May 19, 2008Cannes Day Five -- Indiana Jones ArrivesIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull -- Sure, thecineastes who come to Cannes love high art.</p><p> But except forGodard, we all like pure fun too.</p><p> And though George Lucas isconvinced critics have the long knives out for Indy (maybebecause his last three "Star Wars" movies were so awful fanstook it personally), the truth is that everyone is very excited forthe new Indiana Jones movie.</p><p> Why not? I don't know if I'veever met a movie buff who didn't think "Raiders of the LostArk" was a genuine classic.</p><p> So we get in line an hour early andI'm scared that if I stumble I'll get crushed under the crowd.Everyone is pushing and shoving to get into the Lumiere and Imake it, but it sure ain't comfortable.</p><p> And the movie doesn'tsuck! It's not actually good and I can never love any film thatincludes not one, not two, but three reaction shots from a mole.(Or a mole-like creature of some sort.</p><p> Anyway, it looked like thething from "Caddyshack.") There are a zillion reviews out thereso I won't bore you here.</p><p> It's painless if you're a fan, butnothing to draw in newcomers.</p><p> That should leave it with amodest $750 million worldwide gross (at least) with more onDVD.</p><p> I think they'll be fine and there will be an Indy V withShia LaBeouf apparently taking the lead and Ford stepping intothe mentor-like role briefly held by Sean Connery.El Dorado -- After a day of preparing for Indiana Jones andseeing Indiana Jones and going to the press conference forIndiana Jones and not getting into the press conference forIndiana Jones and standing by a monitor and TAPING thepress conference of Indiana Jones and then rushing home andwriting about Indiana Jones for other outlets, I decided it wastime to see something else.</p><p> I was going to have a sit-downdinner for a change, but took a chance on "El Dorado" at theseparate Director's Fortnight event at the last minute.</p><p> Thankgoodness.</p><p> This is the find of the fest so far for me -- athoroughly distinctive, charming road movie from Belgium.</p><p> ItVisit our other sitesAdvocate.comOut.comOutTraveler.comPopnographyAdvocate GenQMr SardonicAdvocate InsiderOut.com StyleListHereTV.comGayWired.comAdvertisement CategoriesBingham Cup 2008BooksCannes 2008Cannes Film FestivalCelebsCoachellaComic-Con 2007Current AffairsFashionFilmAdvocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/2008/05/cannes-day-five.html 1 of 37/22/09 4:18 PMwas written and directed by and stars Bouli Lanners, aheavy-set fellow who would make a good bear and -- I think --has previously been best known for his novels.</p><p> I think.</p><p> Anyway,he's a natural here.</p><p> Lanners plays a man living in thecountryside who restores American cars and then sells them tocollectors.</p><p> He comes home to a burglar, traps the kid under abed and then they have a lengthy stand-off that hilariously goeson for hours.</p><p> Ultimately, Lanners agrees to drop the kid off at acrossroads.</p><p> Hours later, the kid is still there and Lanners agreesto drive him to the border near France so the kid -- a junkie --can meet up with his parents.</p><p> It's hard to get across the quirkycharm of this film, which has its own internal rhythms.</p><p> WhenLanners is arguing about a car he's selling (the man thinkingabout it says the car isn't "competition ready," Lanners sayswhat does that phrase mean? "That it's ready for competition.""Well, this is ready for competition." "No it isn't." "Yes it is.""No.' "Yes. "No!" [long pause] "Yes!" "No." And on and on for afew more minutes with hilarious changes in rhythm andemphasis.</p><p> The film becomes a road movie, with the two men ofcourse becoming closer and having some oddball adventures,like getting drunk with a man who collects cars involved in autofatalities, being stranded in an abandoned field of RVs, beingrscued by a naked old man, having a dog crash onto their roofand so on.</p><p> What's lovely is how it's all so grounded in natural,but funny dialogue and characters.