1.
2010 Cannes Film Festival
–
The 63rd annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 12 to 23 May 2010, in Cannes, France. The Cannes Film Festival, hailed as being one of the most recognized and it consists of having films screened in and out of competition during the festival, films screened in competition compete for the Palme dOr award. The award in 2010 was won by Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and this was determined by the festivals jury members who reviewed films screened in competition. Other categories for films screened in competition that have their own separate juries for awards are for Short Films. Ridley Scotts Robin Hood opened the festival and Julie Bertuccellis The Tree was the closing film, the full film lineup for the festival was announced on 15 April 2010. Agence France-Presse, Reuters, Associated Press and Getty TV boycotted the conference that announced the line-up for the festival. In a press release, the said that they may be forced to suspend their presence at the festival altogether if an agreement was not reached. The Palme dOr was won by the Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul and it was the first time that an Asian movie won the award since 1997. Tim Burton, chairman of the jury determined the award, stated about its decision, You always want to be surprised by films. French film Of Gods and Men was the runner up, the Xavier Beauvois-directed film had been considered a favourite for the Palme dOr along with Mike Leighs Another Year. During the ceremony special attention was paid to Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi in hopes of increasing pressure on the Iranian government to release Panahi from jail. The following films competed for the Palme dOr, the following films were screened in the Un Certain Regard category. The following films were out of competition. The following films were shown as special screenings, the following films competed for the Short Film Palme dOr. About disabled Kinshasa street musicians Staff Benda Bilili had its premiere at the festival, with the group in attendance
2.
Johnny Hallyday
–
Johnny Hallyday is a French singer and actor. He has been called the French Elvis and he was married for 15 years to popular Bulgarian-French singer Sylvie Vartan and the two were considered a golden couple for 20 years. Hallyday has completed 181 tours, had 18 platinum albums, and has more than 80 million records worldwide. Hallyday remains largely unknown outside of the Francophone world, thus earning the nickname the biggest rock star youve never heard of in English-speaking countries, nevertheless, at an international level he is still considered as the only non-Anglophone rock musician having a large international reputation. He was made Chevalier of the Légion dhonneur in 1997, Hallydays father, Léon Smet, was Belgian, his mother, Huguette Clerc, was French. Johnny was raised by Desta and Lee from a young age. Johnny was always loyal to Lee and secured him a permanent job as a producer and A&R man with his label, Philips Records until Lees retirement. Influenced by Elvis Presley and the 1950s rock n roll revolution, Hallyday became famous in the 1960s for singing rock and his debut single, Laisse les filles was released on the Vogue label in March 1960. His first album, Hello Johnny, was released in 1960, in 1961 his cover of Lets Twist Again sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. It topped almost every European chart, although the track did not appear in the UK Singles Chart and he appeared on the American The Ed Sullivan Show with American singing star Connie Francis in a show that was taped at the Moulin Rouge nightclub in Paris. He also staged many appearances in the Paris Olympia under the management of the late Bruno Coquatrix, for their first concert, The Jimi Hendrix Experience opened for Johnny Hallyday in Évreux on 13 October 1966. Black-and-white footage, also from October 1966, exists of Hallyday partying with Hendrix, his manager Chas Chandler, there also is a widely published monochrome photograph of Hallyday walking somewhere in Paris in late May 1966 with Bob Dylan. At the end of the 1960s, Hallyday made a string of albums with Mick Jones and Tommy Brown as musical directors, on Je suis né dans la rue, Hallyday also hired both Peter Frampton and the Small Faces. Amongst their contributions are the songs Amen, Reclamation, and Regarde Pour Moi, often forgotten is Hallydays non-LP single and EP track Que Je Taime from the same sessions. By 1969 alone, his sales of records exceeded twelve million, one of Hallydays later concerts, 100% Johnny, Live à La Tour Eiffel in 2000, attracted an audience of 500,000 and 9.5 million television viewers. In December 2005, Hallyday had his third single in France, Mon Plus Beau Noël. Shortly before announcing his retirement from touring, he released an album, Le Cœur dun homme. The album hit No.1 in both France and French-speaking Belgium and his next album, Ça ne finira jamais, released in 2008, another No.1 on the French album chart, and its lead single, Ça nfinira jamais, also reached No.1
3.
