Audiences decide what is worthy of their attention and not critics and cinema insiders, as was obvious at the packed, enthusiastically charged screening of the American movie star’s directorial debut. Ultimately, the audience will also decide the fate of ‘Parallel Tales’ by the Iranian helmer, which showcases a very, very special Isabelle Huppert.
Farhadi’s still got it, trust me
If I hear, or read, one more negative comment on Asghar Farhadi’s latest film I’m going to scream. From critics’ grids in the trades to snarky X posts, the gatekeepers have spoken. But are they right? For me, while the film immediately felt a bit long — I was also wearing the scratchiest of trousers which didn’t help any! — it has stayed with me, for many reasons. Thus I respectfully disagree with the two stars reviews, superficiality hinting and odes of “Farhadi is finished, he should just retire” comments I have witnessed online.
Parallel Tales is an ode to the movies, from a filmmaker whose early life in Iran could have prevented such culture and yet he found a way to rise above and beyond it. As an esteemed French critic, and friend, said right after we had watched the Competition film in separate screenings in Cannes, “it is Farhadi does De Palma does Hitchcock,” with a hint of Krzysztof Kieślowski's sixth chapter of Dekalog thrown in. Nothing wrong there. I have watched half a dozen films at the festival this year that pay homage to great past filmmakers and some, like John Travolta, admit it outright, only to praised by the media and the festival organizers. Artists are always inspired by something, and filmmakers are typically film lovers first, which shows in their work.
What I also loved about Parallel Tales is Farhadi’s casting. From the eccentric writer played by Isabelle Huppert, who spies on her neighbors across the street and makes up their stories in her writing, to the young man, played by Adam Bessa, who comes to help her tidy up her extravagant Paris apartment and embodies the traditional Farhadi imperfect-cause-they’re-poor antihero in the film. Huppert alone could carry a film for me, even if she only read an old Paris phone book from cover to cover. I’d sit there and come out of the film feeling refreshed and inspired. But in Parallel Tales she plays someone who reminds me of the younger version of my own mom, all bohemian exotic woman and mad artist. Her clothing alone — someone give costume designer Khadija Zeggai an Oscar, now! — is spellbindingly on point, down to the woolen half sleeve Huppert’s character don on her right arm at one point.
I will probably work out a full review in a few days, once the madness of Cannes begins to subside, but for now I’ll leave you with my personal thoughts on the film, and those are that Parallel Tales is well worth a watch. Or two perhaps, to fully get all the references and nuances of Farhadi’s oeuvre.
Another nod to Hitchcock, this one in Un Certain Regard
A still from ‘The Meltdown’, photo © Ronda Cine
Speaking of films referencing the Master of Suspense, The Meltdown in Un Certain Regard this year kicks off with a young girl by a sink washing down blood while the water whirls down the drain. Think Psycho’s iconic shower in color. Chilean filmmaker Manuela Martelli works an atmospheric thriller full of clues yet lacking a complete resolution. Although the film’s aesthetic has definitely stayed with me, and the meltdown the title refers to is both an actual melting of the showy peaks of Chile’s Andean resort where the story takes place, and an unraveling of its young protagonist’s character. Maya O'Rourke who plays the pint sized Ines is spellbinding and the themes explored in the film, like the necessity to keep secrets at the cost of the truth, I feel could go over the audience’s head, as they did with me at first. But upon reading the press kit for the film, where a timeline of Chilean history in the 20th century is outlined, I realized The Meltdown is as much a political film about Chile’s isolation and the perils of the Pinochet rule in the country, as it is a strikingly shot work of the seventh art, in all its white wilderness and warm interiors.
And the Palme d’Or goes to… John Travolta!
John Travolta and Thierry Fremaux in Cannes
Well, not that Palme d’Or, but the American star got a special lifetime honorary award yesterday inside the Theatre Debussy, where his directorial debut Propeller One-Way Night Coach was screened, as part of the Cannes Premiere program. The short film, about an hour long, is based on Travolta’s 1997 book by the same name and features a young boy, Jeff, who travels across America with his actress mom, on their way to Los Angeles where she may, or may not have an acting job awaiting. Acted phenomenally by all involved, including Clark Shotwell as the adorable Jeff and Kelly Eviston-Quinnett as Helen, Jeff's mother, but also members of Travolta’s own family like his daughter Ella Bleu as Doris, the flight attendant Jeff falls immediately in a boy crush with, and his older sister Ellen playing Jeff’s grandmother. The film was adorable, from start to finish, and featured a hit parade of great American music, which Travolta called “a soundtrack of my time.” It even features George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, along with a series of songs that feel warm and familiar and wrap the viewer in their cocoon of an era gone by, when traveling was fun and people did it only for special occasions. Nowadays, we take a plane as if that’s our god-given right, without paying attention to the luxury that truly is.
A still from ‘Propeller One-Way Night Coach’ featuring Clark Shotwell and Kelly Eviston-Quinnett
Others had asked to make a film from his book, a visibly moved Travolta admitted, but he never sold the rights because, as he said “I knew what I saw, and was the only one who could do it,” about his personal tale of falling in love with aviation. As his fans know, Travolta has managed to be both an actor and a pilot in his life, enjoying both with the same amount of gusto.
The award, handed to him by an emotional Thierry Fremaux, felt better for Travolta “beyond the Oscar,” because, the 72-year old actor explained and I paraphrase, he followed the careers of all the previous winners and learned about filmmaking from Palme d’Or winners, such as Marcel Camus’ 1959 film Black Orpheus, which also inspired some of the music in Travolta’s short.
Propeller One-Way Night Coach will premiere on Apple TV's streaming service later this month.
The Cannes Film Festival continues through May 23rd.
All film stills courtesy of the Festival de Cannes, used with permission.