It doesn’t happen that often. Even at Cannes. But when Mike Tyson stepped into the cinema late last night to introduce James Toback’s documentary of his life, the Cannes audience were on their feet.
The buzz was palpable. Thousands of eyes locked on one man. And Tyson – soft-faced and wide as a house inside his suit – was humble, generous and positively thrilled to be there.
Did /Tyson/ hit as hard as the man himself? Find out in LWLies’ round-up of the latest Cannes movies…
TYSON (dir. James Toback)
A naked, brutally frank confessional from Mike Tyson, as the man who became boxing’s youngest ever undisputed heavyweight champ relives the last 40 years of life. Bullied childhood, criminal career, pugilistic passions, choked pain, splintered emotions, lost father figures, sexual hunger, bad choices, worse friends… It’s not the full story, but rather a profoundly honest on-camera catharis. Crucially, James Toback’s doc lets ‘Iron’ Mike throw punches with the gloves off.
TOKYO! (dirs. Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, Bong Joon-ho)
Agoraphobia, a girl who turns into a chair and… Mr Shit. The helmers of Eternal Sunshine, Delicatessen and The Host buddy-up for a terrific tryptich about Japan’s megalopolis capital. Best of a cracking bunch? Carax’s wickedly deranged black comedy, in which bizarre, bearded degenerate (eats flowers, throws grenades, speaks gibberish) emerges from the sewers to become an icon of hatred/worship. His name? Merde…
VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA (dir. Woody Allen)
Yes, indeed: the one where Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz get it on. Only briefly, mind. Woody Allen’s latest throwaway rom-com is sexy, funny, silly, forgettable, predictable and, well, better than Match Point. On holiday in Barca, Rebecca Hall and Johansson are chatted up by Bardem’s wealthy bohemian lothario. Lots of voiceover and romantic entanglement ensues. Boredom threatens. Then suicidal ex-wife Cruz gatecrashes for some of the spikiest babble-of-the-sexes motormouthing in a long, long time.
LINHA DE PASSE (dir. Walter Salles)
Back in Brazil after his Xerox redux of J-horror Dark Water, Salles’ hits his grove in this vivid, affecting tale of four brothers struggling to find a life-path in poverty-dented Sao Paulo. Football, religion, family and crime all offer escape routes for Salles superb cast of first-timers, in this compelling portrait of the plight faced by the chaotic city’s 20 million inhabitants.
Leos Carax did indeed direct the ‘Merde’ section of Tokyo!, but not Delicatessen. That was Marc Caro
(and Jean-Pierre Jeunet).
Written by Anton Bitel on May 19th, 2008 at 2:43 pm