Legion of Honour
–
The Legion of Honour, full name National Order of the Legion of Honour, is the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits, established 1802 by Napoléon Bonaparte. The order is divided into five degrees of increasing distinction, Chevalier, Officier, Commandeur, Grand Officier and Grand-Croix. The orders motto is Honneur et Patrie and its seat is the Palais de la Légion dHonneur next to the Musée dOrsay, in the French Revolution, all French orders of chivalry were abolished, and replaced with Weapons of Honour. The Légion however did use the organization of old French orders of chivalry, the badges of the legion also bear a resemblance to the Ordre de Saint-Louis, which also used a red ribbon. Napoleon originally created this to ensure political loyalty, the organization would be used as a facade to give political favours, gifts, and concessions. The Légion was loosely patterned after a Roman legion, with legionaries, officers, commanders, regional cohorts, the highest rank was not a grand cross but a Grand Aigle, a rank that wore all the insignia common to grand crosses. The members were paid, the highest of them extremely generously,5,000 francs to an officier,2,000 francs to a commandeur,1,000 francs to an officier,250 francs to a légionnaire. Napoleon famously declared, You call these baubles, well, it is with baubles that men are led, do you think that you would be able to make men fight by reasoning. That is good only for the scholar in his study, the soldier needs glory, distinctions, rewards. This has been quoted as It is with such baubles that men are led. The order was the first modern order of merit, under the monarchy, such orders were often limited to Roman Catholics, and all knights had to be noblemen. The military decorations were the perks of the officers, the Légion, however, was open to men of all ranks and professions—only merit or bravery counted. The new legionnaire had to be sworn in the Légion and it is noteworthy that all previous orders were crosses or shared a clear Christian background, whereas the Légion is a secular institution. The jewel of the Légion has five arms, in a decree issued on the 10 Pluviôse XIII, a grand decoration was instituted. This decoration, a cross on a sash and a silver star with an eagle, symbol of the Napoleonic Empire, became known as the Grand Aigle. After Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French in 1804 and established the Napoleonic nobility in 1808, the title was made hereditary after three generations of grantees. Napoleon had dispensed 15 golden collars of the legion among his family and this collar was abolished in 1815. The Légion dhonneur was prominent and visible in the French Empire, the Emperor always wore it and the fashion of the time allowed for decorations to be worn most of the time
4.
Normandy
–
Normandy is one of the regions of France, roughly corresponding to the historical Duchy of Normandy. Administratively, Normandy is divided into five departments, Calvados, Eure, Manche, Orne and it covers 30,627 km², forming roughly 5% of the territory of France. Its population of 3.37 million accounts for around 5% of the population of France, Normans is the name given to the inhabitants of Normandy, and the region is the homeland of the Norman language. The historical region of Normandy comprised the region of Normandy, as well as small areas now part of the départements, or departments of Mayenne. For a century and a following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, Normandy and England were linked by Norman. Archaeological finds, such as paintings, prove that humans were present in the region in prehistoric times. Celts invaded Normandy in successive waves from the 4th to the 3rd century BC, when Julius Caesar invaded Gaul, there were nine different Celtic tribes living in Normandy. The Romanisation of Normandy was achieved by the methods, Roman roads. Classicists have knowledge of many Gallo-Roman villas in Normandy, in the late 3rd century, barbarian raids devastated Normandy. Coastal settlements were raided by Saxon pirates, Christianity also began to enter the area during this period. In 406, Germanic tribes began invading from the east, while the Saxons subjugated the Norman coast, the Roman Emperor withdrew from most of Normandy. As early as 487, the area between the River Somme and the River Loire came under the control of the Frankish lord Clovis, the Vikings started to raid the Seine Valley during the middle of the 9th century. As early as 841, a Viking fleet appeared at the mouth of the Seine, after attacking and destroying monasteries, including one at Jumièges, they took advantage of the power vacuum created by the disintegration of Charlemagnes empire to take northern France. The fiefdom of Normandy was created for the Norwegian Viking leader Hrólfr Ragnvaldsson, Rollo had besieged Paris but in 911 entered vassalage to the king of the West Franks, Charles the Simple, through the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. In exchange for his homage and fealty, Rollo legally gained the territory which he, the name Normandy reflects Rollos Viking origins. The descendants of Rollo and his followers adopted the local Gallo-Romance language and they became the Normans – a Norman-speaking mixture of Saxons and indigenous Franks and Celts. Besides the Norman conquest of England and the subsequent conquests of Wales and Ireland, Norman families, such as that of Tancred of Hauteville, Rainulf Drengot and Guimond de Moulins played important parts in the Norman conquest of southern Italy and Crusades. They also carved out a place for themselves and their descendants in the Crusader states of Asia Minor, the 14th century Norman explorer Jean de Béthencourt established a kingdom in the Canary Islands
5.
