Yes, we Cannes!

So I'm talking about Cannes five days after it ended. Sue me. I was busy.

In an excuse to visit Côte d'Azur and mark it as a business expense, hundreds of filmmakers, distributors, and buyers flock to the coastal town every year to see acts of intellectual pretentiousness on celluloid. But seriously, how can one hate a film festival that exists because everyone was sick of Nazi films?

This year, Tim Burton led the prestigious film jury. Also, legendary filmmakers Woody Allen, Lars von Trier, and Jean-Luc Godard (yeah, that one!) showcased comeback films.

So, how was Cannes this year? Well....

"....was far from a stellar year." -FilmBlog at The Guardian

Ummm. Ok. Well, they are Brits. Brits only have a taste for tea. How 'bout an American?

"...I said that this doesn’t seem to be a very good Cannes. Her answer was, 'No masterpieces so far.'”-Howard Feinstein, Filmmaker Magazine

Well, I subscribe to Filmmaker Magazine and it's possible the editors have impossibly high standards. Another news source?

"...a lack of star power and too few movies generating genuine buzz sapped the festival of excitement." -Reuters

Ok, do these guys count? Reuters is still kinda British. Hollywood, Your take?

"...it looked as though Cannes 2010 would be remembered as the year of the volcano and not much more, so uninspiring were most of the films in competition" -Justin Chang, Variety

F*** you, Variety. Moving on.

There was one surprise. A film called Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul (say that 10 times fast!), won the Palm d'Or. The film beat out British indie golden-boy Mike Leigh and Mexician-American indie powerhouse Alejandro González Iñárritu who both went home with nothing.

We salute you, Mr. Weerasethakul. Happy Filmmaking!