Rendering №11

The article published on the website of the newspaper “The Guardian” on March 12, 2013 is headlined “The Great Gatsby to open Cannes 2013’'. The article reports at length that director Baz Luhrmann hails 'great honour' for his 3D film adaptation starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan. Speaking of this situation it is necessary to mention that Baz Luhrmann's much-anticipated 3D take on The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald's romantic tale of the gilded jazz age, is to open the Cannes film festival.

Speaking of this new fourth adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald's world famous novel it is necessary to mention its wonderful cast: Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role of Jay Gatsby, Spider-Man's Tobey Maguire as his wide-eyed confidant Nick Carraway and Britain's Carey Mulligan as manipulative socialite Daisy Buchanan. It is also an open secret that the drama will open the 66th Festival de Cannes out-of-competition on 15 May.

Speaking of the story itself, it is necessary to point out that “The Great Gatsby” chronicles the young, midwestern Carraway's entanglements with a wealthy circle of hedonistic east coast aristocrats, including the titular Jay Gatsby, the host of wild and lavish New York parties. While not popular upon its initial publication, the book went on to be recognised as one of the great American novels and a powerful celebration and indictment of the roaring twenties.

Analyzing the situation it is necessary to emphasize that prior to Luhrmann's film the most famous adaptation was Jack Clayton's Academy award-winning 1974 version, which was scripted by Francis Ford Coppola and starred Robert Redford, Mia Farrow and Sam Waterston. Besides, it is also a well-known fact that The Great Gatsby was previously filmed in the silent era in 1926 by Herbert Brenon, a version viewed as closest to the original text.

There is every likelihood that Luhrmann, DiCaprio, Maguire and Mulligan, along with Joel Edgerton (who plays Buchanan's husband Tom) will all be expected to appear on the red carpet. Moreover, there is much speculation that rapper Jay Z, who has scored the film, and Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, who appears on camera, would also be in attendance.

What is more, it’s very likely that “The Great Gatsby” will open across France on the same day it screens at Cannes; in the US on 10 May and the UK a week later. In addition, it will be the second 3D film to open Cannes following the Pixar animation “Up” in 2009.

The article concludes by saying that Cannes veteran Steven Spielberg was revealed as the surprise president of the jury for this year's festival last month. In this connection it is worthwhile mentioning the fact that like the US film-maker, Luhrmann is a regular on the Croisette, having screened “Strictly Ballroom” in the Un Certain Regard section in 1992 and “Moulin Rouge” as the opening film of the 2001 edition.

As for me, I’m thrilled to see this adaptation which promises to be magnificent and worth watching. It would be very interesting to compare my impressions since I’ve already read the original book on which the film is based. I hope that the movie will be faithful to the plot of the book without cutting any indispensable moments.

Film Review №3

"The Artist" (2011)

Cast: Jean Dujardin as George Valentin, Bérénice Bejo as Peppy Miller, Uggie as Jack (the dog), etc.

Director: Michel Hazanavicius

Synopsis: "The Artist" follows the lives of the famous silent movie star George Valentin and the novice actress Peppy Miller as they move in opposite directions.

Review:

The film occupies the period from 1927 to 1931 when silent movies are about to be replaced by talkies. A famous silent film star George Valentin is too proud to accept the new trend and as a result he is soon pushed aside as the cinema makes way for a new kind of star. Nevertheless, the novice actress Peppy Miller is ready to light the box office on fire, starring in the new talkie “The Beauty Spot”. Audiences fall in love with talking motion pictures and she's an instant hit. George's response is to try making a silent film on his own ("The Tears of Love"). However, in spite of his all attempts he fails. Moreover, his failure is combined with the stock market crash, leaving him sad, alone and forgotten. Nevertheless, Peppy, being deeply in love with him, finds ways to support George and make him believe in himself again.

"The Artist" is a beautiful film that pays homage to movies from the late 20's and early 30's, the silent film era. In order to do so, French director Michel Hazanavicius decided to make this film almost entirely without sound and in black and white. Michel Hazanavicius made a brilliant work at capturing the atmosphere, rhythm and texture of a mute cinema. It is necessary to mention that the direction displays such self-assurance, and treats the audience with such respect, that it is almost like having a dialogue with the director.

As for performances, Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo bring wonderful works, reaching that exact point of theatrical exaggeration and intimate detail the best actors from that period possessed. Jean Dujardin is really marvelous in his role. He has this perfect silent era charm about him and is such a great comic actor and emotionally charged actor. You can feel his pain and happiness where it is appropriate. Bérénice Bejo also has a great charm about her; she's weirdly beautiful and also a great actress. George’s dog Jack is one of the biggest forms of comic relief in the film. The way he plays dead and covers his head with his paws are always both presented in a fresh and funny way each time they're utilized. All of them performed really wonderful and managed to convey the atmosphere of those times and tell us almost a whole story without saying a single word. The supporting actors are also effective in their respective roles.

As for the musical score, it is an irreplaceable part of a silent movie and in “The Artist” it is perfect. So the music is subtle when it needs to be subtle, dramatic when the occasion calls for it, and never overbearing or overwrought. It's not overkill in the slightest. As for the screenplay, it is perfectly written and even some movie clichés end up in an unexpected twist. The camera-work is fantastic old school and really looks like that it was made in the 1920 - 30s. The set design, costumes and cars all feel authentic to the period to which this film refers.

