival 69 live on forever.

Empty Orchestra 5/19/16

Today I decided to watch all of the films I've been meaning to see during the festival but couldn't because everyone hates me and doesn't want to give me a premiere ticket. The first film I saw was Loving. This film was very well done, but not my favorite. It had a great story and a great message, but I didn't feel like the actors really loved each other. But still a very good film. After that film I ran to The Dancer, and waited in line for much longer than I should have. However, it was COMPLETELY worth it. I have been meaning to watch this film, even before the festival started. I have studied dance history for a while, so getting to watch a movie about the infamous dress and Isadora Duncan was absolutely amazing. The story was great, the dance was stunning, everything was just beautiful. I am very happy I finally got to see that!

After that film I walked around aimlessly calling my boyfriend.  Wifi is not easy to find, so when you do find it, you have to use every second of it to call Josh. I ran to the Red Turtle to, once again, stand in line way longer than I needed to. Red Turtle was a very interesting movie. I can't say I fully understood it, but the story was still very interesting. After being very confused for about 80 minutes, I went to the American Pavilion. There seemed to be some sort of screaming fest that people were calling "karaoke."  So that was "fun" as they described it. Not soon after, we headed over to the taxis and decided to call it a night. So overall today was pretty busy. I don't know if I would see those 2 films again, but I still had a great time as always in Cannes. 

  

Film Festival of Short Films

Today was more or less very disappointing. I, once again, tried to wake up at 7:00am to catch a 8:30am premiere of Elle after going to bed at 4:00am that morning. Lol no. I ended up sleeping in until 12:00am. Me and Beth headed to Cannes and started souvenir shopping and walking around the Palais. We went to the macaroon shops and I couldn't believe my eyes. There were deserts of every type in that shop. They had little chocolate cameras and chocolate high heels. They even ad chocolate lipstick! It was adorable and I will go back before I leave.

After killing some time at the Am Pav, we went to go see the short films. There was about 3 hours of short films with names I cannot remember. Some of the films were just absolutely terrible to watch, and others were very funny. I think these filmmakers just wanted to make movies about things that people don't like to talk about. Things such as premature babies dying and 16 year old porn stars. More or less the films were well done, I'm just not so sure how I feel about the plots. 

One good thing about today is that I found out the myth of Sunday is not a myth. There will be movies replaying tomorrow which is a huge relief. I really want to catch Tony Erdman, The Hand Maiden, and possibly Elle. Maybe I will get up in time, maybe not. We will just have to wait and see!

Film Festival 5/20/16

Today was super interesting to say the least. I had plans to wake up early to see The Hand Maiden, unfortunately that did not work out. My alarm clock said yes, but my heart said no. So I ended up sleeping in then I got ready to beg for the night premiere of The Neon Demon. I put on my most expensive dress, had a professional (Sierra) do my makeup, and hit the town. Me and Sierra started begging early to make sure that we would get tickets.

An hour passed and Thomas walks up ready to beg. I was standing in my heels laughing at him because I have been out for so long and I knew I was gonna get a ticket and all this fun stuff. Then, 10 minutes later, Thomas walks up to me with a ticket. I was so mad! But "happy" for him as well. So I decided to take over his corner and start begging. That was the right decision. I had a lot of strangers tell me to come with them, ask me if I was selling tickets, and also tell me they love me and take pictures then run away. In the least, it was interesting.

I was standing at the corner for another hour or so when a man ran up to me and said " c'mon let's go!" I told him, "I'm not just gonna go with you, I don't know you." He told me we were gonna be late if I didn't go with him. So I got my stuff and started running with him. I asked if I could grab my friend and he said it was fine. I grabbed Sierra and we both ran to the line. We got into the gate and all was well. The funny thing is that this guy had come back for me. Turns out this guy saw me earlier in the day begging and I said "good evening" to him. His dates ended up being late so he came back for me! So that was great!

We got into the premiere and a bunch of paparazzi were taking pictures of us, again. They have no idea that we are no one. After walking on the red carpet attempting to take 100 photos, we went to go sit down in the Lumiere. I was so excited for this movie, this was one I wanted to see from the start. The actors started walking on the red carpet and everything got super exciting. They walked into the theater and waved to everyone and had this big announcement for the actors and the film. I never got to see a premiere with the actors so it was quite an interesting experience. After watching the movie, I was a little disturbed, but still very pleased. It was exactly what I thought it would be and I was not disappointed. It was a little gross, but I expected that. Overall the begging and nodding to strangers was totally worth it!

American Honey Film Review

"American Honey"

Hope Salloum

5-19-16

American Honey is a film that completely immerses you into its diegetic world. The directing, acting, and plot are all contributors in making one feel like they are on the road with Star, Jake and the rest of the crew. This 3 hour modern day take on teenagers who grow up too fast will leave you wanting more. 

The plot of the film was quite unique in a way that you couldn't just guess what would happen next. All of the characters, although around the same age and personality, were all unique to their own circumstances. This film was an incredible insight into a struggling teenager's life. 

Shia Labeouf's performance is incredibly convincing. His character stays constant and strong throughout the entire film. Sasha Lane's character meshes perfectly with Shia's. Their chemistry is clear from the very beginning of the film. As the film progresses, their relationship never falls short of that first spark between them. 

