FRANCE 24 film critic Jon Frosch left New York in 2002 for Paris, the best movie-going city in the world. His work has appeared in The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, the Boston Globe, The Atlantic, The Village Voice, LA Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, and other publications, and he has served on critics’ juries at the Venice Film Festival and Montreal Film Festival. In this Cannes blog, Jon brings you the latest on the movies, people, controversies, and gossip at the year's biggest international cinema event. You can contact Jon directly via email: jfrosch@france24.com.
 
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Thu, 05/24/2012 - 16:57

Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman light up torrid, unfairly bashed ‘Paperboy’

It was greeted by boos and jeers. But Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman bring heat and humor to Lee Daniels' Southern thriller "The Paperboy", a pulpy, outrageously entertaining treat with a bit more on its mind than people may think.
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Wed, 05/23/2012 - 18:21

Amid Palme d'Or gossip, 'Holy Motors' steals 'On the Road' thunder

Speculation about what film could take home the top Palme d'Or prize raged at Cannes Wednesday, with Leos Carax's crazy, inspired "Holy Motors" seen as a frontrunner. Walter Salles's lovely "On the Road" drew mostly shrugs and scoffs.
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Tue, 05/22/2012 - 16:47

Brad Pitt, chocolate fountains, and lesbian vampire warriors

In twelve hours on the Croisette, a party with dancing film critics and a chocolate fountain, a blunt crime thriller starring Brad Pitt, and a look at some of the more absurd films being shopped around the sprawling Cannes Market.
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Mon, 05/21/2012 - 17:55

At Cannes, cinema without borders and an ‘Indian Brigitte Bardot’

With an Iranian film set in Japan, a Korean film starring French actress Isabelle Huppert, and the "Indian Brigitte Bardot" wheeling and dealing on the Croisette, Cannes this year suggest the borderless, globalized nature of cinema today.
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Sun, 05/20/2012 - 19:05

Michael Haneke gets sincere, Xavier Dolan clears the air

81-year-old Jean-Louis Trintignant is shattering in Michael Haneke's strong competition entry "Amour". Meanwhile, on the other end of the age spectrum, 23-year-old "Laurence Anyways" director Xavier Dolan sat down with me for a chat.
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Sat, 05/19/2012 - 17:27

Young talent storms Cannes with stories of cross-dressing and gun-toting

Young talent took center stage at Cannes Saturday, with Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, and Jessica Chastain headlining so-so Prohibition-era drama "Lawless" and French-Canadian Xavier Dolan presenting his dazzling cross-dresser epic "Laurence Anyways".
Fri, 05/18/2012 - 19:58

At rainy Cannes, sex, lies, gossip, and reality TV

As rain drenched the Croisette, "Paradise: Love" and "Reality", uninspiring satires from Austria and Italy about sex tourism and reality TV, screened in competition. Luckily there was a bit of Cannes gossip to liven things up.
Thu, 05/17/2012 - 19:32

Cannes mood darkens with melodramas about politics and romance

The mood on the Croisette darkened Thursday with two in-competition melodramas: Egyptian director Yousry Nasrallah's topical, but startlingly mediocre "After the Battle" and Frenchman Jacques Audiard's love-it-or-hate-it romance "Rust and Bone".
Wed, 05/16/2012 - 17:10

Wes Anderson's ode to young love opens Cannes on sweet note

Cannes got off to a sweet start with Wes Anderson's competition opener "Moonrise Kingdom", an ode to young love that got me rethinking my growing aversion to the director.
Tue, 05/15/2012 - 20:53

Festival director and feminists lock horns as Cannes prepares for take-off

Critics are drooling over screening schedules, star gazers have camped out across from the red carpet, French feminists are fighting with festival organiser Thierry Fremaux...and things haven't even kicked off yet. Welcome to Cannes!
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Mon, 05/14/2012 - 20:04

Big names, hip casts, and hot topics outside main Cannes line-up

Big-name directors, hotshot up-and-comers, a hipster duo in period garb, and movies about terrorism, cross-dressers, and the seedy underworld of the Indian film industry....here's a peek at the juiciest-looking movies outside the main competition.
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Sun, 05/13/2012 - 01:09

Faces of Cannes: Ten performances to watch

Teen idols striving for artistic cred, a Romanian newcomer, an aging US heartthrob, Hollywood's favorite French actress, a Korean leading man, and more. Here's a sneak peek at ten of the most eagerly awaited performers in competition this year.
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Wed, 05/09/2012 - 12:11

A smart, stylish, slightly random jury to preside over Cannes 2012

This year’s Cannes jury is, as always, an international, stylish, somewhat random gallery of cinema professionals - and one outsider. Here’s a breakdown of who’ll be butting heads, bonding, and choosing prizewinners behind closed doors.
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Wed, 05/02/2012 - 11:03

Cannes selection: Prize-winners, pretty young things, and tales of sex and violence

Lots of past prize-winners, movies brimming with sex and violence, and pretty young things hoping to graduate to the big leagues....Here's a closer look at what this year's enticing Cannes competition has in store.
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Sun, 05/22/2011 - 21:59

Malick’s ‘Tree of Life’ wins Palme d’Or (and half the press rejoices)

A festival that started off slow but gained in momentum and drama drew to a close tonight with “The Tree of Life”, Terrence Malick’s stunning meditation on memory and childhood, winning the coveted Palme d’Or.
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Sat, 05/21/2011 - 20:23

Two late-festival gems, and if I could pick the Palme….

The end of the festival brought two revelations: a haunting Turkish police procedural and a glorious French musical screened out of competition. But if I could pick the prize-winners, here's who would be bringing home the glory.
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Fri, 05/20/2011 - 16:58

Cannes juror Nansun Shi: 'There has been very healthy debate'

Today's competition films, "Drive" and "This Must Be the Place", are American stories directed by Europeans. Will the jury like them? We won't know until Sunday, but in the meantime we spoke to one of the Cannes jurors, Chinese producer Nansun Shi.
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Thu, 05/19/2011 - 16:24

Banished Von Trier steals Almodovar's (feeble) thunder, and critics react

The press barely had time to digest Pedro Almodovar's so-so "The Skin I Live In" before news hit that Lars Von Trier had been asked to leave the festival following his comments about Jews at a press conference. Some critics have defended him.
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Thu, 05/19/2011 - 12:52

Cannes boots Lars Von Trier after his comments on Hitler and Jews

Cannes organisers have released a statement saying that Lars Von Trier, who set off a storm yesterday with his statements on Hitler and Jews at the press conference for his film “Melancholia”, is no longer welcome at the festival.
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Wed, 05/18/2011 - 20:03

Bad boys of the Croisette: Von Trier and French politicians burst Cannes bubble

Wednesday was a drama-filled day, with Lars Von Trier's "Melancholia" overshadowed by the director's comments to the press, and "The Conquest" adding to a turbulent week in French politics.
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