CANNES—When Michael Moore was anointed King of all Media at the Cannes Festival a year ago, the city fathers here were alarmed. What would happen if Americans, or fest goers, looked upon Cannes as a forum for political agitation?
Their fears were not realized, and, if anything, the presence of the bulky agitprop meister, or a reasonable facsimile, was missed at the festival this year. (The event ends this weekend). The program of films was respectable, if unexciting, and was dominated by the customary auteurs-of-the moment: David Cronenberg, Wim Wenders, et al. But there was a noticeable absence of the sort of controversy or debate, on which Cannes traditionally thrives.
The only ripples were stirred by Lars Von Trier, the noxious Dane, who turns out art films about America’s moral failings. (He has never been to the U.S.) The latest effusion of Von Trier, who once won a Palme D’Or, is titled Manderlay, after a song by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. It’s a turgid treatise about racism in the U.S., which was shot on a sound stage in Scandanavia. The film serves as a reminder that Von Trier could use a year at the UCLA Film School. “America is shitting on the world,” he proclaimed at a press conference of passive reporters, who seemed to be more interested in getting on with their next meal than taking issue.
Cannes, of course, also functions as a promotional platform and the chief beneficiary this year was George Lucas, who maintains a stalwart calm even as his fans worldwide receive his latest, and last Star Wars, with orgasmic glee. Early in his career, Cannes welcomed him warmly at a time when Hollywood’s power players were disdaining his work. (Universal released American Graffiti grudgingly, only to be astonished when it became one of history’s biggest sleeper hits).
This year, the silver-haired Lucas, surrounded by his children, was bedecked with medals and saluted in speeches. A billionaire many times over, the stoic Lucas now says he wants to turn his attention to directing art films – esoteric art films, at that – and hence in coming years may emerge yet again as a Cannes regular.
Harvey Weinstein is the true master of Cannes’ promotional possibilities. Having now been formally divorced from Disney and Michael Eisner, Weinstein was ubiquitous on the Croisette, closing acquisition deals for his new, still unnamed company. Surrounded by bankers from Goldman Sachs and various Euro funds, he exuded confidence that his new enterprise will be fully funded in the very near future. His rivals in the specialty film field are thus bracing themselves for another kind of New Wave - a Harvey New Wave.
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