Gary Dretzka
Leonard Klady
David Poland
Doug Pratt
Ray Pride

Cannes: Days Seven & Eight

I'm running for the 8:30 am press screening of Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers... 8:06... running down the Croisette... 8:09... 8:12... nobody else is climbing the red carpeted steps into the Palais... shit... 8:15.

I see a few dozen journalists standing at the foot of the red carpet, held back by security guards. Phew. Wait... check that... even 15 minutes before the start of the film, the press screening of Broken Flowers was full.

This meant that 2,400 journalists showed up before me to claims seats. This, of, course could not possibly be true. Don't get me wrong - there were close to 2,400 people in the Lumiere Theatre on Tuesday morning. But not all of them were journalists. No doubt people holding tickets and market passes had found their way in. An early morning press screening being that completely full that early is so unusual that Manohla Dargis of the New York Times, who stays at the Hotel Splendid across the street from the Palais, arrived at 8:20. Well, The New York Times, Movie City News, and three hundred other journalists were turned away from the screening.

It seemed a bit ironic that everyone in Cannes was concerned that Star Wars would steal the spotlight from smaller films such as . . . well, such as Broken Flowers. As it turns out, Jarmusch, who can't make a film that isn't selected for the Cannes Film Festival, is a far more popular draw. The 7:30 pm gala screening of the film was crammed with more celebrities than the Star Wars premiere. In fact, nearly the entire jury turned out for the film and walked up the red carpet arm-in-arm.

Not having seen the film, here's what I can tell you about its story: Bill Murray stars as Don, a life long bachelor who has recently been dumped. Just as Don is about to drown in self-pity a pink envelope arrives containing a letter from a former lover, informing him that he has a 19-year-old son who might be trying to find him.

Don's neighbor Winston, an amateur detective, convinces his friend to research the letter further. Thus Don sets out to travel across the country in search of four former lovers in an attempt to learn more about his son. The story serves as a way for Don not only to confront his past, but comprehend his present and plan his future.

Those lucky enough to see the film came out of it saying it was the most mainstream film Jarmusch has ever made. (The same thing was said of David Cronenberg and Atom Egoyan's films which were shown in Cannes earlier in the festival). Apparently the film ends on an ambiguous note (as many Cannes films do).

Broken Flowers isn't the first road film Jarmusch has made and the filmmaker acknowledged that he has always been attracted to stories about traveling in one form or another. "The journey is just a metaphor for one's life and one's life is just a journey," he said. "This kind of road movie idea is one of the oldest story forms. It's the odyssey of Homer. It's always the story of someone moving through things in the world and those things changing around them and interpreting them or misinterpreting them and just continuing."

Part of the draw for Broken Flowers was probably Bill Murray, enhanced by his presence in Cannes. The veteran actor joked that he usually tries to look up old lovers in the middle of the night, so he hasn't had much luck. "We all have someone where we think maybe we didn't give that person enough of a chance," he said. "Having done it in this film I would say it's a far more precarious position than I would have guessed before."

This is only Murray's second time in Cannes, "but the first time it rained all week so that doesn't count". He reminded everyone that just a few years ago it wasn't popular for American actors to attend Cannes, "because the French didn't back our plan in Iraq. That was rather unfortunate that we can't just disagree about something politically because there is a great history - certainly of enjoying French food!"

Indeed, it seems to be the French food here on the Riviera that is getting Murray into a bit of trouble. "I'll be excited to walk down the red carpet tonight. I hope I look good," he joked. "I hope I look my best. I've been working out, but I've been falling apart the last couple of days here. I was doing well until I got here. It's just bouillabaisse for breakfast lunch and dinner!"

With a big name actor and buzz that Broken Flowers might be Jarmusch's most accessible film to date, the filmmaker never had any intention of having a more conventional ending for the film. Focus Features - who financed the film - didn't force the issue. "I always negotiate my financing deals with a loaded shotgun," explained Jarmusch. "I have to do things my own way, otherwise I don't do them. I don't make studio films. This film was made exactly on the same premise as all my films. Focus agreed to these terms when we made the deal to finance the film and they kept their word throughout the entire process."

Another American filmmaker attending this year's Cannes Film Festival is Robert Rodriguez. He co-directs, along with graphic novel author Frank Miller, Sin City, which has already been released in the United States.

This marks the first time that Rodriguez has attended Cannes and he's looking forward to running into actress Salma Hayek, who happens to be on this year's jury. Rodriguez cast her in Once Upon A Time In Mexico and Desperado. "I haven't had a chance to meet her yet," he said of Hayek. "I'm going to go tell her, 'You better not reverse discriminate against me because you know me!'"

Rodriguez believes Sin City was selected for by Cannes because the film is "something that is very bold and original that is something people haven't seen before."

Despite having a big name cast, (most of whom showed up in Cannes) and being backed by Disney, Rodriguez said his film, like many of those in Cannes, is independent in nature. "Miramax/ Dimension allowed us the freedom to make something like this, which we're not quite sure what it was when we were making it, but they gave us the freedom to go and do it," he argued. "I don't think we could have made it at another studio. It's too odd. We felt it was going to be an original work and through a company like Miramax and Dimension we were able to go and make it this way."

Recently, Miramax/Dimension was downsized when its founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein split from the company. The executives are presently in Cannes with their new endeavor, The Weinstein Company, looking at films to acquire. Bob Weinstein was on hand as Roriguez was talking to the press. When the filmmaker was asked where he would make his films now that Miramax/Dimension had disappeared, Weinstein, even without a microphone, broke in, "We're not going anywhere. We're going to be sticking with Robert and Robert is sticking with us. This is a new beginning for us and we look forward to it."

Rodriguez concurred: "They started a new company which is exciting for us, for Quentin and myself. We were there when we did our first movies with them. They got bought by Disney and Disney became their bank. Now they are just going to get another bank. I would follow them where ever they go."

When Rodriguez, who hails from Austin, Texas, was told that fellow Texan and actor Tommy Lee Jones had a film in competition in the festival, he said he was more than happy to share the Cannes stage with him. "Tommy Lee is great," he beamed. "It's great to be here with him. To be here from Texas and to be here at all is just a great honor. Good luck to everybody."

Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five & Six

May 18, 2005
- by J. Sperling Reich