Venice Film Festival
–
The film festival is part of the Venice Biennale, which was founded by the Venetian City Council in 1895. The film festival has taken place in late August or early September on the island of the Lido, Venice. Screenings take place in the historic Palazzo del Cinema on the Lungomare Marconi, since its inception the Venice Film Festival has grown into one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world. The 74th Venice International Film Festival is scheduled to be held from 30 August to 9 September 2017, the first edition of the Venice Film Festival was carried out from the 6 to the 21 of August in 1932. The festival began with an idea of the president of the Venice Biennale Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata and Luciano De Feo, with good reason, the festival was considered the first international event of its type, receiving strong support from authorities. This first edition was held on the terrace of the Hotel Excelsior on the Venice Lido, and at that stage it was not a competitive event. The very first film to be shown in the history of the Festival was Rouben Mamoulians Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the second edition was held two years later, from 1 to 20 of August in 1934. For the first time it included a competition, at least 19 countries took part with over 300 accredited journalists. The Mussolini Cup was introduced for best foreign film and best Italian film, other awards were the Great Gold Medals of the National Fascist Association for Entertainment to best actor and actress. The prize for best foreign film went to Robert J. Flahertys Man of Aran and was a confirmation of the taste of the time for auteur documentaries, starting in 1935, the Festival became a yearly event under the direction of Ottavio Croze. The actors award was renamed Volpi Cup, in 1936 an international jury was nominated for the first time and in 1937 the new Cinema Palace, designed by the architect Luigi Quagliata, was inaugurated. The 1940s represent one of the most difficult moments for the review, the conclusion of the Second World War divides the decade in two. Before 1938 political pressures distorted and ruined the festival, in addition, few countries participated and there was an absolute monopoly of institutions and directors that were members of the Rome-Berlin Axis. The festival resumed full speed in 1946, after the war, with the return of normalcy, Venice once again became a great icon of the film world. In 1947 the festival was held at the Doges Palace, a most magnificent backdrop for hosting a record 90 thousand participants, surely it can be considered one of the greatest editions in the history of the festival. For the next twenty years the festival continued its development and expansion in accordance with the plan set in motion after the war. In 1963 the winds of change blow strongly during Luigi Chiarini’s directorship of the festival, during the years of his presidency, Chiarini aspired to renew the spirit and the structures of the festival, pushing for a total reorganization of the entire system. The social and political unrest of 1968 had strong repercussions on the Venice Bienniale, from 1969 to 1979 no prizes were awarded and the festival returned to the non-competitiveness of the first edition
6.
