CANNES, France — There were only half-a-dozen American movies in the 55th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, still the most important and prestigious event in the international film world. However, each one of the American selections and the American directors who attended this glitzy yet arty event provided the most-talked-about moments in the festival — and not just for cinematic reasons.
The notoriously media- and festival-shy Woody Allen, who had never been to the Croisette, even though several of his movies have been shown in Cannes over the years, shocked the international press when he decided to attend the festival to introduce his comedy "Hollywood Ending," the official opening-night selection (shown out of competition).
Following his appearance at the March telecast of the Oscar Awards (which was also unexpected), Allen charmed the press when he said: "The French make two mistakes about me. They think I'm an intellectual because I wear glasses, and they think I'm an artist because my films lose money all the time."
The quintessential New York auteur later explained, "The French have always been supportive of my work. I wanted to return the favor and do something special for them."
Allen's colleague, Martin Scorsese, arguably the most brilliant and passionate filmmaker working in American cinema today, was in town to introduce an assemblage of 20 minutes of his upcoming epic saga "Gangs of New York," which was pushed back by producer/distributor Miramax from a Christmas 2001 to Christmas 2002 opening in the United States. This production, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz, has been troubled since it began shooting in Rome in August 2000, first due to its escalating budget (rumored to be north of $100 million dollars), then because of rumored conflicts between the filmmaker and Miramax topper Harvey Weinstein.
Weinstein acknowledged that his refusal to talk about the film had fueled undesirable rumors, but he expressed extreme confidence in its artistic quality, which Scorsese described as his "biggest enterprise" to date. Even so, Scorsese admitted, "I am known for my strong opinions and so is Harvey, but, in the end, he really wanted to make my movie."
Known for his perfectionism and meticulous attention to detail, Scorsese spent seven weeks with his longtime, Oscar-winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker preparing the Cannes footage. The overall impression of this much-anticipated "extended preview" of "Gangs of New York," which screened as an official selection of the festival on Monday afternoon in the Grand Palais Lumiere, was positive.
Billed as "an evening with Martin Scorsese," the event began with a tribute to the late Billy Wilder. Recalling one of Wilder's classics, "Sunset Boulevard," a film Scorsese first saw at the age of 8 when he was growing up in Little Italy, Scorsese said, "Years later I realized that it was a horror picture, and like all good horror films, I found myself sympathizing with the monsters."
This provided a direct and logical link to his introduction to "Gangs of New York," a violent saga set in New York City during one of its most tumultuous eras, 1846-1863. Scorcese had to persuade the reclusive actor Daniel Day-Lewis ("My Left Foot," "The Last of the Mohicans") to emerge from semi-retirement in Italy (where he was making shoes) to play the film's villain, a part originally earmarked for Robert De Niro. Judging from the footage, Day-Lewis may be the most compelling reason to see the film.
Day-Lewis didn't attend the elegant screening, which was packed to capacity, but his colleagues DiCaprio and Diaz did. "I often heard him sharpening knives in the trailer next to mine," DiCaprio revealed in admiration of the well-respected thespian.
It's hard to gauge the complexity, detail and authenticity of this historical epic, which deals with the Irish immigration to the United States. But the footage is impressive and sumptuously mounted, with sufficient dramatic sweep, epic violence and provocative action to leave viewers eager to see the final, 2-hour, 44-minute R-rated version, which is scheduled to unspool on Christmas Day, just in time for Oscar consideration.
The first Cannes screening to create a buzz and bidding war among distributors was Michael Moore's new documentary, "Bowling to Columbine." The first documentary to be shown in competition in 46 years, the film tackles America's obsession with guns in a provocative, intriguing and vastly entertaining manner. Moore, best-known for his documentary "Roger and Me," blends a unique mix of humor, satire and tragedy in dealing with the massacre at Columbine High, interviewing some of the seriously injured students who take on the major corporations that sold the bullets that are now imbedded in their spines.
Grabbed by United Artists for theatrical distribution, "Bowling to Columbine" is bound to generate controversy, particularly an interview with right-winger and National Rifle Association spokesman Charlton Heston at his Beverly Hills home, during which Moore asks audacious questions and gets some shocking responses. "Bowling to Columbine" took a special 55th Anniversary Jury Prize at the closing ceremony on Sunday.
Two alumni of the Sundance Film Festival received major attention in the competition lineup. Wunderkid Paul Thomas Anderson, who began his spectacular career at Park City with "Hard Eight," is known for such long, sprawling and ambitious pictures as "Boogie Nights" and the three-hour ensemble piece with wonderful performances from Tom Cruise and Julianne Moore, "Magnolia."
This time around Anderson promised something different, and delivered the tightly focused, 91-minute dark comedy "Punch Drunk Love," which can be described as a unique blend of sunny California and a surrealist Kafkaesque tale.
Adam Sandler, in a bold and impressive performance, plays a nebbish salesman who finds redemption through a passionate first love for a mysterious woman, gracefully played by Emily Watson. Anderson won a best director nod from the jury, sharing the award with Korean Director Im Kwan-Taek (for "Chihwaseon").
The most accomplished male performance in Cannes this year was undoubtedly delivered by Jack Nicholson, star of "About Schmidt," a melancholy serio-comedy directed by another Sundance alumnus, Alexander Payne ("Election"). Center screen for the entire film and appearing in almost every frame, Nicholson gives a subtle, masterful performance as a 65-year-old man forced to face aging, retirement, solitude and other disappointments of his mundane life.
Though Nicholson surprisingly did not with this year's best-actor award, the feeling in Cannes was that he laid down an early marker for next year's Oscar race.
Emanuel Levy is a former film critic for Variety and the author of several film-related books, most recently "Oscar Fever: The History and Politics of the Academy Awards" and "Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film."