Less than a day to go before the big revelation of the films that will be putting their names in the history books of cinema. The festival has been dropping names slowly for the world to hold their breath, Robert DeNiro (President, Official Competition), Woody Allen (Opening Night film: Midnight in Paris), Michel Gondry (Jury, Short film and Cinefondation), Emir Kusturica (Jury, Un Certain Regard), Bong Joon-ho (Camera d’Or), Jean-Paul Belmondo (Tribute), Bernardo Bertolucci (Honorary Palme d’Or) and now, Gus Van Sant’s Restless will open the Un Certain Regard.
Annually loyal to its stars and auteurs with an extended red carpet rolled out for them to make an appearance either with a film or to serve in an honorary position, it is names, names and more names that Cannes stands for and since Van Sant arrived in Cannes for the first time with “To Die For,” he has since won the Palme d’Or and best director for “Elephant” and was last seen in Cannes with “Paranoid Park” (prior to that he was among those who contributed to Chacun son Cinema). The film stars one of the hottest young actresses in the world in Mia Wasikowska who stars alongside two potential new stars: Henry Hopper, the son of late Dennis Hopper and Schuyler Fisk, the daughter of Sissy Spacek and Jack Fisk, the legendary production designer/Art Director who worked on many of Terrence Malick’s films including “The Tree of Life” which was anticipated for last year but is one of the few names certain to be announced tomorrow by Cannes President Gilles Jacob and his General Delegate, Thierry Frémaux.
Up until the last minute, Restless was considered a Columbia Pictures title before wearing the SPC badge (Woody Allen and perhaps Pedro Almodovar would make it a strong three showing t the fest this year.) Based on an original screenplay by Jason Lew, this is about a teenage boy (Henry Hopper) and girl (Mia Wasikowska) who share a preoccupation with mortality. Schuyler Fisk will play Wasikowska’s sister while other new cast members include Chin Han playing a doctor treating the girl, Ryo Kase as the spirit of a World War II kamikaze pilot who regularly visits the boy and Jane Adams as the boy’s aunt.