Steven Spielberg
–
Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE, OMRI is an American director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the pioneers of the New Hollywood era. He is also one of the co-founders of DreamWorks Studios, in a career spanning more than four decades, Spielbergs films have spanned many themes and genres. His other films include Jurassic Park, A. I, artificial Intelligence, and War of the Worlds. Spielberg won the Academy Award for Best Director for Schindlers List and Saving Private Ryan, three of Spielbergs films—Jaws, E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Jurassic Park—achieved box office records, originated and came to epitomize the blockbuster film. The unadjusted gross of all Spielberg-directed films exceeds $9 billion worldwide and his personal net worth is estimated to be more than $3 billion. Spielberg was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to an Orthodox Jewish family and his mother, Leah Posner, was a restaurateur and concert pianist, and his father, Arnold Spielberg, was an electrical engineer involved in the development of computers. His paternal grandparents were immigrants from Ukraine who settled in Cincinnati in the first decade of the 1900s, in 1950, his family moved to Haddon Township, New Jersey when his father took a job with RCA. Three years later, the moved to Phoenix, Arizona. Spielberg attended Hebrew school from 1953 to 1957, in classes taught by Rabbi Albert L. Lewis, as a child, Spielberg faced difficulty reconciling being an Orthodox Jew with the perception of him by other children he played with. It isnt something I enjoy admitting, he said, but when I was seven, eight, nine years old, God forgive me. I was embarrassed by the perception of my parents Jewish practices. I was never really ashamed to be Jewish, but I was uneasy at times, Spielberg also said he suffered from acts of anti-Semitic prejudice and bullying, In high school, I got smacked and kicked around. His first home movie was of a wreck involving his toy Lionel trains. Throughout his early teens, and after entering school, Spielberg continued to make amateur 8 mm adventure films. In 1958, he became a Boy Scout and fulfilled a requirement for the merit badge by making a nine-minute 8 mm film entitled The Last Gunfight. Years later, Spielberg recalled to an interviewer, My dads still-camera was broken. He said yes, and I got an idea to do a Western, I made it and got my merit badge
7.
Jean-Luc Godard
–
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement La Nouvelle Vague, as a result of such argument, he and like-minded critics started to make their own films. Many of Godards films challenge the conventions of traditional Hollywood in addition to French cinema, along with showing knowledge of film history through homages and references, several of his films expressed his political views, he was an avid reader of existential and Marxist philosophy. Since the New Wave, his politics have been less radical and his recent films are about representation and human conflict from a humanist. In a 2002 Sight & Sound poll, Godard ranked third in the critics top-ten directors of all time and he is said to have created one of the largest bodies of critical analysis of any filmmaker since the mid-twentieth century. He and his work have been central to narrative theory and have challenged both commercial narrative cinema norms and film criticisms vocabulary, in 2010, Godard was awarded an Academy Honorary Award, but did not attend the award ceremony. Jean-Luc Godard was born on 3 December 1930 in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, the son of Odile and Paul Godard and his wealthy parents came from Protestant families of Franco–Swiss descent, and his mother was the daughter of Julien Monod, a founder of the Banque Paribas. She was the great-granddaughter of theologian Adolphe Monod, relatives on his mothers side include also composer Jacques-Louis Monod, naturalist Théodore Monod and pastor Frédéric Monod. Four years after Jean-Lucs birth, his father moved the family to Switzerland, at the outbreak of the Second World War, Godard was in France and returned to Switzerland with difficulty. He spent most of the war in Switzerland, although his family made trips to his grandfathers estate on the French side of Lake Geneva. Godard attended school in Nyon, Switzerland, in 1946, he went to study at the Lycée Buffon in Paris and, through family connections, mixed with members of its cultural elite. He lodged with the writer Jean Schlumberger, having failed his baccalaureate exam in 1948 he returned to Switzerland. He studied in Lausanne and lived with his parents, whose marriage was breaking up and he spent time in Geneva also with a group that included another film fanatic, Roland Tolmatchoff, and the extreme rightist philosopher Jean Parvulesco. His older sister Rachel encouraged him to paint, which he did, after time spent at a boarding school in Thonon to prepare for the retest, which he passed, he returned to Paris in 1949. He registered for a certificate in anthropology at the University of Paris and he got involved with the young group of film critics at the ciné-clubs that started the New Wave. Godard originally held only French citizenship, then in 1953, he became a citizen of Gland, canton of Vaud, Switzerland, in Paris, in the Latin Quarter just prior to 1950, ciné-clubs were gaining prominence. Godard began attending these clubs - the Cinémathèque, the CCQL, Work and Culture ciné Club, at these clubs he met fellow film enthusiasts including Jacques Rivette, Claude Chabrol, and François Truffaut. Godard was part of a generation for whom cinema took on a special importance and he has said, In the 1950s cinema was as important as bread—but it isnt the case any more
8.
