Apichatpong Weerasethakul Takes the Palme d'Or

Tim Burton and the jury awarded Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives the Palme d'Or at Cannes today, marking the first Palme d'Or for the director and for Thailand. Weerasethakul won the Jury Prize in 2004 for Tropical Malady (which still feels like a giant oversight by Quentin Tarantino and his jury that year, who gave the Palme d'Or to Fahrenheit 9/11) and the Un Certain Regard Award in 2002 for Blissfully Yours. You can watch A Letter to Uncle Boonmee, the director's fantastic 17-minute short which he expanded into the feature, on MUBI. In his fourth outing as a feature director, Mathieu Amalric took home the Best Director prize for Tournée [On Tour]. In a rare tie, Javier Bardem and Elio Germano were named the Best Actors for Biutiful and La nostra vita [Our Life] respectively, and Juliette Binoche won her first Best Actress prize at Cannes this year for Abbas Kiarostami's Copie conforme [Certified Copy]. Rounding out the rest of the awards: Lee Chang-dong won Best Screenplay for Poetry, Xavier Beauvois' Des hommes et des dieux [Of Gods and Men] was awarded the Grand Prix and Michael Rowe's Año bisiesto [Leap Year] won the Caméra d'Or (for best first film). Full awards below:

Palme d'Or: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, d. Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand/France/Germany/Spain/United Kingdom
Grand prix: Des hommes et des dieux [Of Gods and Men], d. Xavier Beauvois, France

Prix du jury: Un homme qui crie [A Screaming Man], d. Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, France/Chad
Prix de la mise en scène [Best Director]: Mathieu Amalric - Tournée [On Tour]
Prix d'interprétation féminine [Best Actress]: Juliette Binoche - Copie conforme [Certified Copy]
Prix d'interprétation masculine [Best Actor]: (tie) Javier Bardem - Biutiful; Elio Germano - La nosta vita [Our Life]
Prix du scénario [Best Screenplay]: Lee Chang-dong - Poetry
Caméra d'Or: Año bisiesto [Leap Year], d. Michael Rowe, Mexico

The Decade List: Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

Vicky Cristina Barcelona – dir. Woody Allen

No film last year glued a glimmering smile on my face as strongly and thoroughly as Woody Allen's effervescent Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Perhaps I was witnessing one of my favorite directors come back to life after a decade-long stint of mediocre films, many of which featuring his most incompetent muse to date, Scarlett Johansson, a sad replacement for Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow. Or perhaps it was such a relief to feel those temptations to say that he'd "lost it" dissipate within the film's earliest moments. Ultimately, it doesn't matter whether low expectations and dwindling confidence were to thank for what was easily my best "cinema experience" of ‘08.

In ways no other director can compete, Allen pulled me through the ringer with alternating moments of hilarity and stomach-dropping poignancy. As Vicky, the 'Woody Allen character' of Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Rebecca Hall nailed neurotic dissatisfaction, culminating in the heart-sinking moment where her entire façade shatters near the end of the film as she tells Javier Bardem, quite simply, "I'm scared." As Cristina, the self-proclaimed free-spirit amid a love-triangle with Bardem and the smoldering Penélope Cruz, Johansson is as tolerable as she's ever been, with Allen exposing the two things most directors miss in the actress: a brimming sexuality that's deeper than physical voluptuousness and the seeping fear that she isn't up to snuff. I (still) have no reservations in claiming Vicky Cristina Barcelona to be among the highest tier of Allen films, within the ranks of Stardust Memories, Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters, Annie Hall and Deconstructing Harry.

With: Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz, Patricia Clarkson, Chris Messina, Kevin Dunn, Pablo Schreiber, Carrie Preston, Zak Orth, Christopher Evan Welch
Screenplay: Woody Allen
Cinematography: Javier Aguirresarobe
Country of Origin: Spain/USA
US Distributor: The Weinstein Company

Premiere: 17 May 2008 (Cannes Film Festival)
US Premiere: 15 August 2008

Awards: Best Supporting Actress – Penélope Cruz (Academy Awards); Best Supporting Actress – Penélope Cruz (BAFTA Awards); Best Picture, Musical/Comedy (Golden Globes); Best Supporting Actress – Penélope Cruz, Best Screenplay (Independent Spirit Awards); Best Supporting Actress – Penélope Cruz (Goya Awards, Spain); Best Foreign-Language Film (Cinema Brazil Awards); Best Ensemble Cast – Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz (Gotham Awards)

The Decade List: No Country for Old Men (2007)

No County for Old Men – dir. Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

At the end of 2007, when making my annual “Best of the Year” lists, I named the Coen brothers’ No Country for Old Men my #1. At the time, it really was a tough call between three films released in the US, but I made the safe call… and while I think my opinion has changed (at least regarding the claim of it being the best, or even my favorite, film of 2007), the film hasn’t really lost anything as a result. But still, as I had little to say about it when I made my Best of ’07, I still have nothing more to say that hasn’t been said already. I went back to my official “review” of it, and, nope, nothing worth reprinting here. Alas, it’s hard not to admit No Country for Old Men is a pretty damn good film.

