All Hectic Things Cannes (and Do) Come to an End

I've got one last movie (p)review for you...

'Mud' (Jeff Nichols, 2012)
Two intrepid middle schoolers become go-betweens for Mud, an intriguing runaway, and his girlfriend, Juniper… who has come to the boys’ Alabama town at the same time as state troopers and bounty hunters seeking Mud.

Finally, something uplifting! 'Mud' is a focused, heartfelt, fairy-tale-ish story told in a refreshingly down-to-earth way. Matthew McConaughey, while not spellbinding, does a fine job as Mud... it's the boys who act their little hearts out: both are endearing and together make a fun, truthful duo. But the real hero here is the script. It’s well-plotted, full of likeable (yet still believable) characters, and it explores love with intelligence, sensitivity, and a childlike curiosity... and most importantly of all (to me), it's an original screenplay. So, no, 'Mud' doesn’t have the prestige picture qualities of 'Amour' [Love] (which won the Palme d’Or), or create a world as strikingly poetic as that of 'Beasts of the Southern Wild', but I think it just might be my favorite movie I’ve seen at Cannes. I highly recommend it.

. . .

I'm not quite sure what else I can say about the festival... Annie and I decided to end on a (rare) positive note, rather than going to see Mads Mikkelsen (the villain in 'Casino Royale') in 'The Hunt', which seemed very sobering (though he won the festival's best actor award for his part in it). I saw an even 20 movies in 11 days: all well-made, all for no admission price, most of them depressing, and all but one of them worth watching (that being 'Beyond the Hills', which OF COURSE won best actress awards and best screenplay... really made my blood boil).

A few words need perhaps be said of the awards... no big surprises, except that 'Holy Motors' and all of the American entries got snubbed. Here's the list:

BEST SCREENPLAY: Cristian Mungiu, 'Beyond the Hills' (grrr... 'Mud' totally deserved it more)
BEST ACTOR: Mads Mikkelsen, for his role in 'The Hunt'
BEST ACTRESS: Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur, for their roles in 'Beyond the Hills'
BEST DIRECTOR: Carlos Reygadas, for his direction of 'Post Tenebras Lux' (a Mexican film I didn't see)
CAMERA D'OR (Best Film by a New Director): 'Beasts of the Southern Wild', directed by Benh Zeitlin
JURY PRIZE (3rd place): 'The Angels' Share', directed by Ken Loach (a Scottish comedy about petty criminals trying to go straight by going into the whiskey business... got great reviews)
GRAND PRIX (2nd place... oh, France...): 'Reality', directed by Matteo Garrone
PALME D'OR (Best Picture): 'Amour', directed by Michael Haneke

. . .

So, that's the festival. And that's France. Next stop: Germany.