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Cannes Film Festival Film Film festivals

Cannes – Monday

Caught Johhny To’s new film Vengence (2 out of 5) in the morning, lots of stilted acting and a major plot device that appears out of nowhere which which have most directors laughed out of the cinema. While not really excusable, somehow I managed to suspend my disbelief and just enjoy the action scenes which as always in a To film are stunning.

Watched Ken Loach’s Looking for Eric in the Lumiere (4 out of 5) enjoyable, funny, heartfelt, the ending seems a bit silly and at odds with the rest of the film, but not so much that it ruins it. In short an excellent Ken Loach film which I expect will do particularly well theatrically in the the UK at least. Decide that I’m not going to make the 4pm market screening of Bright Star and instead catch a panel titled “It’s a mad, new media world” at AmPav.

Saw Hierro in the evening – billed as a Spanish psychological horror from the producers of Pan’s Labyrinth and the Orphanage. That “from the producers of..” tag line should have set alarm bells ringing earlier. It’s the story of a lost boy and his mothers attempt to find him. Well shot but it felt more like the work of a competent commercials or music vid director than someone used to working in narrative film. Still trying to decide if it was the lack of plot of just the bad development of it, but it just didn’t work for me. I think the sweeping music every time someone opened a door was the final straw. At it’s best it left me disinterested in the mother and her plight and at others just simply irritated. I’m giving it (1 out of 5). I’m probably being extra harsh on Heirro as the late start to the film and a packed Croisette afterwards meant I missed a third screening of Un Prophet.

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