Access Atlanta > Movies > Blog > Archives > 2005 > May > 11 > Entry
Cannes I see some movies now?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CANNES — Looking out the plane when I was stirred to consciousness by the pilot’s monotonous droning on, “flight attendants cross checkâ€â€?we’re preparing for our descent into Nice,â€? all I could see was blue. And not just any blue, this was Riviera blue waters with little waves rippling about that looked like dolphins peaking their beaks out of the water. I let out an eager sigh of relief…almost there.
It had been a mere 22 hours since I left for Hartsfield-Jackson International airport, but it felt much longer. Even a stop into the meditation center during my layover at Schipol airport in Amsterdam couldn’t dampen the anticipation taking root in my tensed shoulders. Only seeing Cannes firsthand and stowing away all my luggage at the flat could help me relax. And oh boy did it ever.
So riding that kind of nervous adrenaline energy�I collected my accreditations at the Palais des Festivals (transliterated, the “Palace of Festivals�), where all the screenings for the Cannes Film Festival take place, saw some acquaintances from previous festivals, dished out a few “bonjours� myself, and made my way back to the flat nestled a comfortable five minute walk from the Palais.
And today, the madness begins. Cannes is not just a film festival, you see. Cannes is also the world’s largest film market where everyone and their mother have something to pitch, buy, or sell. It’s maddening intensity over the course of ten days leave many first-timers bewildered�heading back to the drawing board to better prepare for next festival. As an old hand jet-setter told me my first year in Cannes, “soon you’ll learn that you have to prepare months ahead of time with good rest and vitamins and Echinacea.� And that is scarcely an exaggeration.
Today I awoke well rested with cinema on the brain (which is the only way to be here since Cannes almost out-Hollywoods Hollywood during the festival). Dominik Moll’s “Lemming,� starring Charlotte Rampling was the festival opener. We, and by “we� I mean the some 4,000 members of the press and the thousands of onlookers gathered out front of the Palais, got our first looks at celebrities prancing up the red carpet during the opening ceremony.
The lineup for the festival this year is packed with past Palme d’or (or Golden Palm�the festival’s top prize) winners. David Cronenberg, Gus Van Sant, Lars von Trier, Jim Jarmusch, Atom Egoyan, and Tommy Lee Jones (with his directorial debut) all have films in competition. Out of competition there’s Woody Allen’s “Match Point,� “Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang,� with Val Kilmer and Robert Downey, Jr., and the highly anticipated final installment of “Star Wars,� making it’s world premiere here on Sunday.
Plenty to look forward to�so, let the games begin.
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