From Mr. Beaver by Jodie Foster to Almost Blue by Alex Infascelli: streaming on Infinity+ you will find the best presented at the Cannes Film Festival.
May, spring gets into full swing, and the season of the great film festivals also gets into full swing. The first date? Obvious, the Cannes Film Festival. As you well know, we at Movieplayer we will follow him live, taking you to the center of a truly rich programme: from Martin Scorsese to Indiana Jones, from Marco Bellocchio with Kidnapped up to Wes Anderson and Disney Pixar animation by Elemental (discover here the 15 most anticipated films of Cannes 2023).
But what is the best way to enter the “climate” of a Festival? Simple: see or review the films that have marked its history. A ten-year journey, marked by great films and memorable Palme d’Or, by epochal films and works that, however, should be rediscovered. How to do it: by consulting the enormous video library made available by the streaming catalogues. Specifically, up Infinity+ find the Collection Croisette in Festival, which makes available to users numerous films awarded or presented at Cannes. We have chosen five, all different from each other. The Italian cinema of Vittorio De Sica, little gems to recover, and milestone films that have gone down in history. All, obviously, united by the valuable stamp of the Cannes Film Festival.
1. Mr. Beaver (2011)
Screenplay from black list and a low budget concept. The story is that of Walter, depressed and closed in on himself. Her contact with reality, and with his family, takes place through a puppet of a beaver, using her as a sort of bizarre intermediary. Presented out of competition at Cannes, a few days after its release in the USA, Mr. Beaver is a profound and unexpected digression that honestly addresses incommunicability and depression. Written by Kyle Killen, directed by Jodie Foster. Hero, Mel Gibson. With him Jennifer Lawrence, Foster herself and the unforgettable Anton Yelchin.
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2. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
A complex film in its making, little understood upon release. Despite this, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Of Terry GilliamOver time, it has acquired cult status. Also thanks to the planetary affirmation of Johnny Depphere paired with Benicio del Toro. A kitsch and hallucinatory film, based on the novel Fear and loathing in Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson, writer and journalist who is a close friend of Depp himself. In the film, with the score by Ray Cooper, we face the psychedelic journey of Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo, in an acrid Nevada hallucinated by drugs. In competition at the 51st Cannes Film Festival.
3. Miracle in Milan (1951)
“Good morning really means good morning”. One of the masterpieces in the history of cinema, able to inspire and influence Steven Spielberg for ET The Extraterrestrial. Victor De Sicabased on a screenplay by Cesare Zavattinibreaks the rules of Neorealism with Miracle in Milan, winning the 1951 Grand Prix du Festival. Based on the novel All the good by Zavattini, the film tells the story of little Totò, who goes from one orphanage to another, meeting bizarre characters and unfortunate figures. A film, at the time, which went close to 180 million lire, with the visual effects entrusted to the Americans. Still today, one of the manifestos of magical realism. Unforgettable.
4. Apocalypse Now (1979)
“I like the smell of napalm in the morning”. A phrase that has become legendary for Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1978. Starring the Vietnam War, the film inspired by Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, stages the subtle difference between rules and revolution, between madness and reason. Colonel Kurtz of Marlon Brando on one side, deserter, and Captain Willard of Martin Sheen, who has the task of tracking him down. There are several versions of the film, in addition to the original one: the Final Cut of 183 minutes and then Apocalypse Now Redux of 203 minutes, released in 2001. Two Oscars: a Victor Storaro for cinematography and best sound to Walter Murch.
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5. Almost Blue (2001)
A dazzling debut that of Alex Infascelliborrowing the homonymous song by Chet Baker for the title, which in turn inspired Carlo Lucarelli for the novel that inspired the film. Almost Blue, a hushed thriller in a nocturnal Bologna, was presented in 2001 at the International Critics’ Week in Cannes, tells of an inspector on the trail of a serial killer who, after killing his victims, takes on their personality. In the cast, Lorenza Indovina, Claudio Santamaria, Rolando Ravello and Andrea Di Stefano.
