At present, there are 13 A-class film festivals in the world, the first echelon is Cannes, Venice and Berlin, and in terms of influence, Cannes leads half a position.
Where does the impact come from? Can only come from the historical color of the award-winning films, that is, the weight of the part of the film list that can stand the test of the times, as a film fan, there is a kung fu staring at the red carpet, it is better to honestly take the palme d'Or of the past, so that the trend of film history, style changes, genre renovation, and technological evolution since the war have an account in mind.
Unlike Venice's motto of "cinema in the service of serious art" and Berlin's yardstick of "thematic innovation, smooth screen performance and audience reaction", Cannes was once dubbed the 3S Film Festival (Sea, Sex & Sun) because of the sunshine and beautiful women on the beaches of South France, but seventy years later, it is a holy place.
Every May, this platform brings out not so much a global competition of light and shadow, but rather a collective pilgrimage of filmmakers, the glory of French culture, and the condensation, reflection, and light of its humble Debussy Theater...
○ The Main Venue of Cannes, the Debussy Theatre
Flowing water mat, Palme d'Or
The Cannes Film Festival began in 1946, at first, although the French organizers intended to take the international path, but the positioning was unclear, so there was a mess of the first nine films winning the Jury Prize, the following year there were six awards, until 1948 because of insufficient funds and discontinued (the other suspension was in 1968, because of the "May Storm"), the third session in 1949 had the real meaning of the Palme d'Or, the fourth edition added the jury award for the second best film, and since then, in addition to the guarantee of these two awards, the rest of the individual awards have sometimes not been available.
It was not until the 1960s that the current pattern was basically established, and gradually divided into six main sections - competition unit, director's bi-week, one kind of attention, film critic week, the new look of French cinema, the exhibition of the outside market, and the most concerned of course is the competition unit that produced the Palme d'Or.
In 2017, the Cannes Organizing Committee received 1930 entries for the competition, and after screening, 49 participated in the six major sections of the competition, of which 19 competed for the Palme d'Or.
○ 70th Festival de Cannes (May 17-28, 2017)
The more than ten places of judges in the competition unit are worth mentioning. Over the years, a jury seat of directors, screenwriters, actors, soundtracks, and film critics has been formed here, and writers and scholars have joined in, and cannes has been held in previous years.
Writers have chaired the jury on the following occasions: the fourth and tenth by Molloya, author of Balzac, the poet and director Jean Guctorto in the sixth and seventh, The école de France, Mar Panier, the eighth by the Académie françois, the thirteenth by the detective novelist Jo Cimonon, the twenty-third by the Nobel Laureate and Guatemalan poet Mi Asturias, the twenty-ninth by the American writer Will Tennessee, the thirty-second by the French writer Sagan, and the most recent at the sixtieth. For Turkey's Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk.
This year's jury chairman is the Spanish director Almodóvar, China Fan Bingbing was invited as an actor, so that in the history of the Chinese-speaking circle, a total of 15 filmmakers sat on the jury, in addition to Wong Kar-wai in 2006 as the chairman, Chen Kaige, Yang Dechang, Li An, Jiang Wen, Wu Yusen, Du Qifeng, Xu Ke, Gong Li, Maggie Cheung and so on also voted.
Unlike the thousands of Academy Awards and the relatively stable jury from all over the world, and a set of rules that reflect the inherent demands of Hollywood industrial processes, the jury seats in Cannes and most other film festivals in the world are flowing seats that have voted out, because of the temporary and random composition of personnel, it is basically difficult for Cannes to maintain a consistent artistic outlook and values.
Since the beginning of the new century, the results of the selection have been repeatedly released, but in contrast, the Venice Film Festival is slightly better, because the personal will of Mark Mueller, who has been re-elected for a long time, can to some extent affect the selection of films and who will be spent.
But the romantic French clearly value the eternal light that shines in the randomness of democracy on the jury, and perhaps it is the coexistence of multiculturalism that has created Cannes's eclecticism and grandeur.
Data speaks, classic inventory
Looking closely at the Palme d'Or list, so far the United States has won 19 gold, France and Italy have 12 gold, the United Kingdom has 7 gold, Japan has 4 gold, and the rest has been divided by various countries.
As the leader of the European film industry, France held Cannes in that year, in fact, it contains a kind of original intention to take advantage of Hollywood values, do not want to look back seventy years later, American films are still the biggest winners, but in terms of production system, American films with the Palme d'Or are mostly independent productions rather than Hollywood process products, in this regard, Cannes is worthy of the defender of art films.
