Festival in Cannes

FESTIVAL IN CANNES. This Henry Jaglom film from 2001 seemed rather appropriate at the moment, so I pulled it out of the “to see sometime” pile. It is like Altman-lite as we dip in and out of various people at Cannes - the story is silly, there seems to be no script as they seem to improvise a lot, are the characters real or fake? Anouk Aimee is Millie Marquand a mature French actress looking for a good role. Greta Scacchi is another actress who has written a script which she wants to direct with a good role for Millie, while Ron Silver is the hot-shot producer (who is financially overstretched) who also needs Millie to cement the deal for a big movie he is putting together where Tom Hanks will only commit if Millie plays the small role of his mother. So which will Millie choose? Advising her is her ex-husband Maximilian Schell, who wants to direct the film. Then there is Kaz (Zack Norman) who comes across as a major creep but says he is a producer with a $3 million to spend – but is he really? Both the men hit on various women (that is what producers do, right?) as everyone tries to hustle a deal. Anouk and Max Schell seem bemused by it all and play along gamely – nice to see her on screen again, as alluring as ever. Scacchi also seems to be improvising a lot and seems very amused by it all (though the very idea of Anouk Aimee as Tom Hanks's mother...!).

Shot at the 1999 Festival others who pop up include Peter Bogdanovich, and Faye Dunaway with her son Liam, all it seems keen to be on camera. An amusing trifle then, with a very nice poster and some Charles Trenet and Piaf on the soundtrack. Altman fans should like it – the end credits include an apology to Tom Hanks! [Scacchi is currently playing Bette Davis on stage in London in "Bette and Joan", to good reviews – I am seeing it before it closes in June].