As the world's most reputed film festival unfolded over the last couple of weeks in Cannes, I conducted my own personal film festival, like previous years. I curated films that have won awards at Cannes over the last few decades and watched nine movies as part of this one-man film festival:
- Crimson Gold (2003/ Iran/ Jafar Panahi) Winner of Un Certain Regard Jury Prize. The film is a crime drama involving a pizza delivery man who increasingly gets attracted to the idea of quick money.
- Songs from the Second Floor (2000/ Sweden/ Roy Andersson) Winner of Jury Prize in the Main Competition category. This film is the first of the 'Living Trilogy' of exceptionally original comedies, followed by 'You, the Living' and 'A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence'.
- Gate of Hell (1953/ Japan/ Teinosuke Kinugasa) Winner of the Grand Prix, the top prize at that year's festival. It went on to win an Oscar for Costume Design and another Honorary Foreign Language Oscar. A period samurai story of obsessive love, reminded me of our very own 'Darr'!
- Scarecrow (1973/ USA/ Jerry Schatzberg) Winner of Palme d'Or and OCIC Award at Cannes. Discovering this movie was a big surprise. No one talks about this one, although it is so good at so many levels. It is a road-movie as a sailor and a con-man forge a beautiful friendship on their way back home.
- Fitzcarraldo (1982/ West Germany/ Werner Herzog) Winner of Best Director. Inspired by the true story of an Irish adventurer and his endeavors in South America, this film has an imposing scale and an incredible tale to tell.
- If.... (1969/ UK/ Lindsay Anderson) Winner of Palme d'Or. This British comedy-drama shows us the ridiculous tradition at play while running an apparently prestigious boys boarding school. Frequently jumping from color to b&w, with several surrealistic sequences and an explosive climax, I could figure why this film must have garnered acclaim. However, it was kind of tough for me to watch it.
- Post Tenebras Lux (2012/ Mexico-France/ Carlos Reygdas) Winner of Best Director. A film like this is essential to complete your movie experience. A slow-paced drama with some sequences so bizarre you don't even care if it had any meaning. But with brilliant cinematography, and natural effective performances, you know this is something special. For me, just the opening sequence was worth anything, and the shocker at the end that I won't tell you about made it really memorable.
- The Sugarland Express (1974/ USA/ Steven Spielberg) Winner of Best Screenplay. One of the lesser know Spielberg movies, its screenplay was co-written by Matthew Robbins, who wrote 'Saat Khoon Maaf' and 'Rangoon' with Vishal Bhardwaj. The movie is on the lines of 'Bonnie and Clyde' but has more comedic elements involving a massive chase of a crime couple, based on true incidents.
- The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005/ Romania/ Cristi Puiu) Winner of Un Certain Regard Award. Perhaps the perfect movie to close the festival. A drama set over a few hours of a night, it works almost like a thriller in the closing half an hour. And it looks so real it is hard to believe it is a movie.
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