With just over a week to go until the curtain ascends on this years 64th Cannes film festival, and following on from last year's group of preview articles, it is time once again to count down to the May 12th kick off with my take on the most important films of the line-up. On paper, this year's roll-call looks incredibly exciting: it is a celebration of auteur film-makers with a heady mix of potential blockbusters, likely award season favourites and indie gems, and I'm more than a little excited at the prospect of seeing as many of the films out there as possible. In the coming week and a half, I'm going to offer preview articles for the films that will definitely feature on my own screening schedule for the fest, starting today with the sprawling pirate epic that will be Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Because let's face it, like it or not, the franchise demands attention. Who says the fourth instalment in a franchise has to be comparatively uninspiring? Well, fans of Die Hard, Alien, Star Wars and Indiana Jones would probably present a pretty compelling case for the prosecution, but it surely can't be the case forever. Can it? Let's be honest, this isn't a film that needs a hard-sell, and it's inclusion 'out of competition' on the Croisette next month says more about the festival organisers' commitment to screening prestigious tent-pole movie events as a side concern to the serious business of the competitions. With On Stranger Tides, Festival President Thierry Fremaux is reaffirming the festival's position as a mainstream event, and not just the indie-darling that some might believe it to be these days in light of the appearance of more accessible festivals like SXSW. If you missed it, here's Disney's official summary of what to expect:
Join Jack Sparrow in his quest for the fabled Fountain of Youth. An incredible adventure which takes him to new horizons and along the way puts him up against Mermaids, Zombies, new adversaries as well as the infamous Blackbeard. Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides", produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Rob Marshall, captures the fun, adventure and humour that ignited the hit "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise - this time in Disney Digital 3D. Johnny Depp returns to his iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow in an action-packed tale of truth, betrayal, youth and demise. When Jack crosses paths with a woman from his past (Penelope Cruz), he's not sure if it's love -or if she's a ruthless con artist who's using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge, the ship of the formidable pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn't know who to fear more: Blackbeard or the woman from his past.
Reasons to be Excited We have to see On Stranger Tides as an opportunity to right the wrongs of the first trilogy, which is the chief reason I'm choosing to focus on the fourth instalment first in this group of articles. With At World's End, it definitely felt like narrative complexity was being valued over intelligent film-making, and what should have been a grand caper ended up being too confusing by half. They've retained the best elements of the cast, stripping away Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom - neither of whom ever feel like particularly strong talents for me, and whose characters were already beginning to fall flat after the first sequel - and keeping Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush. Spanish beauty Penelope Cruz is also a far more enchanting on-screen presence than Knightley, and you get the sense from trailers that she is more of a match for Depp's Captain Sparrow. Ian McShane is Blackbeard. After Bill Nighy's villainous turn in the first two sequels, it will be refreshing to see an adversary more on a equal par with Sparrow (at least on Sparrow's own terms), and the prospect of seeing the Oceans' two most infamous pirates at each other's throats is far more engaging than the idea of a monstrous and largely invincible Kraken, or a beastlly-faced near-immortal as the film's chief enemy. Despite claims of stream-lining, the film is essentially a great big caper with pirates, zombies and mermaids. And as long as they keep the mythology down to the bare minimum, that sounds like a rip-roaring adventure to me. But Be Wary... Captain Jack Sparrow was the role that affirmed Johnny Depp's placement as a caricature actor, and the star is now suffering something of a backlash to the pantomimey performances he has put in throughout his career (largely thanks to his long association with Tim Burton). In On Stranger Tides, Depp will somehow have to balance the character's capacity for pantomime and "creative hyperbole" (i.e. over-acting) with his own inimitable brand of disarming charm - otherwise known as the blend he brought to the first POTC film. Sadly for Depp, Sparrow will be his lasting legacy, and while he seems content to continue his association with the franchise (might have something to do with the $55.5m fee?), I would hate for some of his former glories to evaporate into the ether thanks to some tepid high-numbered sequels of a franchise based on a Disney theme park ride. Bring the festival experience home this year on Blu-ray Disc keep up to date with all the latest Blu-ray news at the Blu-ray Disc Reporter.