MovieChat Forums > Visage (2009) Discussion > Has Cannes Changed?

Has Cannes Changed?

posted 15 years ago by jovos_suck123
10 replies | jump to latest

tsai is one of the favourite modern filmmakers (possibly even my favourite)

I was looking foreward to seeing this at Cannes (being the first time Ive ever seen Tsai film in a cinematic enviroment...and my first time at Cannes)

but something disturbed me

the film, I loved and I can assure any Tsai fan out there, this film does not push the audience any more than anything else he's done (nowhere near to that of Goodbye Dragon Inn or even Vive L'Amour)

So the film wasnt the reason for me being disturbed...but that of the audience in the theatre

Nearly everyone I spoke to before going into to see the film had never even seen A Tsai film before...or were even familiar with much of Taiwanese cinema (even the somewhat popular Hou Hsiao-Hsien seemed unheard of...and Edward Yang was a "Edward what?")

This was my fist time at Cannes so I was very shocked to notice whilst watching the movie the amount of "huffs" "talking" and even people walking out

It really killed the experience for me (despite liking the film very much)

After the film I only met a handfull of people that actually liked it (Obv I didnt speak to everyone)...and most of them were Tsai fans previously...and most of them seemed very annoyed

"Cannes has tunred into the poor mans oscars!" was something I heard from one person

This was my first time at Cannes...so I dont really have a valid opinion

but it made me a little worried about contemporary "film festival" audiences!

and seeing as how well Vive L'Amour did with film festival audiences in 1995 (even winning the golden lion at the Venice Film Festival)...has there been a rapid change in audiences mind sets?

I was speaking to someone the other day that said "Cannes was always crap, it was never Venice or Berlin"

Again im not qualified to have a substantial opinion....but..

anyone got any thoughts on this topic?

[–] davidevoid 15 years ago

Finally! Someone who can report from the 'inside'! hahaha! I've been trying to find someone who has seen all of Tsai's films up to this point (like myself) and has also seen Face (unlike myself sadly)... and here you are!

Obviously you can't talk for everyone who was at Cannes, there will be some Tsai fans there, but sadly it's still a rather rare occurance to find someone who has really followed him... How can you go to Cannes and not have heard of Edward Yang!? hahaha oh well.

'This was my fist time at Cannes so I was very shocked to notice whilst watching the movie the amount of "huffs" "talking" and even people walking out'

- read the previous subjects on the discussion board and be a bit more shocked...

'It really killed the experience for me (despite liking the film very much'

- i can imagine, it'd piss me off a little...

The film has recieved, mostly, a very hostile reaction, i can't wait to see the film myself just so i can say for certain that it's all just the audience and not the film that's the problem! (although it could also go the other way, it could be a blemish on Tsai's filmography) When this all pans out and has a full release we will be able to really get a good perspective and see if it is actually all that badly recieved.

'and seeing as how well Vive L'Amour did with film festival audiences in 1995 (even winning the golden lion at the Venice Film Festival)...has there been a rapid change in audiences mind sets?'

- I was thinking this, people complained alot about it being 'slow', 'boring', or 'too long'... did people say this with Goodbye Dragon Inn? Which is probably THE slowest of all his films, and that was only a few years ago... i know people complained about the end of Vive L'Amour... which seems bizarre to me now.

I hope this will be the first of many cinema experiences of Tsai's films for you (despite Cannes) I've seen the Wayward Cloud and I Don't Want To Sleep Alone at the cinema, both are hugely different in a cinema, would love to see The River and Goodbye Dragon Inn at the cinema... also although there was only 5 other people other than myself and my girlfriend for both screenings, i didn't get any bother from them... i think people at festivals just might be wanting 'The next big thing' and they didn't find it with Tsai, which they obviously wouldn't... i don't know if i'm making sense.

Please comment on the other posts, give your insight, keep the discussion going, thanks.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] davidevoid 15 years ago

These are some harsh words, i agree with you on Pedro and Gaspar, but i can't seem to see how this is related to Tsai's work.

'Tsai is now irrelevant like pedro almodovar'

Was Tsai ever 'relevant', a director’s job isn't to be 'relevant' so they can't be 'irrelevant'. Judging relevance is something that is massively subjective and you can't simply dismiss an artist's work as being 'irrelevant'. I've never been captured by the 'relevance' of Tsai as a director, i simply enjoy his films and how he works, i like how his mind works, it's very unique. This is not a case of relevancy. People weren't annoyed at the screening because they felt Tsai was now irrelevant, it has nothing to do with that... and as jovos_suck123 points out clearly, most people hadn't seen his films before, so they have nothing to contrast their opinions against if they were to say something like 'Tsai is now irrelevant'.

'he is as "avant-garde" and radical as gaspar noe is
meaning he is neither.'

Personally i don't feel Tsai's films have ever been avant-garde, and i don't think he sets out to make 'avant-garde' films either, this is not a bad thing, you suggest that not being avant-garde means his films are therefore defunct, but this is definitely not the case.

Again, radical is a silly word, going back to the start of your message, looking for something 'radical' is the same for look for 'the next big thing' (i.e. something new). You suggest that Tsai is now a bad director because his time has past, his films have become boring and tired, but this only proves that people DO look for 'the next big thing' in cinema as well as music. You don't like Tsai anymore simply because you don't think he's radical anymore, I find this very strange...

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] jovos_suck123 15 years ago

Tsai was never relevent ... The same with Ozu (if Ozu was ever relevent then he would not have been internaionally successfull decades after his death)

my point was a lot of the audience were not even familiar with Tsai's previous work

so how could they see the scaffolds and crutches?? if they never saw the new born that was his previous work??

in my opinion cinematic relevance is overrated...to limit films validity to what subjectivley seen as relavent will never do cinema any good

and "the next big thing" senario can be applied to ANYTHING!!

Anything that has social appeal

film like any other creative medium will always be subjective

Subjective appeal + social moderation = the possiblity of Fads

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] gyeoh2002 15 years ago

Thanks for sharing your experience. I too was wondering why Tsai's film, which I have not seen, was so poorly received. From what you have shared, it seems now that it might have to do with the audience.

I personally think that standards are going down. Audiences (critics included) want a film that tells a story--look at how they gave the second prize to a genre film ("Prophet"). I think it is best to stick to your own instincts and not depend too much on journalists whose don't have sympathy for more interesting films.

If Tarkovsky were to release *Mirror* at the festival, who knows if the auditorium would also have been half empty by the time the screening is finished. :)

[–] davidevoid 15 years ago

I think we just have to wait for it to be shown in less hostile environments! Yet again, why should Cannes seem like a hostile environment?? Fingers crossed it will play at London Film Festival in October, and another pair of fingers crossed that it will be released by Axiom Films...

I just hope that the negative responses to this film thus far don't knock it out of the running for a DVD release or a screening in more countries. I'd hate to think that people will miss a chance to see this film.

[–] hooper-xxx 14 years ago

I don't have anything to say specific to this film, but you are a member of "The Dumbest Generation." So, this sort of thing is to be expected, and will only increase as more literate older people die off.

[–] davidevoid 14 years ago

Why on earth did you post this totally pointless comment? You have nothing to say on the topic or the film, you don't even want to have a discussion. You seem to simply want to throw pointless abuse at a comment I written over a year ago on a film less than 300 people have rated. Why?