This film is a must see. It displays so many emotions and relatable circumstances you can't help but feel for these characters. The soundtrack will have you dancing in your seats, and the characters will have you caring for strangers. You will not regret taking the time to experience American Honey.

Writer: Andrea Arnold

Director: Andrea Arnold

Producer: Thomas Benski, Lucas Ochoa, Alice Weinberg, Jan Van Hoy, Pouya Shahbazian, Lars Knudsen

Main Cast: Shia Labeouf, Sasha Lane, Riley Leough

Running time: 158 minutes 

Manhattan Undying Film Review

“Manhattan Undying”

Hope Salloum

5/19/2016

Manhattan Undying, in my opinion, is a very disappointing film. This “drama” was mistakenly labeled. A better label could have been  “wretched excess.” This film will however, despite the terrible quality, keep you slightly intrigued with its metaphors and hidden agendas.

The main character Max is a painter struggling with his addiction, and also a high-risks case of lung cancer. Max uses his art as means of letting out some of his anger as well as staying in denial. He meets a young woman, a vampire, named Vivian. She is a killer on the loose with the one goal of seeing her physical self for the first time. Their paths cross when they realize they need each other. She has an addiction to blood, while his addiction, as the movie progresses, becomes her.

While all of this is happening, detective Bradimore is on the case of Vivian’s murder victims. The only thing that makes this film interesting in the slightest is the story plot within the story. Through this film, you start to realize that Max is actually Vivian. This is why he cannot paint without her as his muse, and why she doesn’t come back until Max opens himself up to her. When investigating, Max is constantly questioned, but Vivian is “never found.” The police sketch of the victim is a combination of Vivian and Max’s face, implying that they are one person. But the real kicker is the ending.

Vivian almost kills Max and tells him that he needs to love himself before he can truly open up and be free from his addiction. He then proceeds to finally paint this huge portrait of Vivian so she can finally see herself. Immediately after, he sleeps with, or finally “loves” Vivian/ himself. Only after this can he finally die. When the painting of her is presented, the film does not show the actual portrait, but instead zooms in on a self-portrait of Max. This, once again, hinted at the fact that Max and Vivian are one. After the reveal of the portrait, Vivian also dies.

The main issue with this film is that without this theory, it is incredibly boring and confusing. This theory is not one that is thought of immediately. It is not easily seen, clearly portrayed, or supported strongly. The fact that they brought one random vampire into a world that had no traces of vampires was weak. They did however keep the “vampire brand” consistent. Typical things like drinking a vampire’s blood to become a vampire, staying away from the sun, and super speed. Another problem seemed to be communicating the story correctly. In one scene, the detective is about to arrest Vivian, but then he ends up kissing her. Now I’m sure this was because she “hypnotized” him or something along those lines, but nothing was clear.

One thing I did not find incredibly terrible was some of the acting. The main characters Max and Vivian did a great job portraying their own individual roles. Everyone else, sadly, did not reach any sort of level of acceptable acting. The fact that I cannot remember more than three characters is troubling. The performances by the two main characters were very good, but only separately. When they interacted with each other, it was very flat. I did not feel any sort of emotion whether it was anger or love. Separately, however, they truly showed their real characters’ struggles. Max had internal issues that were clearly shown in every action or activity that he was placed in. Vivian kept a cold and lifeless outside physical appearance, but still did a great job with showing her internal struggles as well.

One last issue with this film was the cinematography. It was incredibly hard to watch due to the lack of color and the emphasis on dark areas. The gradient and hues were too dark and not aesthetically pleasing. I honestly felt like this films’ goal was to make me fall asleep.

Overall, this is not a film that I would recommend to anyone. The most interesting aspect of the film is the theories that you may or may not pick up on. Other than that, there is no real reason to watch it. It does not fit well into its genre, and it is very confusing. This film is not worth the time or the patience.

Writer: Matt Deller

Director: Babak Payami

Main Cast: Sarah Roemer, Luke Grimes, and Christopher Jacot

Running Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Death to Morning Films

No. I do not like waking up super early. Especially to wait in super long lines for a 10:30 film. But, the film I saw was amazing. I saw Captain Fantastic this morning and was very pleased with it. Most of that had to do with the fact that the name of the film wasn't actually said in the film. Every other film that I've seen so far has made it a point to throw their title in the film. So that was refreshing. However, it would have been a fantastic film regardless. After the film I went to go hang out at the Am Pav and grab some lunch, nothing too fancy.

After a while at the AM Pav, me and Patrick went to go see our next film. Since we ended up about 2 hours early, we went to go get some ice-cream. We went back to the Palais and saw Late Shift. This film was extremely interesting because it was an interactive one. We downloaded this app and connected to this "special" wifi. During the movie, options would pop up on the screen and we would slick one of the options. The majority of votes would win and the film would go on with that option. There are about 170 possible choices in the film and 7 possible endings. It was quite an interesting experience. Sometimes if we chose the "not so obvious" choice, everyone in the theater would laugh because we knew that we were being dumb. The film wasn't the most interesting film, but the technology sure made this film worth watching. 

Because the trains hate me, we had to go home at about 6 just because we didn't want to wait 2 more hours. So I went home at 6 because tomorrow is supposed to be a big film day. All the competition films that I missed like Loving, The Dancer and Red Turtle are playing, and I intend to see them all. So I figured I'd get a good nights sleep to prepare not to fall asleep in any theaters.