Catch Me If You Can
–
His primary crime was check fraud, he became so experienced that the FBI eventually turned to him for help in catching other check forgers. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, with Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, development for the film started in 1980 but did not progress until 1997 when the film rights to Abagnales book were sold to Spielbergs DreamWorks. David Fincher, Gore Verbinski, Lasse Hallström, Miloš Forman, filming took place from February to May 2002. The film was a financial and critical success, and the real Abagnale reacted positively to it, in 1963, teen-aged Frank Abagnale lives in New Rochelle, New York with his father Frank Abagnale, Sr. and French mother Paula. When Frank Sr. is denied a loan at Chase Manhattan Bank due to unknown difficulties with the IRS. Paula carries on an affair with Jack, a friend of her husband, meanwhile, Frank poses as a substitute teacher in his French class. Franks parents file for divorce, and Frank runs away, when he runs out of money, he begins relying on confidence scams to get by. Soon, Franks cons increase and he impersonates an airline pilot. He forges Pan Am payroll checks and succeeds in stealing over $2.8 million, meanwhile, Carl Hanratty, an FBI bank fraud agent, begins tracking Frank. Carl and Frank meet at a hotel, where Frank convinces Carl his name is Barry Allen of the Secret Service, Frank leaves, Carl angrily realizing a minute too late that he has been fooled. Later, at Christmas, Carl is still at work when Frank calls him, Carl rejects his apology and tells him he will soon be caught, but laughs when he realizes Frank actually called him because he has no one else to talk to. Frank hangs up, and Carl continues to investigate, suddenly realizing that the name Barry Allen is from the Flash comic books, Frank, meanwhile, has expanded his con to include the identities of a doctor and lawyer. While playing Dr. Frank Conners, he falls in love with Brenda, while asking her fathers permission to marry her, he admits the truth about himself and asks for help with the Louisiana State Bar exam. Carl tracks him to his engagement party and Frank is able to out a bedroom window minutes before Carl bursts in. Before leaving, Frank makes Brenda promise to him in Miami two days later so they can elope. Frank sees her waiting for him two days later, but also notices plainclothes agents waiting to arrest him, realizing he has set up. Seven months later, Carl shows his boss that Frank has been forging checks all over western Europe, when his boss refuses, Carl brings Franks checks to printing professionals who claim that the checks were printed in France. From an interview with Franks mother, Carl remembers that she was born in Montrichard
9.
