Psycho Raman (Raman Raghav 2.0) (2016)

I've always wondered why Bollywood films haven't found a bigger market in the West. They make an enormous amount of films and yet they rarely receive recognition by the Academy or in film festivals. If this movie is any indication of what other Indian films are, I think I might understand. It is vastly culturally different in terms of style from what we're used to. From an American perspective, it comes off as kind of tacky. You get a similar feeling watching some East Asian television shows but they seem to have assimilated to Western style in their films. This is a small thing, but I think a good example is the title sequence. No other movie I saw at Cannes had a title sequence. There is high octane energy. You can tell they put some budget into this title sequence that I didn't really care for. The acting style was also noticeably different. I didn't think the acting was very good. But all of the actors acted in a similar style that wasn't particularly expressive or exciting. It's one of those movies where you hate all of the characters, and the acting doesn't help make them any more likable. They don't shy away from gruesome images. This movie about a serial killer is expectedly violent. There are usually limits to what you show on screen, but they kind of just go for it.

I wasn’t really sure what to make of the plot. It seemed manufactured. Raman Raghav is a reference to a real Indian serial killer, but this is not about him. That is made clear from the beginning. Maybe something was lost in translation, but the title seemed totally insignificant save to evoke fear. Raman needs his Raghav but isn't it one name?  I wasn't really buying the into the concept.

I do want to point out that the cast was the probably the most impeccably dressed cast I saw in Cannes. 

Wolf and Sheep (2016)

This movie was so unbelievably boring. There is no plot whatsoever. It is simply observes the life of children in the tribal regions of Afghanistan. Is it a documentary? Kind of. But despite the lack of plot it is scripted. It is kind of a narrative, yet there is an anthropological aspect to the film that makes it seem like a documentary at times even if it is not marketed that way. The actors are not professional actors. I suspect the director told them what to say, but then kind of let them improvise to make it seem more real. In the Q&A, the director used the words "cinema verite" which sounds awfully documentary-like, but she wasn't really committing to it.  She explained that she wanted to go back to her childhood and paint a picture of Afghanistan without war, because the West has a hard time separating Afghanistan from terrorism and the wars it fought there. Except in the end, it is determined that this cannot last as war finds the protagonists.  It was pleasantly surprised that this movie from Afghanistan was directed by a woman, as we do not think of working women in Afghanistan. There are also some pretty brutal scenes in terms of gruesomeness. That part I woke up for. Wolf and Sheep won the Directors' Fortnight, which is incredible because it was the worst movie I saw in the Directors' Fortnight. 

Apprentice (2016)

This movie is a tense slow burn. It has a new and interesting take on the death penalty, from the perspective of the executioner. And for good measure, the executioner is the son of one executed. It is a nuanced perspective that we haven't seen before. The ethics presented in the film are complex, necessarily building quiet tension until the final moment in the film. It is admittedly a slow movie but that makes it suspenseful.  As does the dark cinematography in the spooky prison corridors.

Beyond the Mountains and Hills (Me'ever Laharim Vehagvaot) (2016)

There is a great song in this movie that was on repeat for an hour outside the Debussy theater. And then it makes a brief appearance in the movie. I didn't get sick of it though. It is a quiet ballad that I believe is biblical in nature, though I don't really know. I shazamed it and I have it saved in my phone.

Going into the movie, I was told by Gillian that it is an anti-capitalist film. The synopsis talks about "Dark forces" that were supposedly capitalism. But this was not the case. The "Dark forces" were actually dark forces, not just a communist exaggeration. This movie tells a complex story about a pretty messed up family. The main character is technically the father but I think his story is the least interesting. His daughter is entangled in some Palestinian terrorism, and his wife is hooking up with one of her students. It is a really tense movie, as you could imagine a movie about terrorism is. It is not thrilling, but it's suspenseful. And the wife's storyline actually made me laugh a few times. Not sure if it was meant to be funny, but juxtaposed with the terrorism it kind of was.

My Life as a Courgette (Ma Vie de Courgette) (2016)

I had no expectations going into this film. In fact, I was going to attend a different screening at Debussy, but Gillian and Renee convinced me to accompany them to Courgette and I'm glad I did. It is a stop motion animation. The figures have enormous heads in proportion to their bodies. There is a sculpture of Courgette outside one of the hotels we've been passing by and now I know what it is. It is sort of the in the style of Coraline. It is a story of an orphaned boy finding his way. It has heart and the screenplay is touching. It makes lots of appropriate vegetable jokes because the boy's nickname Courgette means zucchini. And the ending made me cry. It is really sweet and funny and heartwarming.

What is interesting is that it doesn't have to be animated. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate a good stop motion film. A lot of the animations we see in the United States have screenplays that wouldn't work in live action, whether they're talking fish or monsters or superheroes or fantastical beings. But this is a simple story that could have been told with real people. The director simply chose to use the medium of animation to convey this story. What does the animation add to the story that real people couldn't tell? Maybe it just adds to the sweetness factor though I'm sure they could've found cute kids to empathize with. 

Tour de France (2016)

This is a typical road trip movie transposed to France following a minority played by French rapper Sadek and an old racist played by Gerard Depardieu. And at the end, as expected, the racist comes around. Racism exists in France too. I mean, it could've worked perfectly as an American film too. It's not that the rap is bad, but I have a slight problem with foreign hip-hop. It is undeniably cultural appropriation to a certain degree. Hip hop is ingrained in African American culture and to take it out of that context is a level of appropriation. I mean, he even has beef with other rappers. How stereotypically rap is that? That being said, Depardieu rapping the French national anthem was ridiculously funny. Sadek was pretty good, especially considering that he is not an actor, continuing a long line of rapper-turned-actors like Queen Latifah and Common.

We didn't stick around for the Q&A after the screening because we were afraid it would just be in French and we were trying to catch another screening right after. But since I wasn't in love with the movie or anything I didn't feel bad, even if Gerard Depardieu is a brand name.

Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (2016)

I've never really had much of an opinion of Carrie Fisher; I was indifferent. But she is actually a hilarious woman. She was at the screening to introduce her film, but she left before it started. She has been spotted around Cannes with her dog walking the red carpet. This dog is very prominently featured in the movie. Her banter makes for great TV cause she is funny. But apart from being funny, the movie is sweet. It is about her relationship with her mother, Debbie Reynolds, who I did not realize was her mother. Time has taken its toll on Reynolds. Her body is succumbing to age, but she continued to perform shows like she was still young. But also time has faded her star power. She rides her scooter through a casino in Vegas before her show, and countless people pass her without even turning their head, unaware that they were in the presence of a star. HBO also recently made a documentary about Anderson Cooper and his mother, which I have not seen, but I can't imagine Anderson Cooper is as much of a riot as Princess Leia.