Film history classics, I think it is 20 years after the advent of the film fans and academic circles continue to revisit the commentators, counting the past Palme d'Or list, the following ten are enough to witness the thickness of Cannes:
1961's "Villitiana", Spanish director Buñuel mocked religion, although the film's release and award were criticized by the power of the Holy See, But Cannes's choice can stand the test of history; 1963's "Leopard", the peak of Italian director Visconti's life, witnessed the demise of the old European aristocracy in the torrent of revolution, which is breathtaking;
1966's "Magnification", a modernist masterpiece painstakingly painstakingly written by the Italian director Antonioni in London, uses cinematic means to interpret the "agnostic" trend of thought that pervaded the 60s; 1976's "Taxi Driver" is the earliest affirmation of the Italian-American director Martin Scorsese, and the film itself is also a wonderful record of the disease of the human age in a mirror way;
In 1978, Italian director Olmi's "Clogs Tree", presented with a primitive record and landscape painting of rural life, expanded the new boundaries of the film's narrative, and finally concluded with compassion from the perspective of God;
In 1979, american director Coppola's "Apocalypse Now", which was born from Conrad's novel "Heart of Darkness", and German director Schlöndorff's adaptation of Glass's novel "Tin Drum" shared the Palme d'Or, which is the largest wave of personal experience and historical clichés to date, which is extremely nostalgic;
In 1983, Japanese director Masahira Imamura composed a hymn to life with a "Kao kao of the Mountain Festival", which is full of mixed tastes and miscellaneous tastes, and his depth of insight into human nature has extended with time;
In 1995, the Yugoslav director Kusturica won the award again for "Underground" after "Daddy Goes on a Business Trip", and the absurd reproduction of his own history is nothing more than a statement of the fact that the real reality is surreal, the real history, and all the absurdity; in 2002, Polanski finally recreated the world he saw in his childhood with a "pianist", and with a "good" Nazi role, he gave the World War II film a human brilliance beyond the position.
Not only gold and silver, but also the most honorable
The high gold content of the Palme d'Or makes it difficult to choose, there is no harm in recommending ten more films here, and it is also seen that although the Cannes judges are changed year by year, they are all concerned about the fresh blood in the film industry. In 1953, the French director Georges Kluzzo rose to the top with "The Price of Fear", which, under the guise of the alienation of humanity in the era of capital, told an adventure story that was thrilling step by step without cold, and had a great influence on the horror genre films of later generations;
In 1957, the Palme d'Or was awarded for the first time to Soviet director Karatozov's "Flying Geese South", when Khrushchev came to power, Soviet society showed slight signs of thawing, filmmakers got the first wind, and art had the intention of decompressing the Cold War (it is worth remembering that this year's Jury Prize was awarded to Polish director Vajda's "Sewers", which can be called a comprehensive victory of the Eastern camp, and Cannes's vision and mind are touching, which is also the first time that the Polish film school led by Vajda has been recognized by the West);
In 1960, Fellini filmed a "Sweet Life" under the bright appearance of modern civilization, and the current situation of China's entertainment industry is just a crappy version of it; in 1961, the award-winning "Long Parting" (directed by Henry Kobe) introduced wonderful psychological drama in addition to the anti-war, and then wrapped up in the poetic bloom of human warmth;
In 1962, the Palme d'Or was awarded to the Brazilian film Promise (directed by Duarte), but it proved to be the most pertinent selection of the year, and Cannes's consistent support for religious criticism was rare; in 1974, Coppola made "Dialogue" between the two "Godfathers", which brought the black hole of human nature to the limit of absurdity through the ever-improving eavesdropping technique;
In 1980, "Shadow Samurai" deservedly, humble and sublime, not only a reflection of Kurosawa's life perception tomorrow night, but also his new insight into human nature and power desires; in 1984, German director Wenders' "Paris, Texas" won the award, this film is not only an emotional repair story of modern society, but also a collection of new German school form styles, it is worth saying that it is also the first Palme d'Or film that was introduced into the Chinese mainland shortly after winning the award, but unfortunately it was only released in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou. Ningbo live and miss;
In 1994, Quentin's "Pulp Fiction" was renovated in the form of narrative, ending the reincarnation of the underworld; in 1997, Abbas finally won the Palme d'Or with "The Taste of Cherries", rather than a praise for the lifelong contribution of the director who single-handedly pushed Iranian cinema to the world, and the following year awarded the award to greek director Angelopoulos's "Eternal Day", which is also based on the overall achievement, because both films have a common theme of introspection about life. They are also two arcs drawn on concentric circles of the general human mentality at the end of the century.
