Showing posts with label the road. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the road. Show all posts

Sunday, November 1, 2009

THE ROAD ***


To pretend that the Road is an upbeat film is a grave error of judgment that the Weinstein Company and the marketing behind the movie is trying to push because they are afraid that the movie will not find an audience. It is based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy which was a best-seller even though it was even darker than its movie adaptation. So, what is the problem? Money, box office results? Probably. The movie adaptation of the Road is a work of art, beautifully crafted and filmed, well acted, true to its original source and meaningful. It also carries a message of hope, redemption, compassion, resilience, all good things that prevent it to be a totally depressing movie. I personally find stupidity, shallowness and cheap sensationalism very depressing, more than a story of survival can ever be. Rather than trying to please an audience by following cheap marketing rules and regulations, maybe the producers should take a leap of faith with this one and let it be as it is. The director John Hillcoat is a brilliant director and he did a great job as did Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit McPhee. To my opinion Charlize Theron was a little displaced but she doesn't play a major part in the film. The Road tells the story of a father and son trying to survive in a world gone mad. In a certain way, they both succeed. Tell me it's depressing and I'll tell you about how depressing it is that people rush to the movies to watch a teenager torned apart between a plastic werewolf and a vegetarian vampire!

Prétendre que The Road est un film heureux est une grave erreur de jugement de la part de la Weinstein Company et le marketing derrière le film parce qu'ils ont peur qe le film ne trouve pas son public. Le film est basé sur le roman du même nom de Cormac mcCarthy qui est un best-seller et qui l'est devenu sans que la publicité pour le promouvoir ait eu à prétendre qu'il s'agissait d'un roman rose. Alors quel est le problème? L'argent bien sûr. The Road, le film, est une oeuvre d'art, une histoire importante et magnifiquement filmée, superbement interprêtée et fidèle à sa source. Il parle de survie, de compassion, d'espoir, toutes choses bien moins déprimantes à mon sens que le grand nombre d'inepties qu'on voit portées à l'écran. Plutôt que d'essayer de suivre les règles de marketing, peut-être qu'il faudrait tout simplement laisser le film trouver son audience, comme le livre l'a trouvée. Le réalisateur, John Hillcoat est brillant, les acteurs, Viggo Mortensen et Kodi Smit McPhee sont magnifiques. Charlize Theron ne semble pas trop à sa place mais elle ne fait que passer dans The Road. Le film raconte comment un père et son fils arrivent a survivre dans un monde devenu fou. D'une certaine façon, c'est bien moins déprimant que de voir une teenager courir après un loup-garou de plastoc et un vampire de supermarché, mais bon, c'est une question de goût!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Telluride Film festival live - Waiting for Viggo...


To cover a festival is a sad mix of “Marathon Man” and “Apocalypse Now” combined : I have caught more Q&A sessions than screening of films. I haven't seen the latest movie by Jason Reitman "Up in the air" with George Clooney but I have heard Jason Reitman talk about it : “It is really the success of Juno that has allowed me to make this movie with the actors of my choice. As Michael Haneke (the director of the White Ribbon) said yesterday, the casting of a movie is really 2/3 of the movie done." The film was well received here but less than Juno (at least in Telluride).
Many people were annoyed by the product placement : "It is true", said Reitman, "that American airlines has provided a lot of support for the film. As a matter of fact and if you are travelling on American Airlines in the next few months, you will be able to hear me talk on one of the inflight audio channels about the soundtrack of the film."

Waiting for Viggo and the team from The Road (and seeing the Roadblock coming my way!!!) I sat down in the sun to eat a bagel, seeing Daryl Hannah cruising around, Helen Mirren very regal and Jacques Audiard flanked by his two usual suspects from A Prophet, the magnificent Tahar Rahim and the screenwriter Thomas Bidegain.

The tribute to Viggo Mortensen started with excerpts from “Witness”, “The Indian Runner”, “A walk on the moon”, “GI Jane”, “Lord of the rings”, “History of violence” and “Eastern Promises”… followed by the screening of “The Road” beautifully directed by the Australian director John Hillcoat (charming and sharp) and adapted from Cormac McCarthy's best-seller.
Cormac Mc Carthy should also have been in Telluride but had to stay in New-Mexico in order to work on a new project with Tommy Lee Jones, according to Ken Burns, one of the regular at Telluride and a wonderful and internationally recognized director of documentaries. “The Road” had a strong welcome in Telluride among the public and it is indeed a magical film (the cinematography is stunning), almost black and white in colours. I have heard people fighting over "depressing" vs "not depressing"... it is not a depressing movie, unless you leave before the end and one should never do that! With a little bit of luck, I will close my "Tellurique" coverage with an interview with The Road trio, unless I manage to catch Werner Herzog and get an update about the state of the iguanas!

Pour la version française voir http://sotinel.blog.lemonde.fr/2009/09/