</p><p> The thief's father will havenothing to do with him giving the tale an unexpected weight.And even the finale is quite bittersweet and unexpected.</p><p> Ibelieve this is the film debut of Lanners and it's a gem.Acne -- On the other hand, Acne is a typical coming of age tale.Sure, it's about a 13 year old Jewish boy in Uruguay who hasalready been to a brothel but is naturally obsessed withachieving his first real kiss.</p><p> But been there, done that.</p><p> Despitethe relatively exotic setting, this is nothing new, though the leadboy is appealing and holds the screen.</p><p> Awkward transitions anda bizarre twist don't help, though the divorce of his parents ishandled in a subtle, admirable manner.</p><p> But the shiksa girl ofhis dreams is clearly out of our hero's reach, just as turning thisstandard story into something unique is beyond thefilmmaker's.Posted at 12:38 AM in Cannes 2008 | PermalinkTrackBackTrackBack URL for this entry:http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341ca4b653ef00e5525562e68834Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Cannes Day Five --Film FestivalsFood and DrinkIowa Caucus 2008LesbianMusicOutfest 2008PartiesPoliticsProvincetown Film Festival 2008Queen Mary 2 Historic CrossingReligionScienceSexSportsSydney Mardi Gras 2008Taylor Hanson for The AdvocateTelevisionThe DinahThe HRC Logo ForumThe L WordTheaterTravelRecent PostsMTV Video Music Awards...</p><p> Cheap, Or What?Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles: 30 Years YoungEric McCormack Auctions Off Porsche for ProjectAngel FoodWhat is the Advocate Insider? On 90210!OUTFEST REVIEW: Another Gay SequelAwards Night: Miniskirts, Musicals, and Mama"Sordid Lives" Screens to a Sold-Out CrowdOUTFEST REVIEW: The World UnseenOUTFEST REVIEW: The Lost CoastOUTFEST REVIEW: Eleven MinutesRecent Commentscelebrity picture on OUTFEST REVIEW: The LostCoastvimax on Awards Night: Miniskirts, Musicals, andMamapenis enlargement pills on Michael Guest is all smilespenis enlargement on Michael Guest is all smilespenis enlargement on Amman SegregatesLou on Cruise programming we missed...michaelj72 on "XXY" -- Another Terrific Queer FilmAt Cannesvigrx on Awards Night: Miniskirts, Musicals, andMamaAdvocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/2008/05/cannes-day-five.html 2 of 37/22/09 4:18 PMIndiana Jones Arrives:Commentsfor some reason i keep thinking Cate Blanchett will be speakingEnglish with a German accent in the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull...even though she's supposed to be RussianPosted by: patrick | May 21, 2008 at 09:54 PMWell, certainly the villains are pretty interchangeable.</p><p> In earlier films,Indy has sighed, "Nazis." This time, he says, "Russians!" and theaudience laughs.</p><p> Cate Blanchett hung her head at a press conferencewhen a Russian reporter started to ask a question and said, "I'd like toapologize in advance to the entire Russian populace" for hercartoonish accent.Posted by: Michael Giltz | May 24, 2008 at 11:28 AMVerify your CommentPreviewing your CommentPosted by: | This is only a preview.</p><p> Your comment has not yet been posted.</p><p> Post Edit Your comment could not be posted.</p><p> Error type:Your comment has been posted.</p><p> Post another commentThe letters and numbers you entered did not match the image.Please try again.As a final step before posting your comment, enter the lettersand numbers you see in the image below.</p><p> This preventsautomated programs from posting comments.Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.</p><p> Continue Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Community Guidelines |Legal NoticeAdvocate.com © 2008 Regent Entertainment Media Inc.</p><p> AllRights Reserved.vimax on Awards Night: Miniskirts, Musicals, andMamaomar on Amman SegregatesArchivesSeptember 2008July 2008June 2008May 2008April 2008March 2008February 2008January 2008December 2007November 2007September 2008SunMonTueWedThuFriSat 123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930 Subscribe to this blog's feedAdvocate Insiderhttp://www.advocateinsider.com/2008/05/cannes-day-five.html 3 of 37/22/09 4:18 PM