Claude Chabrol
–
Claude Henri Jean Chabrol was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Chabrols career began with Le Beau Serge, inspired by Hitchcocks Shadow of a Doubt, thrillers became something of a trademark for Chabrol, with an approach characterized by a distanced objectivity. This is especially apparent in Les Biches, La Femme infidèle, and Le Boucher – all featuring Stéphane Audran, sometimes characterized as a mainstream New Wave director, Chabrol remained prolific and popular throughout his half-century career. In 1978, he cast Isabelle Huppert as the lead in Violette Nozière, on the strength of that effort, the pair went on to others including the successful Madame Bovary and La Cérémonie. Some of his films become almost private jokes, made to amuse himself. Claude Henri Jean Chabrol was born on 24 June 1930 to Yves Chabrol and Madeleine Delarbre in Sardent, France, Chabrol said that he always thought of himself as a country person, and never as a Parisian. Both Chabrols father and grandfather had been pharmacists, and Chabrol was expected to follow in the family business, but as a child, Chabrol was seized by the demon of cinema and ran a film club in a barn in Sardent between the ages of 12 and 14. At this time, he developed his passion for the genre, detective stories. After World War II, Chabrol moved to Paris to study pharmacology and literature at the Sorbonne, Some biographies also state that he briefly studied law and political science at the École Libre des Sciences Politiques. After graduating, Chabrol served his military service in the French Medical Corps, serving in Germany. Chabrol has claimed that while in the army he worked as a film projectionist, after he was discharged from the army, he joined his friends as a staff writer for Cahiers du Cinéma, who were challenging then-contemporary French films and championing the concept of Auteur theory. He also wrote for Arts magazine during this period, among Chabrols most famous articles were Little Themes, a study of genre films, and The Evolution of Detective Films. In 1956 he helped finance Jacques Rivettes short film Le coup du berger, unlike all of his future New Wave contemporaries, Chabrol never made short film nor did he work as an assistant on other directors work before making his feature film debut. In 1957 Chabrol and Eric Rohmer co-wrote Hitchcock, a study of the films made by director Alfred Hitchcock through the film The Wrong Man. Chabrol had interviewed Hitchcock with François Truffaut in 1954 on the set of To Catch a Thief, years later, when Chabrol and Truffaut had both become successful directors themselves, Hitchcock told Truffaut that he always thought of them when he saw ice cubes in a glass of whiskey. The most prolific of the major New Wave directors, Chabrol averaged almost one film a year from 1958 until his death. In the mid-sixties it was difficult for Chabrol to obtain financing for films so he made a series of commercial potboilers and spy spoofs, Chabrol had married Agnès Goute in 1952 and in 1957 his wife inherited a large sum of money from relatives. In December of that year Chabrol used the money to make his directorial debut with Le Beau Serge. Chabrol spent three months shooting in his hometown of Sardent using a crew and little known actors
10.
The Mouth Agape
–
The Mouth Agape is a 1974 French drama film directed by Maurice Pialat. It depicts, in a cinematic realist fashion, a woman going through an illness and also dealing with the tumorous lives of her husband. It was one of the least commercially successful of Pialats films and it was the third film of the ten that he directed before his death in January 2003. It is also known as The Gaping Mouth and The Gaping Maw, the film starts Monique Mélinand, Philippe Léotard, Hubert Deschamps, and Nathalie Baye in the main roles. Néstor Almendros, also known for the films Sophie’s Choice, The Blue Lagoon, the title is a poetic reference to the open mouth position sometimes found in corpses. A French anarchist-oriented news-magazine has the same name, so does a French alternative rock group. There is no relationship whatsoever between the three, Monique Mélinand portrays a woman in the late stages of terminal illness. Her son Philippe, Philippes wife Nathalie, and her husband Roger attempt to comfort her as she navigates through her ordeal, however, those two closest men in her personal life begin to get more involved in their relationships with multiple mistresses. Her husband flirts with customers in their clothing and haberdashery store while her son flirts with her nurses, the film incorporates elements of Mozart’s opera Così fan tutte to poetic effect, relating to these scenes. In the end scenes, she goes through several final, deeply emotional moments as the disease claims her life, la Gueule ouverte was one of the least commercially successful of Pilats films. Some critics have viewed the film as semi-autobiographical, and it was described as such in a Masters of Cinema re-release. Pialat’s mother died in the real place as the one depicted in the film. Critic Jonathan McCalmont of the arts website Ruthless Culture has labeled the film as one of Pilats most intrusive works, lack of sentimentality presents itself as a ruthless focus upon the present. This figure is probably in pain, or suffering some sort of physical or psychic decay. These are the sorts of things one rather chooses to ignore or forget and does not want to think about, end-of-life care Artistic realism French films of 1974 List of Masters of Cinema releases The Mouth Agape at the Internet Movie Database The Mouth Agape at AllMovie
