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2006 Cannes Film Festival

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The 2006 Cannes Film Festival ran from May 17, 2006 to May 28, 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries are in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official Jury is Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over the jury.

English director Ken Loach won Palme d'Or, with his movie The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Other winners were Pedro Almodóvar (Best Screenplay, Volver) and Alejandro González Iñárritu (Best Director, Babel). This also marked the first time in three years that no American film, actor, actress, or filmmaker won any awards in Cannes.

The festival opened with the premiere screening of The Da Vinci Code, based on the controversial novel by Dan Brown. Journalists gave the film a cool reception at its first press screening, with loud laughter breaking out at one of the pivotal scenes. Despite the reviews, The Da Vinci Code earned $224 million worldwide in its opening weekend, the second-largest worldwide release to date.[link]

Contents

Feature film competition

Jury

Films in competition

An elderly moneylender living with his mother interferes in the private life of his debtors. Reviews were generally positive [link], [link], [link].
  • Babel - Alejandro González Iñárritu
    • The final part of Iñárritu’s "Death Trilogy", which began with Amores Perros and continued with 21 Grams. Inspired by the biblical story and consists of four stories set in Morocco, Tunisia, Mexico, and Japan. Babel was well received by most critics [link][link][link] (but not all [link][link]), and is a strong contender for the Palme d’Or. Brad Pitt, one of the stars of the film, generated press coverage for not attending the premiere due to the imminent birth of his child with Angelina Jolie.
  • Crónica De Una Fuga - Adrián Caetano
    • Kidnapped by the Argentine government, a football player and two comrades escape to a new life.
  • Il caimano - Nanni Moretti
    • Satire of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Italian politics. The film came out in Italy in March, just before the Italian general election, triggering protests from some politicians[link]. Moretti's previous film, The Son's Room, won the Palme d'Or in 2001.
  • Iklimler - Nuri Bilge Ceylan
    • A dowdy university instructor (Nuri Bilge Ceylan) is an inattentive husband to his younger TV-business wife (played by the director's actual wife, Ebru Ceylan). Reviews ranged from "one of the finest films to play the festival in competition" [link] to "a by-the-numbers Man from Mars/Woman from Venus relationship story [that] slogs through its predictable paces..." [link].
  • Fast Food Nation - Richard Linklater
    • A fictional story based on the non-fiction book of the same name. While initially considered a front-runner, critics were generally disappointed [link][link][link][link].
  • Flandres - Bruno Dumont
    • A group of young men in northern France set out as soldiers to fight a war in a distant country. Met with mixed reviews[link],[link][link] [link][link]
  • Indigènes - Rachid Bouchareb
    • Story of North African soldiers recruited to fight for the French army in World War II. Screening as "Days of Glory" in English. It received favorable reviews[link][link].
  • Juventude Em Marcha (Colossal Youth) - Pedro Costa
    • Half documentary, half dramatic essay about a worker in a Lisbon slum who is about to move into a housing project.
  • El Laberinto del Fauno - Guillermo del Toro
    • 12-year-old girl moves with her mother and stepfather to the countryside and discovers an ancient labyrinth guarded by a satyr named Pan.
  • Laitakaupungin valot - Aki Kaurismäki
    • Comedy about a security man who meets a femme fatale who sets him up for his gullibility and loyalty. Met with mostly disappointing reviews [link][link]. Kaurismäki's last film, The Man Without a Past, won the Grand Prix at the 2002 festival.
  • Marie-Antoinette - Sofia Coppola
    • Based on the life of the infamous French queen, focusing on her younger years and her relationship with Louis XVI. It received mixed reviews at its premiere[link][link][], with some critics booing the film - the only film in competition to be booed so far.
  • Quand j'étais chanteur - Xavier Giannoli
    • A dance hall singer pretends to be looking for a house so he can get to know a female real estate agent.
  • La raison du plus faible - Lucas Belvaux
    • Three middle-class men perpetrate an armed heist because one of the robber's wife needs a new moped so she won't have to take the bus to work. Received mixed reviews[link][link].
  • Red Road - Andrea Arnold
    • A security camera operator comes face-to-face with the man responsible for her father's death. The first feature from director Arnold, it received mostly positive reviews [link][link].
  • Selon Charlie - Nicole Garcia
    • Seven people in a French coastal town cross paths for three days. The first French Film in the running this year, it was modestly received [link][link].
  • Southland Tales - Richard Kelly
    • A group of Los Angelenos look forward to the July 4 holiday as LA teeters on the brink of social, economic and environmental disaster in 2008. Writer/Director Richard Kelly's latest after Donnie Darko. Southland had a mixed reception from the critics, with reviews ranging from silly [link], disappointing[link] and an incoherent mess[], while "a few influential critics" deemed it a "masterpiece."[link]
  • Summer Palace - Lou Ye
    • Two young lovers play out their complex, erotic, love/hate relationship against the Chinese political unrest in 1989. It is the only Asian film in this year's competition for the Palme d'Or.
  • Volver - Pedro Almodóvar
    • After her death, a mother returns to her hometown in order to fix the situations she could not resolve during her life. Received favorable reviews [link][link] and is another favorite for the Palme d'Or.
  • The Wind That Shakes the Barley - Ken Loach
    • A sympathetic look at Republicans in early 20th century Ireland. It received mostly favorable reviews, and won the 59th festival, with Ken Loach received the Palme d'Or of Cannes 2006.[link][link][link].

    Un Certain Regard

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