Cannes 2009 Day 3: Jane Campion’s Bright Star

Love has its share of boundaries in Bright Star – the story of when a needle-point expert meets a poet who would only reach acclaim well after his death. Controlled, distilled and visually alluring, this is a return to form for Jane Campion who eloquently confections a 19th century tale without the trinkets and nor the distractions: no incumbent score to bring on huge melodramatic motions, no overwrought performances to remind us that this union will never materialize like it does in films of the type. Instead Campion displays here knack for eliciting emotions with visual cues, and the film’s final sequence is the most profound voice-over we are most likely to find in the entire Cannes competition. Read full review coming soon.