Festival In Cannes
Filming on location in France during the 1999 Cannes Film Festival, Henry Jaglom goes behind the scenes to explore how movies get made (and unmade). He would know--he's been making them for decades now. In this one, he takes an Altman-meets-Cassavetes approach to his subject. While former actress Alice (Greta Scacchi), for instance, is trying to get her directorial debut off the ground, film icon Millie (Anouk Aimée) is trying to decide between the lead in Alice's indie and a (better-paying) cameo in the new Tom Hanks vehicle. As inThe Player, Jaglom focuses on several characters and, as in many Cassavetes pictures, the dialogue feels improvised. IfFestival in Cannesis less emotionally involving than 1997'sDéjà Vu(arguably his best), it still provides a fine showcase for a talented cast, including Maximilian Schell as Millie's husband and Ron Silver as the producer behind the Hanks project.--Kathleen C. Fennessy