One of the strangest things about the festival has been feeling like I'm living in a fishbowl. I've been videotaped about 10 times since I've been at the cafe by random journalists, who for some reason believe their viewers will enjoy footage of the internet cafe.
I'm hoping to go to Blindness, Three Monkeys, Changeling, and, of course, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which is being shown out of competition, this week. I've put the descriptions of those films below; those available on IMDB aren't thorough enough.
Three Monkeys - dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkish)
"A family dislocated when small failings blow up into extravagant lies battles against the odds to stay together by covering up the truth... the family chooses to ignore the truth, not to see, hear it, or talk about it. But does playing 'three monkeys' invalidate the truth of its existence?" Just from the screenshots you can tell that it's been shot well, and I'm hoping that watching it will help me with my philosophy exam, which I'm petrified for.
Blindness - dir. Fernando Meirelles (Brazilian)
"A city is ravaged by an epidemic of instant 'white blindness'. Those first afflicted are quarantined by the authorities in an abandoned mental hospital where the newly created 'society of the blind' quickly breaks down. Criminals and the physically powerful prey upon the weak, hoarding the meager food rations and committing horrific acts." It's Lord of the Flies - but blind! Sounds interesting. The film is told from the perspective of the wife (Julianne Moore) of a blind man (Mark Ruffalo), who follows him into the quarantine, despite the fact that she herself is not blind.
Changeling - dir. Clint Eastwood (American)
"Lost Angeles, 1928: On a Saturday morning in a working-class suburb, Christine (Angelina Jolie) said goodbye to her son, Walter, and left for work. When she came home, she discovered he had vanished. A fruitless search ensues, and months later, a boy claiming to be the nine-year-old is returned . She knows he is not Walter." It doesn't sound that fascinating, but everyone here is buzzing about it, so I want to see what all the fuss is about.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (hors competition) - dir. need you ask?
"The newest Indiana Jones adventure begins in the desert Southwest in 1957 - the height of the Cold War. Indy and his sidekick Mac have barely escaped a close scrape with nefarious Soviet agents on a remote airfield. Now, Professor Jones has returned home to Marshall College - only to find things have gone from bad to worse. His close friend and dean of the college explains that Indy's recent activities have made him the object of suspicion, and that the government has put pressure on the university to fire him. On his way out of town, Indiana meets rebellious young Mutt (Shia Labeouf), who carries both a grudge and a proposition for the adventurous archaeologist: If he'll help Mutt on a mission with deeply personal stakes, Indy could very well make one of the most spectacular archaeological finds in history..."
I wanted to see Soderbergh's Che, but I'll be writing my English exam back in St Andrews during the screening. The ultralong film tries to explain why Che remains a symbol of idealism and heroism. I also want to see Synecdoche, New York, because it validates all the time I've spent memorizing relatively useless literary terms.
That's about everything half-interesting that's going on right now; I will be sure to write again tomorrow when the festival officially opens, and the entire city "goes completely insane", according to the cab driver that brought me here this morning. I'm thrilled that I could wander around the palais before the madness starts, the theatres are stunning!
Update: Pictures of the Palais
Inside the Palais, with the Marche du Film downstairs and the press stuff upstairs
Red carpet being set up
Grand Theatre Lumiere being set up for the opening ceremony
View from the top (of the press conference table)
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