The Cannes-Do Spirit

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Some administrations find it hard to admit mistakes; ask George W. Bush. Others find it hard not to; ask Thierry Frémaux, chief programmer of the Cannes Film Festival. The films in competition at Cannes last year provoked such widespread derision that some sort of revamping was essential. So Frémaux declared that Cannes 2004 would cast a wider net. In other words, more Hollywood glamour. More films with a perky pulse. And no Brown Bunny — the Vincent Gallo road movie that, from the moment of its screening last year, became the code phrase for pretentious junk.

Sure enough, Cannes 2004 was brighter and more fun. The Hollywood stars came out in style, with Tom Hanks, Uma Thurman, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, Charlize Theron, Sean Penn and Julie Andrews gracing the red-carpeted steps of the Grand Palais. The film selection held some sweet surprises, such as Paolo Sorrentino's deadpan crime comedy Consequences of Love, and a 4 hr. 38 min. Palestinian drama, Yousry Nasrallah's The Gate of the Sun, which overflowed with passion, smart dialogue and a knowing, dreamy poignance. Jean-Luc Godard's Our Music, about the Israel-Palestine conundrum, concluded its dark ruminations by sending its lead character to a heaven patrolled, without apparent irony, by U.S. soldiers. Even the annual French essay in angst, Agnès Jaoui's Comme une Image (Look at Me), displayed a tender wisdom toward its characters.

Some popular genres — the thriller, the martial-arts epic, Japanese anime — made rare appearances at Cannes. Asia's strong showing included a mainstream Korean revenge-a-thon (Park Chan-wook's Old Boy), a Hong Kong media melodrama (Johnnie To's Breaking News) with an elaborate five-minute tracking shot of a shootout, and a gorgeous animated feature (Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence) from the company that did the smashing anime segment of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol. 1. You'd almost think the films had been chosen to suit the video-store tastes of this year's jury president … Quentin Tarantino.