The conventional wisdom goes that if your movie plays at the end of the film festival, chances are it’s not very good, or certainly not as worthwhile as the pictures that debut during those hot first few days. Certainly this is largely true for Sundance and TIFF, festivals that Hollywood abandons en masse after the first critical weekend, but the Cannes Film Festival is different, and they basically do whatever they want (true of the French too). So if you’re worried about Olivier Assayas’ “Clouds Of Sils Maria” playing near the end of the festival, fear not (plus we’ve heard the scheduling is to accommodate wrangling the talent, with many of the cast are shooting films elsewhere).
If you’re paying close attention to this one, and you should (here’s the informative director’s statement), the movie is essentially about the relationship with the past and chronicles an actress (Juliette Binoche) who has to face the fact that she’s aging and has lost a classic part to a younger, more alluring actress (Chloe Grace Moretz). Together with her assistant (Kristen Stewart), the elder actress departs to rehearse in Sils Maria; a remote region of the Alps. The movie also stars Brady Corbet and Johnny Flynn (who appeared alongside Anne Hathaway in “Song One“).
It’s a terrific cast and not a typical story, and Assayas has done these kinds of introspective, negotiating with the past films quite successfully before (see the excellent “Summer Hours”). You’ve already seen one clip from the film that has given you some flavor of the movie’s tone and now two more clips have arrived (via KStewart Fans), one featuring Stewart and Binoche and one introducing Moretz’s shallower character. The actors possess a naturalistic, unshowy feel and everyone appears to be very much in their casual element. Suffice to say we’re intrigued. “Clouds Of Sils Maria” premieres later this week during Cannes. Keep your eyes peeled for our review and watch the clips below.
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