BAD REVIEWS Cannes and ripped appart

People (critics) seem to be on the 'hate Sean Penn' bandwagon lately. Probably because of that El Chapo situation.

Who gives a *beep* what critics say? I'd rather watch a film and make my own decision.

Debra Morgan: "Goddamn pantyhose! Has anyone ever died from crotch asphyxiation?"

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Some of those tweets - f@cking WOW, man! http://www.indiewire.com/article/the-last-face-reviews-sean-penn-critics-torn-apart-twitter-cannes-2016-20160520

Now I feel that I must watch this ASAP; too bad it's for the wrong reasons tough.

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Stephane Celerier: THE LAST FACE massacré par la presse et ovationné par le public. Très fier de distribuer ce film fort & bouleversant

Google translate:THE LAST FACE massacred by the press and cheered by the public. Very proud to distribute this strong film & upsetting .

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I'm sure as hell gonna watch it and make my own. Also,from the reactions I've read, it's interesting how "normal" people seemed to love the film while critics hated it.

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The actor Zubin Cooper Chats About The Last Face and Working With Sean Penn.

(best answer to some critcs : Let’s be real, when the NGOs and humanitarians come to a crisis situation how many African faces do you see?)

FRONTPAGEAFRICA: Do you think the critics lost the movie’s message; it did get a lot of negative reviews at Cannes?

COOPER: You know I’ve seen the film and I will say this. The script had been in development before 2014 and years upon years and it has evolved. What I can honestly say is I can understand some of the criticisms about people wanting to see more African faces and this and that but come on! Let’s be real, when the NGOs and humanitarians come to a crisis situation how many African faces do you see? We are the drivers; we are the aides. Yeah, we are there but who’s in charge? When you’re evacuating, who’s in charge? It’s not the Liberians? Who’s being evacuated? Not the Africans, it’s not the Syrians, it’s the westerners, the Europeans, the Americans. They who are in the forefront of everything. In a crisis situation, right now if you turn on CNN, the first five people who they will interview will be Caucasians. So I understand their point but film is a reflection of reality and if you want to look deeply into it, they’re not saying they want more black faces, they want more African faces.

Charlize Theron is from South Africa so because she’s not black she’s not African now? I’m just looking at it that way. For me that’s just the basic criticism. They’re not saying that the plot is a terrible plot, it’s showing the great white hero. In film if you look at it so many times over and over again, you will see it. In the Last Airbender, one of the antagonist he is sort of a hero-villain, was supposed to be an Indian-type person.

So. it is a bit hypocritical if you ask me. If they talk of the film on its merits and demerits and say the plot is too contrived or the pacing or whatever they want to say, I can understand, that is the film on its merit. But if you want to look at it from a socio-politico point of view that Africans are in the background, we’re in the background already and we’re already there. So come on! And the director, the film is a reflection of reality. So it depends on which prism you’re looking at it. So we’re there, we’re trying to step up but to step up, the story, the mainstream media that is pushed, that narrative has to change.

source http://www.frontpageafricaonline.com/index.php/interview/877-zubin-cooper-chats-about-the-last-face-and-working-with-sean-penn

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Sean Penn - “The Last Face”

