Half-Way There, And Quite Predictable: A Report on the Cannes Competition, So Far

In a conversation that touched on Primo Levi, Dante, Proust and Kafka, Begnini robustly defended his decision to take on the subject of the Holocaust. "Comedy is perceived as a minor genre -- and this is not a farce about concentration camps. It's a tragedy presented by a comic. This is a comic making a tragic film." When asked how he felt about being in competition with Cannes' other Italian entry, Nanni Moretti's "Aprile", Begnini had only kind words. "It is an honor to be alongside Moretti," he said in his typically booming and buoyant voice. (Moretti's film, although well-received at the festival, is generally less personal than "Caro Diario", with an emphasis on local Italian politics and culture that doesn't translate well overseas). And when a few journalists continued to praise him for his movie, Begnini joked, "I can come back next year, if you like."

Meanwhile, critical opinion remains divided on the movies in competition and lukewarm overall, with Begnini's film receiving a mixed reception despite its defenders. The Hollywood Reporter considers "Dance Me to My Song" to be another "Shine" for any distributor willing to work hard enough in the U.S., while the frontrunner for the Palme D'or, as far as Variety is concerned, is "La Vie Revee des Anges", a pouty French drama about the friendship between two twentysomethings girls, from first-time director Erick Zonca. The third French film to premiere so far at the festival, "La Vie" was preceded the day before by "La Classe de Neige", Claude Miller's powerful drama about a little boy on a school ski trip who escapes into wild, nightmare fantasies as a way of emotionally dealing with an oppressive, overprotective father.

Returning to the Grand Palais for the first time since winning his second Palme d'Or last year for "The Eel" was Shohei Imamura, looking fit despite recent reports of failing health. He brought with him his new film, "Kenzo Sensei", about a country doctor battling hepatitis on a remote island town. Set in 1945, in the months between Hitler's suicide and the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the movie is a vibrant display from a filmmaker with four decades of experience under his belt and told with his unique blend of bawdy humor, outbursts of violence, poignant despair and magical epiphanies.

Monday the Variety Pavilion played host to "Financing Independent Film," the annual seminar organized by the Independent Feature Project and co-sponsored by Ernst and Young International. Moderated by producer Dolly Hall (represented at Cannes with her Director's Fortnight selection, Lisa Cholodenko's "High Art"), the lively 90-minute discussion covered topics that ranged from pulling together film financing to working with a distributor during production of a film. When asked what the most favorable elements are for packaging a movie, Lion's Gate Executive Vice President Jeff Sackman cracked, "Leonardo DiCaprio is a very favorable element right now." (Lion's Gate just spent $21 million to land the Titanic thesp's skills for its formerly low-budget "American Psycho"). And Ernst & Young's Declan O'Neill touted Ireland as a very favorable element for producers, since the country's tax incentives have caused a boom in low-budget filmmaking such as Neil Jordan's "The Butcher Boy".

Stratosphere's president Paul Cohen pointed out that producers should keep in mind the cost to distributors of prints and advertising when working with them to promote and release their films. "The cost of releasing a film, in the independent area, is usually 50% of its budget," he noted, and explained that there has to be a risk/release balance of how much people are willing to make back on the film. Mark Amin, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Trimark Pictures, though respectful of film budgets, steered the conversation away from hard figures. "The importance of budgets is highly exaggerated," he explained, and evoked films ranging from last decade's "sex, lies, and videotape" to last year's "The Full Monty". "Look at the history of independent film: they depend so much on character and dialogue." He even admitted that he didn't care so much about seeing a boom hanging in frame than watching an engaging story. "Forget about the money -- think of the integrity of the film."