21/05/2006

The influential French daily paper Le Monde called him “the last of the Mohicans of the Italian Nouvelle Vague” in today’s afternoon edition: Although Marco Bellocchio has been a frequent competition contender at the Cannes Film Festival (in recent years with The Wet-Nurse and The Religion Hour), this year that privilege went to Nanni Moretti and his The Caiman [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jean Labadie
interview: Nanni Moretti
film profile].

Nevertheless, Il regista di matrimoni (lit. “The Wedding Director”) by the Italian maestro was selected for the Un Certain Regard sidebar (see news on the film’s Italian release). Le Monde had fun comparing the French co-production, which is being sold by Celluloid Dreams, to Moretti’s film, saying: "Marco Bellocchio superbly opposes the anguish of an artist wondering about the very possibility of his art with the greater powers of joy and anger". When asked if he felt penalised by not being in competition, Bellocchio answered: "The selection committee made [their] choices and I accepted them. A film’s life varies, and not just on the basis of competitions. In any case, when you present a film to audiences, you are always in competition, in terms of box office, reviews... I am mostly relegated to an 'aristocratic' position, in the sense that I have no power, so I don't receive any support beyond the strength of the film itself and the talent of the people who work on it. I choose not to have patrons, not on the right, the left, or the centre. My personal identity is more important than anything else and it is not worth risking it for a prize”.

What has been the reaction of audiences and critics since the film’s release? Says Bellocchio: "It’s been positive so far here at Cannes. People are surprised, flabbergasted even. In some cases, it’s as if the film has transmitted a kind of vitality to people, a positive contagion. This is new for me."

In its review of the film, Screen International makes references to Antonioni, Fellini, and Visconti, though perhaps Buñuel would be the most apt. "The connection between my movie and surrealism is obvious, in terms of what I would call 'non-conscious images'. We all learned from Buñuel and, to an even greater extent, Jean Vigo (Zero For Conduct, L'Atalante)." As for young Italian directors, Bellocchio says, "I love Ciprì and Maresco, I think they’re both geniuses. They’re 'sick', they have a very original vision. Matteo Garrone is excellent, and so is [Paolo] Sorrentino, although I don't like his way of composing images. [Francesco] Munzi's Saimir [+see also:
trailer
film profile] is also a wonderful film. There is a new generation of filmmakers that searches for images beyond words”.

(Translated from Italian)