All in all, “The Artist” is an absolute marvel - charming, witty, surprising, and moving, clever and beautiful. This is a glorious mixture of the old and the new and has great balance between light comedy, intense romance and at times dark drama. It is absolutely worthy of applause and awards and each person will find something interesting for them in it. The elder generation will have some nostalgic experience, while the modern one will receive an extraordinary and hugely entertaining lesson on the history of cinema. “The Artist” grips your heart and your attention and never really lets go. I highly recommend this film to anybody who loves cinema.

Rendering №10

The article published on the website Woman.ru on January 26, 2013 is headlined “Golden Eagle 2013: Who Got the Main Russian Cinema Award”. The article carries a lot of comment on the 11th Golden Eagle Award, its organization, guests and winners. Speaking of the ceremony it is necessary to note that the first pavilion of Mosfilm studio for the 11th time welcomed the guests of The Golden Eagle Award, among which the most renowned Russian actors, directors, writers and other professionals in the film industry, like Nikita Mihalkov, Irina Skobtseva, Olga Kabo, and Irina Rozanova were. It’s an open secret, that evening, as in previous years, while some of the stars were posing for photographers, the others talked about the movies, and when everyone took their seats the ceremony began.

Analyzing the situation, it is interesting to note that the main surprise of the evening was the choice of the pregnant Anna Snatkina and her husband Viktor Vasilyev as the ceremony’s hosts. Viktor, who by all appearances conducted such an event for the first time, stammered, confused words and apologized to the audience, and, moreover, by the middle of the ceremony his wife began to give her positions up too, which made Alena Babenko announce several nominations instead of Anna. Besides, it is necessary to point out that an interesting feature of the ceremony was an unusual presentation of movies, claiming the top prize in the category “The Best Film of the Year”. The audience was shown a video in which small children tried to say something about each of the films-nominees in their own words. Organizers of the ceremony managed to make these videos pretty funny and touching.

Giving appraisal of the situation, it’s necessary to note that Sergei Makovetsky, who performed in the TV series “The Case of Gastronome №1”, won in the nomination “The Best Man’s Role on the Television”, while Anna Mihalkova received the eagle statuette for her role in Rezo Gigineishvili’s “Love with a Focus”. Another Golden Eagle went to Victoria Tolstoganova who performed in “The Spy”. Victoria was touched by the fact that the Academy awarded her the prize, because it was her first eagle statuette for many years of nominations. Therefore, that evening as she did not expect to go home with a victory she was loss of words, because she had not prepared her acceptance speech in advance.

The article draws a conclusion that the most eagle statuettes went to “The Horde”, however, Karen Shakhnazarov’s “The White tiger” won the main prize. Thus, the film went around four competitors: “Soulless” by Roman Prygunov, “The Horde” by Andrew Proshkin, “The Spy” by Alexey Adrianov and Pyotr Buslov’s “Vysotsky. Thank You for Being Alive”. Besides, there is also a full list of The Golden Eagle Award winners in the article.

As for me, I think that The Golden Eagle Award is one of the most prominent award ceremonies in the Russian cinematograph. As for the categories, The Golden Eagle Award consists of 19 merit awards and 1 special award. As for merit awards, they are Best Feature Film, Best TV Movie or Mini-Series, Best TV Series, Best Documentation, Best Animated Feature Film, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Leading Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Debut Work of a Director, Best Cinematography, Best Foreign Language Film, etc. As for the special award, it is Lifetime Achievement. Moreover, having known the results of the ceremony, I want to watch all the films which took the main prizes.

Rendering №9

The article published on the website of the radio The Voice of Russia on January 15, 2013 is headlined “Debuts and premieres of Kustendorf”. The article reports at length that world-famous Serbian film director Emir Kusturica has again invited film-makers and musicians from many countries to his Kustendorf International Film and Music Festival due to be held between the 16th and the 22nd of January. Speaking of Kustendorf it is necessary to note that the site of the festival is the ethnic village of Drvengrad specially constructed by Kusturica for this purpose. Besides, it is necessary to point out that Russian film-makers have also been invited.

It’s an open secret that the festival is well-known for its informal atmosphere. Emir Kusturica likes to invite both talented youths and world music and film stars to give them an opportunity to talk to each other. He calls Drvengrad ‘creative space’. In this connection it is worthwhile mentioning the fact that it often happens that even student work is shown in Kustendorf which gives the young a chance to be noticed, for example, in 2011 Russian actress and director Sonia Karpunina was awarded the festival’s main prize, the Golden Egg, for her short film The Chance, and this year 27-year-old Sonia is Kusturica’s guest for the third time with her new full-length comedy Everything Is Easy.

It was revealed that this year’s Kustendorf festival will show two more Russian films made by Karpunina’s age-mates: Konstantin Smirnov who has made a film showing how people become football hooligans, and Denis Klebleyev’s film about truck drivers who deliver food for the residents of remote villages of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East.

In resolute terms the author makes it clear that Kusturica’s special attitude to Russia is common knowledge. It’s an open secret that he visits Russia almost every year. In this connection it is worthwhile mentioning that this year he invited Alexei Balabanov with his film Me Too to Kustendorf where Balabanov is considered the best film director. Speaking of this film it is interesting to note that Alexei Balabanov says that the film was meant to be made without professional actors from the very start. The people you see in the film are real people and 80% of the plot are true stories. There is no drama acting in the film, the people play themselves.

All in all, the article concludes by saying that both Balabanov and Kusturica’s message is to make films for the audience and not for the box-office. As for me, I think it is wonderful when there are such festivals like Kustendorf which gave an opportunity for young people to show their talents and creativity in making films and music. Moreover, it is for those young people who “believe film is not just a vulgar commercial expression, but the art that Fellini and Tarkovsky talked about, and in which Miloš Forman was one of the greats”. And that’s great.