Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Cannes Film Festival - Wednesday

On Wednesday night, Steven Soderbergh presented his hagiographic, chatty and didactic feature, Che. The Palais des Festivals was packed, and fans crowded the area around the red carpet to get a glimpse of Benicio Del Toro...
I wore a vintage, handmade lace top over my black pencil skirt,with my chunky burgundy Céline heels.

In addition to the film's team, attending the screening were Mike Tyson, the super pretty Natalie Portman, Puff Daddy in a white tux, producer Harry Weinstein as well as the great director Emir Kusturica, a long-time Cannes favorite. He's the coolest guy!
Soderbergh's much anticpated. endless two-part film, totaling 4 hr and 28 mn, combines endless political speeches (such as the Che's interventions at the United Nations) that can only be of interest to ideology lovers, with endless ambush sequences that can only be of interest to those looking for a step-by-step guerrilla manual.
In all fairness, while I was very bored, I have to add that the audience cheered and applauded film enthusiastically. I did find that some shots, such as a bright yellow wall in Santa Clara, a white horse seen through branches or the muted colors of the Bolivian hills, strikingly gorgeous.

Benicio Del Toro is, as always, extraordinary and a likely winner for the Prix d'Interprétation masculine (Best Actor); I was disappointed, though, he didn't seem to strive for an Argentine accent, so I went up to him to ask him (en español, of course) if he had taken lessons to sound Argentine; he was smiling, kind, and sweetly told me he hadn't tried to emulate the Che's typical accent. (Sigh)

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah! Marie-laure, l'accent de Buenos Aires est inimitable para la gente que como yo trabaje y viaje mucho en estes pais que son Colombia, Mexico, Argentina y Uruguay...la LL de la calle et el caballo qui donne la G en francais ..inimitable por suerte y los portenos.. CHE!

The Fancier said...

I have been glued to your Cannes posts. Benicio looks much better than he has in awhile!

Anonymous said...

I have been like a kid in cndy store with your "reports" from Cannes. merci beaucoup
nancy

Solange said...

this must be so exiting for you, and you get to experience this every Cannes filmfestival? :-)

enjoy it and I will be back!

solange

AsianCajuns said...

You look gorgeous, and I love your Cannes coverage... it almost feels like we're there too (almost ;) !

Mary-Laure said...

SOLANGE - I've been going to the Cannes Film Festival for the past 3 years. It's always so exciting!
If I get togo next year, I'll cover it on my blog of course...

NANCY - I feel like a kid in a candy store in Cannes, too!!!

marie said...

wow that is long! i wonder whether it will make it to cinemas? i love reading about your days! they are so exciting, you have some beautiful clothes too! merci as always!

Mary-Laure said...

MARIE - you're right, lots of people are wondering if such a long film can make it to the movie theaters; Soderbergh may have to edit it again in order to come up with a shorter version... Or so goes the rumor in Cannes...

Laura in Paris said...

How lucky you are to have been so close to BENICIO DEL tORO!!!

Anonymous said...

Te felicito, muy buenas fotos y muy buenos comentarios de Cannes.

Rina said...

Ya me estoy haciendo adicta a la cobertura de Cannes jajaj, me encanta todo lo que contás, y me sorprende también lo de Benicio, debería tratar de imitar en algo el acento ya que en cualquier actor que se prepara un papel con algun personaje tan emblemático debe imitar no solo los gestos sino también la forma de hablar...me gusta mucho Benicio igualmente. Me parece raro igual ver algun actor extranjero imitar el acento porteño, o como la primera vez que lo escuché hablar a Vigo Mortensen con su español bien argentino jajaj, una risa. Saludos!

Jill said...

You talked to Benicio!?! Tiny starstruck swoon coming from Cambridge, here :) Keep having fun there, Mary-Laure...you look fabulous!!

Angie hearts said...

you look so pretty! Gosh, the cannes look so exciting~

Unknown said...

i can't believe you spoke with benicio. he's one of my muses. sounds like you are having a fabulous time with your fabulous self...i feel most fortunate to hear your wonderful tales!~

Whitney said...

SO jealous that you spoke to Benicio, who is completely unaware that he is one of my secret boyfriends. :)

Chloé Van Paris said...

Tell me Mary-Laura who was the sexiest man of all Cannes Festival ?
I am sure that benicio wasn't the only one...

Imelda Matt - The Despotic Queen of Shoes said...

Lazy (and bloated) Benicio!!! You're a saint for sitting through a 4hr film that wasn't of interest.

Mary-Laure said...

CHLOE - the sexiest man at the Cannes Film Festival? Why, it was my amoureux, of course, so elegant in his black suit...

Unknown said...

WELL, I THINK I WILL NOT SEE THAT FILM!
eN DIARIO DE LA MOTOCICLETA, GAEL GARCIA BERNAL TAMPOCO IMITA BIEN EL ACENTO PERO LA PELI ES MUY BUENA.

Whitney said...

I also forgot to say in my previous comment that the first photo of you in this post is stunning. :)

Iñaki said...

I am utterly in love with the first picture of you. You look so beautiful and fresh and chic. Surely you deserve appearing in Vogue's special for Cannes!!

xx

Anonymous said...

What an outstanding post. I have always wanted to experience Cannes. Thank you for sharing this.