True film fans may not only focus on the Palme d'Or, looking back at the perspective of film history, the jury prize presented to the sub-best film is not inferior, its connection with the master is even closer, limited in space, this article only gives ten examples: in 1957, the "Seventh Seal", which was tied with "Sewers" to receive the Jury Prize, was in fact the supreme masterpiece of the Swedish master Bergmann's life, and its historical and religious views were forged here, and there were many infiltrations of existentialism and skepticism;
In 1960 and 1962, the Jury Prize was given to italian directors Antonioni's "Adventures" and "Eclipse", whose false presentation of modern people's inner life is very different from Fellini's, but it shows a "authorization" tendency, which is also a key year for embodying Cannes values, and heralds the birth of "Magnification" in the future;
In 1963 and 1965, Japanese directors Masaki Kobayashi's "Cutting the Belly" and "Strange Talk" won the Jury Prize for their unparalleled Japanese image and narrative skills, which was actually a kind of attention from Cannes' eyes to the new realm reached by Toei Ying Ying painting in the 1960s;
In 1972 and 1986, Tarkovsky's "Flying into Space" and "Sacrifice" won the prize, which can actually be regarded as a collective tribute by the Cannes jury to the philosophical achievements of the Soviet era and the exile era of the old tower, and many of the details of which the reader can go to the old tower's diary "Time in Time" to verify;
In 1988, Cannes did not forget to give italian director Tornatore's "Cinema Paradiso" a recognition, in fact, the Jury Prize was awarded to the entire history of cinema condensed in it, and the 1994 award-winning Russian director Mikhalkov's reflection on soviet history's "Blazing Flames" was actually a big indictment of the entire totalitarian era, and less than a year later, the film won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film;
In 1995, Angelopoulos's Gaze of Ulysses also brought out a modern Greek history, revealing another depth of the tragic experience of the revolutionary past.
The Chinese language forces have a long way to go
【 The French version of the 46th Palme d'Or "Farewell to the King" competition 】
The only Palme d'Or won in the Chinese-speaking world was 1993's "Farewell to the King" in 1993, alongside New Zealand director Campion's Piano Lessons, in which Chen Kaige teamed up with his father Chen Huaigao, as well as screenwriter Reed and a group of Chinese-language celebrities to forge an epic video.
There are many criticisms and reflections on the history of China in the 20th century, and on the basis of the text, the characters who cannot escape the wrapping of history are placed in the situation of the constant transformation of the identities of the true and false overlords and Yu Ji, focusing on building an incomparably huge labyrinth of violence, brilliant and cruel, which is a legend that is difficult to reach so far by the comprehensive index.
【 The 47th Grand Jury Prize "Alive" English Version Poster 】
【 Asia's first Cannes film emperor, 47th Best Actor Ge You 】
After that, reflecting on history became a kind of conscious behavior of Chinese filmmakers, and the creative resistance also increased day by day, the following year Zhang Yimou's "Alive" won the Cannes Jury Award, the key to slightly losing the literary style, is that the critical spirit was diluted for the review, fortunately, in that year Ge You won the first Cannes film emperor in Asia with the role of Fugui.
By 2000, Liang Chaowei won the film emperor for the Chinese language circle for his performance in "Fancy Years", and in 2004, Maggie Cheung also got a film queen with the French film "Cleaning".
【 The 53rd Grand Jury Prize "The Devil Is Coming" English Version Poster 】
Another jury prize for Chinese films, from 2000's "The Devil Is Coming", according to the comments of American director Soderbergh, this film makes all other films of the same genre extremely small, Jiang Wen wrote and directed this film, the actors who played the Japanese army were carefully selected by him from the Japanese Actors Guild, the details of the film really reached an amazing level, and its criticism of national nature has Lu Xun's legacy, an undisputed masterpiece in the history of Chinese cinema, and time will give a fair judgment.
In the individual awards, there are three other best director awards that must not be mentioned, namely Wong Kar-wai's "Spring Break" in 1997, Yang Dechang's "Yiyi" in 2000, and Hou Xiaoxian's "Assassin Nie Yinniang" in 2015, in fact, this is also a tribute to the status of the three in the Chinese circle and even in the history of contemporary cinema, although with a little hindsight.
