IT'S not just about stars and star gazing. This year, at the Cannes Film Festival in France, as many as 22 films are competing for the prestigious Palme d'Or. Here's a look at some of the best in the run for the coveted prize.



Although it seems impossible to catch everything, the idea is to find out which ones have a buzz around them and then watch for those films when they're released in the cinema.



My Blueberry Nights (June 22, US)



Let's begin with Chinese filmmaker Wong Kar Wai's new film, which was the opening film this year. This is Wong's first English language film, the story of a heartbroken young woman (Norah Jones) who discovers that her boyfriend's been cheating on her.



She makes friends with the owner of a local café (Jude Law), and she shows up there every night to chat and eat blueberry pie. Eventually she decides to head off on a cross-country trip.



The film follows her as she meets an odd array of people, while at the same time slowly overcoming her lost love.



French newspaper Libération's critics say that Wong is "becoming less Chinese and more a citizen of the world... From the beginning to the end, the film spins a metaphor around blueberry pie. We can't ignore the possibility that Wong wanted to make his own American Pie... Compared with 2046 and Happy Together, the film is unambitious. It's like a sweet dessert, low in calories, but easy to digest."



Asian movies



Blind Mountain



Chinese director Li Yang's hard-hitting Blind Mountain (Mangshan) tells the harrowing story of young graduate Bai Xuemei (Huang Lu), who is tricked and sold as a "wife" to a village. This is Li's sequel to his critically acclaimed Blind Shaft (Mangjing), which depicted the life of miners.



Breath



In this Korean movie, a woman finds out that her husband has a mistress. She goes to meet a convicted murderer after seeing on TV that he has just attempted to commit suicide. The film has little dialogue and Taiwanese actor Chang Chen, who plays the prisoner, never speaks.



Zodiac (March 2, US)



Director David Fincher, who has made such films as Se7en and Fight Club, brought Zodiac to Cannes. It's based on the true story of a serial killer, who terrified the San Francisco Bay area during the 1960s and 1970s. The killer not only committed murders, but also left behind clues and hints for the police to follow up.



This film is realy about the obsession of four men wanting to solve the mystery and trace the killer's identity.



"This mythology of fear and desire - this mixture of sex and blood - deserves to be put on screen once more with lucidity, intelligence and patience. At 44, David Fincher has obtained a maturity that impresses by his mastery of form... Zodiac is not only a story of the monster himself but rather his existence in the imagination of those that fear him and pursue him," says an article in the French paper Le Monde.



Ocean's 13 (June 8, US)



Unlike blockbuster films such as The Da Vinci Code which premiered at last year's Cannes, this year's selection seems clearly focused on artistic quality. Perhaps, the only big event picture is Ocean's 13, directed by Steven Soderbergh.



Ocean's 13 continues in the footsteps of Ocean's 11 and Ocean's 12. It is again about gangster Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his friends coming together to take down the casino of a new enemy. Joining Brad Pitt and Matt Damon is Al Pacino, the guy whose casino they're going to crack.



A Mighty Heart (June 22, US)



Finally, the film that's got many betting on it. A Mighty Heart is based on American writer Mariane Pearl's memoir. Angelina Jolie takes the role of Pearl, wife of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in 2002. Mariane was pregnant at the time of her husband's death. This is the story of her courageous desire to rise above the bitterness and hatred that troubles the post 9/11 world. Like Ocean's 13, A Mighty Heart will have its world premiere at Cannes.

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metaphor 比喻

premiere 初次公演

casino 赌场

shaft 矿井

sequel 续集

memoir 回忆录



Posted on 2007-05-23
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