Cannes Film Festival 2009

This years 62nd annual Cannes Film Festival was a delight for film connoisseur's. With films from Austria, Spain, France, Denmark, Italy, and the United states, the festival was a grab bag of versatility as well as a visual landscape of different regions. Although the films were great, you could say the festival "was feeling the economic downturn" . Most producers, distributors, and overall people ready to buy and sell films were not there to be seen. Even the press was scarce, many T.V stations, magazines and newspapers claimed it was too expensive to send their staff. Although Cannes Film Festival was feeling down on the business aspect, the stars were there, and they were big. Stars like Brad Pitt appearing for Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds", and Penelope Cruz appearing for Pedro Almodovar's "Broken Embraces" drew plentiful crowds.

Taking home Le Palme D'or (Golden Palm Award) This year was German director Michael Haneke. His film "The White Ribbon" tells a story about a series of unexpected events that accour in a small protestant village in northern Germany. Critics say that it is a superb cinematic work. French director Jacques Audiard took home the Grand Prix award for his film "A Prophet" the story of a young Arab man who is sent to a french prison where he becomes a mafia kingpin. Critics rave that the raw intensity of the film will have you on the edge of your seat. Brillante Mendoza proved to be "brilliante" this year. The director from San Fernando, Philippines impressed everybody taking home best director for "Kinatay" a film about a criminology student who is offered a job by a shady friend, he finds himself working for a group of criminal gangsters. Although the film is very violent, it did not fall short of any awards. The "big buzz" this year can be blamed on nobody else but Quentin Tarantino. His new film "Inglorious Basterds" about a group of Jewish-American soldiers chosen to spread fear through the Third Reich by brutally killing Nazis created some controversy, some critics saying it was disrespectful to try and change history. Nevertheless Christoph Waltz picked up best actor, His performance in the film as a Nazi "Jew-hunter" was outstanding.

I think all of us look forward to next years festival. If you love movies, you love the Cannes Film Festival. If you are interested in learning more about the 2009 Cannes Film Festival follow this link. http://www.festival-cannes.com/