It’s the big Cannes question — what will catch Steven Spielberg’s eyeIJ
The king of Hollywood heads the jury that will decide who wins the Palme d’Or and other prizes at the French Riviera film fest, and artistic director Thierry Fremaux can’t wait to find out what takes his fancy.
“We know (Spielberg) the director, but we don’t know who he will be as a spectator,” said Fremaux.
“Take the two Japanese films” in competition. Will the director of Jaws, E.T. and Saving Private Ryan root for Takashi Miike’s action-packed crime drama Shield of Straw or for Kore-Eda Hirokazu’s intimate family story like Father, like Son. Spielberg did drop a hint, however. Fremaux said Spielberg told him that on the jury “I want to make a journey. I want to know how people make cinema in a different way than mine.”
The 20 contenders for the Palme d’Or include new movies from the Coen brothers, Roman Polanski, Alexander Payne and Asghar Farhadi.
It’s notoriously difficult to predict the winner, but some things at Cannes are guaranteed. There will be sand. There will be sun — despite a forecast of rain for the opening night. And, Fremaux says, there will be sex. Asked if there’s a theme running through the selection, Fremaux suggested “love — the main theme of history.”
Films with a romantic element include Steven Soderbergh’s liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, Abdellatif Kechiche’s coming-of-age story la Vie d’Adele.
AP