Cannes Film Festival – 3rd day – May 13th

Director’s Fortnight: “Neruda” by Pablo Larrain

Pablo Neruda, the Chilean poet, is a huge success: when he recites his love poems, people hang on every word. The communist comrades or the whores from the brothel. It’s 1948, in the troubled times of President Videla, when the cold war has reached Chile. Neruda and his wife Delia del Carril are forced into hiding. Police detective Peluchonneau is tracking them down. Peluchonneau is telling us the story, but is he really? Or is it Neruda himself? The poet tells the story of the people and the people make the story of Chile.

Larrain was born in Chile and with Alfredo Castro (Neruda) and an unrecognizable Gael Garcia Bernal (detective Pelouchonneau) give a vivid image of this troubled year for his country and for the Poet.

Excellent the filmography of Sergio Armostrong, so good in close ups that B&W would have been a possible choice for this movie. But the Andes of the end of the film are beautiful in full colors.

Definitely one of my favorites of this year’s Festival.

     

     

 

Un certain regard: “Uchenik” (The student – Le disciple) by Kirill Serebrennikov

A strong Russian movie, with a perfect young actor (Petr Skvortsov) giving life to Veniamin, a young student who falls into religious fundamentalism. Nice to see – for once – that it’s not the Muslim religion, but the Orthodox Catholicism which makes of this young college student a monster citing the Bible by heart and extracting a verse justifying whatever thought or action. Also interesting how he got himself – all alone – into fundamentalism. Serebrennikov depicts with talent each character of this college and the love of a mother in the turmoil, between her three jobs, a school system she don’t understand and the modern teaching techniques of Elena, the Biology teacher (Victoria Isakova).

 

Critics’ week: “Diamond Island” by Davy Chou

It’s not easy to be a working teenager in any capital of the world and Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital, is no difference. Bora tries the best he can on the construction site of Diamond Island, the future of Cambodia. But the past is not far and from time to time it surfaces again. Nothing really special in this story in which the characters could have been better described. It remains a colorful depiction of Modern Cambodia, between past and future, between workers and rich people. Interesting, but not one of my favorites.