BRINTON BRYAN·MONDAY, MAY 23, 2016

I don't normally do stuff like this, but after 3 days of seeing my social media walls "trending" with incredibly negative reviews (and straight up slander) for Sean Penn's latest directorial effort "The Last Face" out of Cannes, I feel inclined to say something.
First off, to be completely transparent, I know Sean Penn and consider him a friend. I worked as an assistant director on "Into The Wild" with him 10 years ago and to this day, I can honestly say it was the greatest experience of my life. But secondly, I respect Sean Penn. As a man. As one of the greatest actors of our lifetime. As a filmmaker and storyteller. And as a leader. I've been given the privelage of working with some of the world's greatest directors; Spielberg, Eastwood, Linklator, Verbinski, Nolan, Burton, Clooney, Sorrentino, etc. but I can honestly say I learned more from Sean during my 9 months going into the wild with him than all of the others combined.
Sean Penn is not necessarily a visionary director. Much like the roles he plays as an actor, Sean dives in to human stories. He's a deeply personal and passionate man who treads the line of human tragedy, but always shows us the beauty torment and hardships can enlighten our lives with. He's never going to direct a high concept film that begins with "an astroid is coming towards the Earth and we have 24 hours to save it...". He wants us to see things and feel things we can relate to. Even though they may be extreme. He shows us how to understand people who make decisions we could never fathom making for ourselves. The choices he makes as an artist are methodical and straight up brave. I know we'd all be better artist if we chose our projects under the mantra, "What Would Sean Do?"
I haven't seen "The Last Face". But I'm dying to. And even more so now that it has been raped by the critics and the arguably pretentious Cannes audience.
Remember "Taxi Driver"? It won the Palme d'Or and 4 Oscar Nominations (including Best Picture). "Pulp Fiction"? Yep, also won the Palme d'Or. BOTH films got horrible reviews at their Cannes premieres and were booed by the audience. And who boos anymore? This isn't the Colosseum back in the Roman/Gladiator days. This isn't Donald Trump being a racist prick threatening the lives of millions of people and their well being. This is a work of art, created by hundreds of people, over years of industry politics, and costing millions of dollars - all for the sole purpose of entertainment, and perhaps a bit of education and enlightenment.
And art is subjective. We all judge films, songs, paintings, etc. on how they make us feel or what they make us see. How they are interpreted based on whatever form of escapism we are searching for at any given times of our lives. Critics are no different. And lets face it, a festival like Cannes gives us all certain levels of expectations that are almost impossible to meet.
Regardless of Sean Penn being Sean Penn, media outlets INTERNATIONALLY making headlines to shove negativity of someone's blood, sweat, and tears down our throats is the major issue here. And to bring the man’s personal relationship into the “story” is cheap.
Making a film is a labor of love. Everyone knows how tedious and emasculating it can be, especially an indie film. But because it's made by a famous person with years and years of success behind them, for some reason, we jump at the chance to crucify them.
I'm not going to dwell on the personal side of Sean too much as to not come across biased, but I will say that yes, Sean can be an *beep* We all can. But for someone scrutinized for everything they do, I’d say he handles it extremely well. He's an assertive man who knows what he wants, but is forced to swim through the same sea of sharks we all do here in this dog-eat-dog industry. For the most part, he keeps to himself, and out of the press, except when he's raising money and awareness for humanitarian issues like Katrina or Haiti. He’s actually very genuine, sincere, honest, and extremely loyal. Someone with qualities we could all hope for in a true friend, if ever so lucky.
To be frank, I don't think he even likes me very much. But I would like to think he respects me for the same reasons I respect him.
But regardless, he is not invincible.
Sean is suffering the same way we all would if we'd spent years and millions financing and creating something so dear to our hearts. Films are our children. And no one wants to listen to people bash our kids after birthing them into the world. Call it ego, or just a proud papa. But let the man's body of work he's built over 3 decades remind us who he is as an artist. We're all wrong to label someone simply as good as their last film. Technology has given us almost instantaneous access to nearly every film ever made, so our generation above all should have a more heightened realization of that.
Whether or not you agree with his politics or behavior, Sean Penn is a gift to our world and has a lifetime of experience we'd only be so lucky to have him share with us through his voice.
Let the man entertain us and show us something a little more colorful and insightful. Very few have seen and witnessed what he has.
When "The Last Face" does get a release date, do yourself a favor and give it a chance. The man is a force to be reckoned with and above all, I can guarantee you're at least buying a ticket to see a true artist show us something they set out to show us. No studio taking over the edit. Not a young filmmaker being bullied by producers and financiers. Just a man telling a story.
And for God's sake, if you can't say anything nice, shut the *beep* up.

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I honestly couldn't care less what the people at Cannes have to say. They were thrilled when Miller was chosen as Jury President. When films/actors/actresses they favored didn't get the prize, they slammed him and everyone else as the worst juries ever. There is such a huge difference between the critics' taste and the jury's.

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JEAN RENO SPEAKS AT KARLOVY VARY

Most of the time when he chooses a role it is due to the people he will work with, and less often due to the story. “If I don't feel comfortable with the people I will say 'No, thank you.' I do this not for the story I am telling. I do this to spend my life with people I like,” he said. He gave Sean Penn as an example. “It was only because Sean Penn would direct the movie [The Last Face]. I was so happy to spend time with him and look at how he works … and look at his ideas,” he said. The three directors who have touched him the most, aside from Luc Besson, were Ron Howard, Roberto Benigni and Sean Penn.

He added that he did not understand the extremely negative reaction from the critics at the Cannes Film Festival to The Last Face, a film about Doctors Without Borders. “I don't understand why they did that. The first ones to criticize the film were the Americans. I didn't understand, honestly,” he said. “I don't think the film deserved [it]. … It is not a war [film]. You do not see bad people. You just see people trying to live. … The two main roles [Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem] were fantastic,” he said.

“My wife liked the movie. People I know liked the movie. Otherwise I would have said to Sean, 'Don't go to Cannes because they are going to kill you,'” he said. “Sometimes in Cannes they kill you. Maybe the food is not good or whatever.”

http://prague.tv/en/s72/c8-Cinema/n6379-Jean-Reno-speaks-at-Karlovy-Vary

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Ouch! those are not Mild!

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