Critics divided at Cannes fest

CANNES, France—As the Cannes Film Festival wraps up tonight, a look at the movies seen so far and their reviews reveals deep divisions among the critics.

Some are polarized on the basic question of whether cinema is more entertainment or art, while others show cultural bias. Another faction gives more weight to pedigree, politics or aesthetics.

So far, broadly, US and British press and industry types are plumping for “Carol,” an American period lesbian romance lifted to Oscar heights by a flawless performance from Australian star Cate Blanchett.

Emotional wallop

Vanity Fair magazine said the movie “transcends” and achieves “something rather mighty.”   But many continental Europeans are more seduced by “My Mother,” an Italian film that packs an emotional wallop as it explores a director’s crises.

“Able to move and raise laughter, it seems able to take the Palme d’Or,” Italian magazine Panorama wrote.

Two other Cannes movies—“Youth,” another Italian-directed film starring Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel and Jane Fonda ruminating about aging, and grim Hungarian Holocaust drama “Son of Saul”—are also seen as worthy leading contenders.

European reviewers said they were wary of American movies that seemed too obviously to be seeking Oscar prestige, at the expense of offering a fresh or unusual perspective.

British and Americans “are maybe more sensitive to the look of a film,” David Elbaz, of Radio Campus Paris, told AFP. “For European critics, it’s a little more suspect.”

The French are showing particular affection for one of their five films in the competition, “The Measure of a Man,” which looks at home-turf unemployment.

In a strong lineup, only one movie has been unanimously panned: Gus Van Sant’s “The Sea of Trees.” Starring Matthew McConaughey and Naomi Watts, the film tells the story of a depressed American man’s voyage into a Japanese woodland known for suicides.

Whatever the critics might say, the decisions rest with this year’s Cannes jury, headed by American sibling director duo Joel and Ethan Coen.

Sometimes—as in 2004, when the anti-George W. Bush documentary “Fahrenheit 911” won the Palme—politics triumphs. This year, though, the race looks more likely to be decided on the merits and quality of the contenders.   The Cannes Palme d’Or closing ceremony will be held tonight (in France).