The 64th Festival de Cannes wrapped up this weekend and I have to say, it was a stellar year. A festival with multiple strands, ranging from the official selection (Competition and Out of Competition screenings), the Un Certain Regard, Critics Week and Director’s Fortnight sidebars, and the Marche du Film (a film convention with over a thousand film screenings from film companies of all shapes and sizes from around the world), it’s a virtual cinema bazaar of some of the best (and worst) cinema. But it was a good, maybe even great, selection of films including and all the award winners, which were announced today, were all worthy of their accolades.

The two big buzz titles of the Festival, both from reclusive (and sometimes misunderstood) auteurs,  were the cinematic offspring of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, as they dealt with human existence in the grand scheme of the “cosmos.” I am talking of course about Palme d’Or winner THE TREE OF LIFE by Terrence Malick and Lars Von Trier’s MELANCHOLIA. Both films were bifurcated in the exploration of the micro and macro: one strand would be an intimate story about damaged individuals and family dynamics and then jump to the cosmic stuff (space, planets, evolution, dinosaurs, creation, end of days). Both films were grand, big idea films that mostly worked (Malick’s film got a little too New Agey at times), but were truly exciting to see masters at the top of their game. Check out the trailers: TREE OF LIFE: This, by far, is Brad Pitt’s best acting performance as a disciplinarian father in 1950s Texas. The film comes out June 10th in the US. MELANCHOLIA: I was never a big fan of Kirsten Dunst (well, except for BRING IT ON!) but she was amazing in this film, and deservedly, was awarded Best Actress by the Cannes Jury. The film was bought by Magnolia Pictures and will be released stateside sometime in the Fall.

Lars Von Trier, the epitome of the enfant terrible filmmaker, got into some major heat at the Festival, when during the press conference, he made a stupid joke about finding out he was actually German and then referred to himself as “a Nazi” and sympathizing with Hitler. It was a lame attempt at making a terrible joke, and Twitter went nuts on this. The next day, the Cannes board of director released a statement banning Von Trier from the Festival and a persona non grata. It was a bonehead statement and you and tell he realized he was caught in an infinite loop of gibberish talk. Check out this clip of trying to fumble his way out of this, with Kirsten Dunst, who is Jewish, squirming in her seat. Von Trier later admitted he was just being juvenile and is actually proud of his Cannes ban, a first for the Festival.

Like I said, the films were stellar this year. Here’s a list of films that left an indelible impression on me. Most of these films will eventually come out at film festivals, theatrically in the US, and/or definitely on VOD and Netflix so keep an eye out for them.

MISS BALA: The story of a young woman clinging on to her dream to become a beauty contest queen in a Mexico dominated by organized crime. Directed by Gerardo Naranjo, this taut, unlikely thriller set in Baja, CA, is MISS CONGENIALITY with a ticking time bomb, with dashes of Michael Mann’s HEAT and AMORES PERROS all set in the Mexican drug wars. Simply edge-of-your-seat entertainment.

ARIRANG: This film won the Grand Prize in the Un Certain Regard. A meta-exploration into the inner psyche of Korean director KIM Ki-duk, this film should be shown at film schools. A look back at his illustrious and controversial film career, KIM was a darling of film festivals, honored at Cannes, Venice and festivals around the world, he of such lauded films like THE ISLE, 3-IRON, SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER… AND SPRING, his films were largely ignored in Korea. After his actress nearly died while shooting his last film, the director moved from Seoul into the mountains, living in a tin shack for three years. This “documentary” documents this inner-journey as he goes through his mid-life crisis – pretentious, emotional, insightful, incendiary (he names names in the Korean film industry and tears them to shreds), egotistical, brilliant – all this comes to mind. Of course, it works best if you know Kim’s film oeuvre.

LE HAVRE: Aki Kaurismaki’s latest is also one of his best – a comedy drama about a bohemian author named Marcel Marx, who retreats to the port town of Le Havre,  where he stumbles on a young African stowaway. Humanistic and full of eccentric characters, this is a France that only lives in the movies, a bygone era. Similar in vein to his previous comedies, especially DRIFTING CLOUDS.

SLEEPING BEAUTY: A haunting portrait of Lucy (Emily Browning, Baby Doll from SUCKER PUNCH), a young university student drawn into a mysterious hidden world of unspoken desires. Directed by first timer Julia Leigh and “presented by” Jane Campion, this film was immediately derided as being slow, pointless and unworthy to be in the official competition. The main conceit of the film is that Lucy is fetishized in a Grimm-like chamber, is pumped with drugs and is unconscious, while male clients of different walks of life, enter said chamber… Icky, for sure, but I am one of the few defenders of this film. And not because we get to see Baby Doll nekkid (well, kind of). It does have a haunting, gloomy quality to it and is worth checking out.

THE ARTIST: From the creative team behind the OSS117 films (Netflix them now!), this loving ode to the Hollywood Golden Era will gain a lot of awards accolades come fall season. Hollywood, 1927: As silent movie star George Valentin (played with great whimsy by French comedian Jean Dujardin) wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion, he sparks with Peppy Miller, a young dancer set for a big break. An amazing feat of filmmaking, because there is no sound dialogue! Shot like a silent film, it completely works as a great homage and showcases the power of cinema. For film geeks and general audiences, this enchanting and charming film is a must-see! Shot entirely in LA too.

WU XIA: From Peter Ho-Sun Chan (WARLORDS, COMRADES, A LOVE STORY) and starring Donnie Yen, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tang Wei, and martial arts film legend Jimmy Wang-Yu, this was one of my most anticipated films to see at the Festival. Slotted for a 12:45am screening slot, the Lumiere Theater, was at capacity (over 2,000 in attendance). However, it was not what I expected, but that’s not a bad thing. Director Chan created a more thoughtful rendition of the martial arts genre, a film that ties in the philosophy of wu xia, familial bonds, veiled in a detective story. Donnie Yen plays a meek paper maker, in a small town, married to Tang Wei and raising two children. However, by accident, he is forced to defend himself against two bandits and is soon investigated by a by-the-book detective played by Takeshi Kaneshiro. Dark secrets soon unfold. The Weinstein Company bought the film and will release it in the States under the title DRAGON (bland, I know).

DRIVE: A Hollywood stunt performer (Ryan Gosling) who moonlights as a wheelman discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist gone wrong. Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn (PUSHER trilogy, BRONSON) crafts a ’70s style crime thriller that captures downtown LA in a fucking cool way. Refn was named Best Director at the Festival. The film will have it’s North American premiere at the LA Film Festival and will be released in September.

As I blogged in my Cannes report last year, there’s also schlock presented, primarily in the Cannes Market. Here’s some examples:

Recognize one of those hotties? Yep, it’s Maria Ozawa, and we’re big fans of her. I’ll elaborate more on the “subterranean” part of Cannes in a future blog post later this week. In the meantime, let me end Part 1 of my Cannes 2011 report of, IMHO, the greatest film poster ever. It’s for a French political drama called THE MINISTER (L’Exercise de l’Etat). I didn’t get a chance to see the film, but I don’t think it could live up to said poster.