Cannes puts the focus back on filmmakers

Although the four American films selected for competition at next month’s Cannes International Film Festival represent the most from an individual country, selections reflect a shift back to auteurs with less of the glitz and controversy of 2004.

After a grueling selection process that involved screening more than 1,500 entries from 97 countries, “there were two bits of white smoke today,” festival artistic director Thierry Fremaux joked Tuesday. “A new pope was announced, and we announced the Cannes selection.”

“The more we look at nationality, the more complicated it is,” Fremaux said. “Overall, we hope to take a journey through the history and geography of cinema.”

Many Cannes habitues will mark return engagements, including Gus Van Sant, Jim Jarmusch, Lars von Trier, Wim Wenders, David Cronenberg and Amos Gitai. In all, nine films are English-language.

The 58th edition of the festival unfolds May 11 to May 22 in the French Riviera town. At the concurrent market, films are bought and sold, and financing comes together for movies that are only a gleam in filmmakers’ eyes.

George Lucas’ final “Star Wars” installment, “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith,” will screen out of competition on May 15, four days before it opens in the U.S. Shane Black’s “Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang,” starring Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr., will get an out-of-competition midnight showing. Another midnight event will screen 20 minutes of George Romero’s “Land of the Dead.” The closing film, Martha Fiennes’ “Chromophobia,” re-teams her brother Ralph with his “English Patient” costar, Kristin Scott Thomas. Woody Allen’s British-backed “Match Point” also screens out of competition.

Actor Tommy Lee Jones’ feature directorial debut, “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada,” will screen in competition and is the sole first effort among the batch, which makes Jones eligible for the Golden Camera award for first-time filmmakers. The film, produced by Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp., was written by Guillermo Arriaga of “Amores Perros” and “21 Grams” fame and costars Dwight Yoakam and Barry Pepper.

Three other American films to make the cut are Van Sant’s “Last Days,” Jarmusch’s “Broken Flowers” and Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s “Sin City.” Van Sant’s musical drama “Last Days” stars Michael Pitt as Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain.

The director is no stranger to Cannes, having picked up the Golden Palm (the festival’s top prize) in 2003 for “Elephant.” Jarmusch has been to Cannes six times. “Broken Flowers” is a comedy from Focus Features and France’s Bac Films starring Bill Murray, Chloe Sevigny and Tilda Swinton.

Bosnian director Emir Kusturica will preside over the main competition jury, and U.S. writer-director Alexander Payne heads the jury for the Un Certain Regard sidebar, but in a departure from tradition, organizers said they would not announce jury members until next week. Although last year’s American films included “Troy,” “Kill Bill Vol. 2,” “Fahrenheit 9/11” and “Shrek 2,” Fremaux said, “This year is a return to a sort of classicism. Last year allowed us to show the importance of documentaries and animation; this year there are more genre films.”

Canadian auteurs Cronenberg and Atom Egoyan have in competition “A History of Violence” and “Where the Truth Lies,” respectively. “History” stars Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris and William Hurt, who also has a film in the Un Certain Regard sidebar, James Marsh’s “The King.” Egoyan’s “Where the Truth Lies” stars Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth and Alison Lohman in a look into the world of showbiz journalism.

Mexico’s Carlos Reygadas will wear two hats at Cannes. His “Battle in Heaven” is in the main competition, and he is a producer on “Sangre” in Un Certain Regard.

Dominik Moll’s “Lemming” will open the competition. The French film starring Charlotte Rampling is the highly anticipated third effort from Moll, who last directed “With a Friend Like Harry,” a Cannes 2000 entry.

Danish filmmaker Von Trier, who is so afraid of flying that he drives all the way to Cannes, returns with the English-language “Manderlay” starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Lauren Bacall, Danny Glover and Willem Dafoe.

German filmmaker Wenders makes his eighth appearance at Cannes with “Don’t Come Knockin’,” a film shot in English and starring Jessica Lange, Sam Shepard and Tim Roth.

Belgian brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Cannes darlings following wins for “Rosetta” and “The Son,” are in competition again with “The Child.”

Michael Haneke will be on hand with “Hidden,” starring Isabelle Huppert and Pascal Greggory. The third French film in competition is “Peindre ou Faire L’Amour” from Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu.

Rounding out the European contenders is Marco Tullio Giordana’s “Once You’re Born You Can No Longer Hide,” a loose take on Rudyard Kipling’s “Captains Courageous.”

Israeli filmmaker Gitai’s “Free Zone” has secured a spot in the competition and stars Natalie Portman in a film that stirred up controversy earlier this year when a love scene was shot in front of Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall.

A film from Iraq, “Kilometre Zero,” also made the grade. Director Hiner Saleem’s previous effort, “Vodka Lemon,” was a festival favorite last year.

Four Asian films make up the rest of the pack: “The Best of Our Times” from Taiwan’s Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Johnny To’s “Election” and Wang Xiaoshuai’s “Shanghai Dreams” from China, and “Bashing” from Japan’s Masahiro Kobayashi.

Michael Moore’s win for “Fahrenheit 9/11” wasn’t last year’s only controversy. The festival was also plagued with disruptions by striking show business workers. This year tempers appear to have calmed.