Festival de Cannes 2011 - Day 9

After such intense 8th day of the Festival, today was nicer, more reliable and shocking-free. I was waiting for a presentation of the new movie directed by Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar - "The Skin I Live In" (Spanish: "La piel que habito"). He likes to work with actress Penelope Cruz, but this project was made without her and with actor Antonio Banderas. Its story is based on a book "Tarantula" by Thierry Jonquet and tells about the doctor, who tries to save his wife by creating the new skin for her. Pedro Almodovar said about the plot: “It’s a story about surviving under extreme conditions, which is the story of humanity, too.” and “I thought about the myth of Frankenstein afterwards and especially about the myth of the Titans and Prometheus.” So it is promised to be a very dramatic horror. "The Skin I Live In" is 'In Competition' and also is a strong competitor for the main prize. At the press conference Antonio Banderas added about working again with the director and about his character: “I’m meeting up with Pedro again after 20 years. In this film, as he requested, I worked on the character’s interiority and sparingness. I want to publicly thank Pedro for bringing me to territory that was new and unknown to me.” By the way, due to fresh photos Antonio and Pedro are really good friends in life.

The first 3D movie 'In Competition' was officially presented today (journalists had a chance to watch it yesterday). Its name is "Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai" and director Takashi Miike was telling about why he selected samurai theme for his new project: "I didn't make Ichimei (Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai) because I wanted to film violence. No, it became a violent film because I am passionate about the subject matter. My films are not defined by genre: it is the characters in the story who decide what form it will take. I am controlled by cinema and by characters. My films are the result of fortuitous encounters with people and stories." And he talked about using 3D during filming (I'm not a big fan of it, but none can stop the progress of the technology): "The subject matter, setting and film set for "Ichmei" ("Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai") were right for 3D filming. That said, filming in 3D imposes lots of limitations. The film has no battle scenes because they take so long to film in 3D. But filming in 3D opens up other exciting possibilities."


"The Skin I Live In" photocall - Pedro Almodovar, Antonio Banderas, Marisa Paredes, Elena Anaya, Jan Cornet, Blanca Suare

"The Skin I Live In" photocall - Pedro Almodovar, Antonio Banderas, Marisa Paredes, Elena Anaya, Jan Cornet, Blanca Suare

 
"Hara-Kiri: Death Of A Samurai" Photocall - Takashi Miike, Eita

More photos from Cannes - http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/.


The Festival becomes more interesting with every day. Photocalls are becoming more informal (hope nobody will be nude there), press conferences - more honest and premieres - more fashionable. But organizers are keeping this all in order.