Official Selection
Of God And Men of Xavier Beauvois
8.30 13.45 19.30
Synopsis
A monastery perched in the mountains of North Africa in the 1990s. Eight French Christian monks live in harmony with their Muslim brothers.
When a crew of foreign workers is massacred by an Islamic fundamentalist group, fear sweeps though the region. The army offers them protection, but the monks refuse. Should they leave? Despite the growing menace in their midst, they slowly realize that they have no choice but to stay… come what may.
This film is loosely based on the life of the Cistercian monks of Tibhirine in Algeria, from 1993 until their kidnapping in 1996.
Certified Copy of Abbas Kiarostami
11.15 22.30
Synopsis
This is the story of a meeting between one man and one woman, in a small Italian village in Southern Tuscany. The man is a British author who has just finished giving a lecture at a conference. The woman, from France, owns an art gallery. This is a common story that could happen to anyone, anywhere.
Out of Competition
Tamara Drewe by Stephen Frears
16.45
Synopsis
Based on Posy Simmonds’ much‐loved graphic novel, which in turn was inspired by Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd, this is a joyful but occasionally dark comedy about a young newspaper journalist torn between two lovers. Tamara Drewe’s childhood home is being sold, and her return to the rural Dorset village where she grew up causes something of a stir. Having left as an awkward teenager she returns as a smouldering femme fatale, kicking up a storm of envy, lust and gossip wherever she goes. Tamara is the ultimate modern girl but her story of love and confusion is timeless.
The Autobiography Of Nicolae Ceausescu d’Andrei Ujica
20.00
Synopsis
“After all, a dictator is simply an artist who is able to fully put into practice his egotism. It is a mere question of aesthetic level, whether he turns out to be Baudelaire or Bolintineanu, Louis XVI or Nicolae Ceaușescu.” Andrei Ujică During the summary trial that he and his wife were submitted to, Nicolae Ceaușescu is reviewing his long reign in power: 1965-1989. It is an historical tableau that in its scope resembles American film frescos such as those dedicated to the Vietnam War.
Un certain Regard
Life, above all Oliver Schmitz
11.15
Blue Valentine of Derek Cianfrance
14.00 22.00
Synopsis
BLUE VALENTINE is the story of love found and love lost told in past and present moments in time. Flooded with romantic memories of their courtship, Dean and Cindy use one night to try and save their failing marriage. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams star in this honest portrait of a relationship on the rocks.
The Lips of Ivan Fund
16.30
Synopsis
Three women travel to a distant place to do welfare work. They assist, listen, stay with the unprotected. An old hospital in ruins accommodates them. The imposed group life gets more complex as they start to know each other. The relationship with the others, the community, is also difficult. But, as days go by, they will start to melt into that human landscape surrounding them. To be part of the mystery of otherness.
18.05.2010 | Cannes's blog
Cat. : Abbas Kiarostami Algeria Andrei Ujică Andrei Ujica Andrei Ujică During army Artist Arts Author British literature CDATA Ceauşescu Cindy Dean Derek Cianfrance Far from the Madding Crowd Films France Ivan Fund Journalist Literature Louis XVI Michelle Williams Nicolae Ceaușescu North Africa Oliver Schmitz Politics Politics Posy Simmonds Ryan Gosling Southern Tuscany Stephen Frears Tamara Drewe Thomas Hardy Xavier Beauvois FESTIVALS