With: Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Kelly Macdonald, Woody Harrelson, Garret Dillahunt, Tess Harper, Barry Corbin, Beth Grant, Stephen Root
Screenplay: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy
Cinematography: Roger Deakins
Music: Carter Burwell
Country of Origin: USA
US Distributor: Miramax/Paramount Vantage

Premiere: 19 May 2007 (Cannes Film Festival)
US Premiere: 6 October 2007 (New York Film Festival)

Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor – Javier Bardem, Best Adapted Screenplay (Academy Awards); Best Director, Best Supporting Actor – Javier Bardem, Best Cinematography (BAFTAs); Best Supporting Actor – Javier Bardem, Best Screenplay (Golden Globes); Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Directors Guild of America); Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role – Javier Bardem, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (Screen Actors Guild); Best Adapted Screenplay (Writers Guild of America); Best Foreign Film (David di Donatello Awards, Italy); Best American Film (Robert Awards, Denmark)

Countdown to the Oscars (bleh), Part 3

Here are the actor/actress/supporting actor/supporting actress rundowns of the past 10 years. I'll be the first to admit that I'm cheating a bit, as some of these films (usually the ones in the bottom category) are films I never finished watching after getting bored/uninterested/pissed off at the films when they would come on HBO. The bold font denotes a winner that particular year. Again, I realize the list would be more effective had I gone by release year instead of ceremony year, but I caught myself too late on that one.

Ten Best "Best Actor" Nominees

1. Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood (2008)
2. Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson (2007)
3. Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain (2006)
4. Javier Bardem, Before Night Falls (2000)
5. Sean Penn, Milk (2009)
6. Richard Farnsworth, The Straight Story (2000)
7. Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler (2009)
8. Daniel Day-Lewis, Gangs of New York (2003)
9. Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises (2008)
10. Russell Crowe, The Insider (2000)

Ten Worst "Best Actor" Nominees

1. Jamie Foxx, Ray (2005)
2. Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Seville (2008)
3. Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2009)
4. Jude Law, Cold Mountain (2004)
5. Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness (2007)
6. Johnny Depp, Finding Neverland (2005)
7. Will Smith, Ali (2002)
8. Russell Crowe, A Beautiful Mind (2002)
9. Peter O'Toole, Venus (2007)
10. Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond (2007)

Ten Best "Best Actress" Nominees

1. Helen Mirren, The Queen (2007)
2. Penélope Cruz, Volver (2007)
3. Charlize Theron, Monster (2004)
4. Marion Cotillard, La Vie en rose (2008)
5. Sissy Spacek, In the Bedroom (2002)
6. Hilary Swank, Boys Don't Cry (2000)
7. Julianne Moore, Far from Heaven (2003)
8. Julie Christie, Away from Her (2008)
9. Diane Lane, Unfaithful (2003)
10. Laura Linney, The Savages (2008)

Ten Worst "Best Actress" Nominees

1. Nicole Kidman, Moulin Rouge! (2002)
2. Renée Zellweger, Chicago (2003)
3. Angelina Jolie, Changeling (2009)
4. Halle Berry, Monster's Ball (2002)
5. Diane Keaton, Something's Gotta Give (2004)
6. Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2008)
7. Felicity Huffman, Transamerica (2006)
8. Juliette Binoche, Chocolat (2001)
9. Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal (2007)
10. Annette Bening, Being Julia (2005)

Ten Best "Best Supporting Actor" Nominees

1. Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men (2008)
2. Clive Owen, Closer (2005)
3. Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children (2007)
4. Jude Law, The Talented Mr. Ripley (2000)
5. Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast (2001)
6. Willem Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
7. Mark Wahlberg, The Departed (2007)
8. Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2008)
9. Djimon Hounsou, In America (2003)
10. Chris Cooper, Adaptation. (2003)

Ten Worst "Best Supporting Actor" Nominees

1. Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls (2007)
2. Matt Dillon, Crash (2006)
3. John C. Reilly, Chicago (2003)
4. William Hurt, A History of Violence (2006)
5. Joaquin Phoenix, Gladiator (2001)
6. Jeff Bridges, The Contender (2000)
7. Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild (2008)
8. Ethan Hawke, Training Day (2002)
9. Alan Alda, The Aviator (2005)
10. Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain (2006)

Ten Best "Best Supporting Actress" Nominees

1. Amy Adams, Jubebug (2006)
2. Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2009)
3. Catherine Keener, Being John Malkovich (2000)
4. Patricia Clarkson, Pieces of April (2004)
5. Chloë Sevigny, Boys Don't Cry (2000)
6. Samantha Morton, Sweet and Lowdown (2000)
7. Maggie Smith, Gosford Park (2002)
8. Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton (2008)
9. Rinko Kikuchi, Babel (2007)
10. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago (2003)

Ten Worst "Best Supporting Actress" Nominees

1. Kate Hudson, Almost Famous (2001)
2. Natalie Portman, Closer (2005)
3. Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal (2007)
4. Frances McDormand, Almost Famous (2001)
5. Kate Winslet, Iris (2002)
6. Judi Dench, Chocolat (2001)
7. Ruby Dee, American Gangster (2008)
8. Saoirse Ronan, Atonement (2008)
9. Renée Zellweger, Cold Mountain (2004)
10. Frances McDormand, North Country (2006)