The second week of the Cannes Film Festival opened this morning with some exciting films on the schedule. A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis file this report from France, including a brief review of the Coen Brothers well received "No Country for Old Men." I didn't realize the Coen's had so much past success at Cannes.
Gus Van Sant's "Paranoid Park" screens today in competition.
Michael Winterbottom's latest film "A Mighty Heart" about the kidnapping and subsequent death of journalist Daniel Pearl starring Angelina Jolie screened this morning. Justin Chang of Variety writes, "The sad saga of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl has made it to the bigscreen with facts, figures and beating heart intact in "A Mighty Heart." He further notes, "But this is ultimately -- and very intimately -- Mariane Pearl's story, and much of it rests on Jolie, who fits comfortably into the naturalistic mold that shapes the entire ensemble. Though Jolie sports a big belly, a high-coiffed hairstyle and a very challenging accent (raised in France, Mariane is of Afro-Cuban and Dutch descent), this isn't the sort of commanding star turn in which the performer vanishes behind a well-known celebrity mask, but rather a subdued, carefully considered portrait of a woman caught between premature grief and persistent hope."
Glenn Kenny writing for his Premiere blog states, "Jolie and Pitt were very smart to get a director who doesn't do star turns to do Jolie's star turn. I dare say she's got at least an Oscar nomination locked."