In addition, mainland directors whose creativity has long been evaluated have two screenwriters in the account, one is Lou Ye's "Spring Breeze Drunken Night" in 2009, and the other is Jia Zhangke's "Destiny of Heaven" in 2013, which is also the first time that Jia Zhangke, who is related to Venice, intersected with Cannes.
Chinese mainland film first won the award in Cannes in 1964, when the Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio selected Tang Cheng's "Little Tadpole Finds Mother", which won an honorary award of encouragement, and the most award won by Chinese films was the highest technical award with each focus every year.
The winners of this honor include 1962's "Yang Guifei" (directed by Li Hanxiang), 1975's "Heroine" (directed by Hu Jinquan), 1995's "Shake, Shake to Grandma's Bridge" (directed by Zhang Yimou), 1999's "Jing Ke Thorn Qin Wang" (directed by Chen Kaige), 2001's "Millennium Manbo" (directed by Hou Xiaoxian), and "What Time Is Your Side" (directed by Cai Liangming).
Judging from the current box office share in the domestic market and the due status of a big country, domestic films should have more wins in A-level film festivals, but there are still too many forbidden areas for filmmakers in the choice of themes, the creative environment is like Si, the soil for the birth of masterpieces is also shrinking, the market prosperity is like a virtual fire, the shape is bound to be unbalanced, this year's Palme d'Or nominations are not a single Chinese film, and the next Door South Korea has two shortlists, which has explained the problem.
Sometimes, movies are evergreen
On the morning of May 29, Beijing time, the 70th Cannes Film Festival closed, and Qiu Yang, a Chinese director who participated in Cannes for the second time, won the first prize in the short film competition unit with "Small Town in February", filling a gap in Chinese films.
【This year's Best Short Film, Poster of "Small Town February" directed by Qiu Yang of China】
The award has been a mix of documentaries, cartoons and short dramas in the history of the award, limited to 20 minutes, this Short Film in Changzhou dialect tells the story of a mother looking for her missing daughter, continuing the depressing tone of her debut film "Under the Sun" and the inner pain of ordinary people in the era of economic growth.
【 Stills of this year's Palme d'Or and Swedish film "Freedom Square" 】
The Swedish film "Freedom Square" (directed by Ostlundt) won the Palme d'Or, which was announced by the organizing committee on the eve of the opening of Cannes to enter the competition unit, and finally completed the counterattack.
It is about the existence of an art curator, the coexistence of art exhibitions and urban lesions, the embarrassment of laughter everywhere, the pattern of intellectual introspection and self-deprecation, and the details cover the sentient beings of modern urban life, which is a presentation of human alienation under the cold humor of Nordic films.
【 Poster of this year's Grand Jury Prize French film "120 Blows per Minute" 】
The grand prize of the jury is the French film "120 blows per minute", borrowing AIDS people to protest against social indifference and monopoly of pharmaceutical companies, but the foothold is placed on the same-sex love, director Robin Campillo won the Palme d'Or with "Between the Walls" in 2008, and this time aimed at social contradictions to be stripped away layer by layer of in-depth decoding, although the second half of the love scene is a matter of opinion, but the overall human care embodied in the film is still enough to hit people and defend the quality of French films.
This year's Best Director Award, awarded to Hollywood talent Sophia Coppola, her "Under the Peony Flower" remake from the old version of 1971, telling the story of a female school during the Civil War after breaking into a soldier, female group drama is the biggest attraction of this film, this swaddled female master who has been on the big screen has long been a full bloom, worthy of the coppola family members;
The film emperor was obtained by Jacqueline Phoenix in the thriller "You Were Never Here", and it is worth mentioning that this film has not been completed until the competition, so the organizing committee can only vote for an 80-minute tentative version of the lack of subtitles at the end of the film and the appearance of the semi-finished product, which invisibly enhances the expectations of the future director's cut version.
The film was awarded by Diane Kruger in the German film "Out of Thin Air", and this year's improvised Cannes 70th Anniversary Special Award was awarded to Nicole Kidman, and the annual carnival of the southern French town was finally settled.
【 Cannes, even the road railings have the Palme d'Or 】
As in all art categories, the final evaluation of the film depends on time, Cannes, like any other film festival in the world, only provides a platform and is responsible for embedding the best works in the eyes of the world in a limited time and space, so at this moment there is no harm in maintaining appropriate caution or even silence on the Cannes list this year or even in the past decade.
Seventy years back in time – looking back at the vicissitudes of Cannes