By Dave McCoy
MSN Movies

May 26, 2006

I'm fried. And that thing is happening again — that late-in-festival thing where movies are blending into one another, I can't remember what I saw two days ago, and all I want to do is sleep and eat. Cannes has turned me into a dog.

Thankfully, the festival is entering its final weekend, and this, I'm sad to report, is my final dispatch from Cannes. When it concludes on Sunday, I'll have seen 20 films, walked about 40 miles, given my first video interview (God help us all) and survived 14 days on a small, cramped boat with three colleagues. And I loved every minute of it.

Here are some highlights and lowlights from two weeks at the world's most insane film festival:

Best Film: Andrea Arnold's "Red Road." I doubt it will win anything at Sunday night's award ceremonies, but this heartbreaking, riveting tale of a voyeur pulled back into her own life has stuck with me for over a week. Here's to hoping it gets American distribution.

Worst Film: I'm still sad about "Southland Tales," but as a friend reminded me, you could see it coming. Since creating "Donnie Darko," Richard Kelly has done an awful director's cut of the film that strips away much of the mystery, and then wrote "Domino" for Tony Scott. Again, I hope this doesn't ruin his career, but instead gives him focus.

Ladies' Week: Good luck picking a favorite to win Best Actress on Sunday night. The field is brutal. Penélope Cruz ("Volver"), Lei Hao ("Summer Palace"), Kate Dickie ("Red Road"), and Kirsten Dunst ("Marie Antoinette") are all fabulous and deserving. And women filmmakers, including Sofia Coppola and Andrea Arnold, have had terrific showings here at Cannes.

Biggest Debate: It screened two days ago, but critics are still fighting over "Marie Antoinette." It's gotten mercilessly booed, supporters rallied back with cheers and defense, and Coppola, its director, has spent the last 48 hours defending it. Its critics hate the modern revisionist history that turns the French queen into a sympathetic scapegoat. Supporters, myself included, see it not as a strict period piece, but as a character study of alienation and naivete. As for the '80s-new-wave soundtrack and dazzling modern fashion and brashness? "The story is about teenagers in Versailles, so I wanted it to have that energy of youth and teenage feeling to it," Coppola said. Exactly. Ignore the critics, especially the uptight French ones, Ms. Coppola: You've made a great film.

Biggest No Show: Brad Pitt skipped the premiere of "Babel" because he and Angelina Jolie have their first baby on the way. Don't be surprised if Pitt still picks up a Best Actor award on Sunday for his tortured performance.

Best Personal Moment: I saw four geniuses on one stage on Thursday night. Jane Campion ("The Piano"), Gaspar Noé ("Irreversible"), François Ozon ("Swimming Pool") and Monte Hellman ("Two-Lane Blacktop") all presented their latest short films. The IQ on that stage was sky high; I was overwhelmed with glee.

Stupidest Personal Moment: I forgot my camera.

Beauty and Grace: I saw Cate Blanchett on the red carpet for "Babel" and literally gasped. Her presence reminds me of Grace Kelly. She's beautiful, classy, glamorous, talented ... the whole package. And in "Babel" she give a performance that rivals Tim Roth's in "Reservoir Dogs" — she's lying in her own blood, in complete pain, and STILL looks fantastic.

Most Shocking Images: The opening of "Taxidermia" (the image is on the Web ... do a search, folks) and a scene in "Shortbus" involving three nude men and our national anthem. That's all I can say without getting fired.

Gus Van Sant Award: Van Sant made two very commercial pictures in "Good Will Hunting" and "Finding Forrester" and then went art-house indie for his next three pictures and revived his career. Richard Linklater has now done the same, and become the first director to have two films at Cannes at the same time. He took his paydays from "School of Rock" and "Bad News Bears" and made two very personal films in "A Scanner Darkly" and "Fast Food Nation." Nice work.

Best Overheard Quote: Three American college kids are sitting at a table and discussing Alfred Hitchcock. One says, "Dude, imagine being dead and having people come see your movie? Whoa." Ah, youth.

Worst Rationalization: According to Roger Ebert's latest column, L.A. Times critic Ken Turan only stays for the beginning of each movie at a film festival (which explains why I saw him leave "The Decline of Western Civilization - Part III" after 20 minutes at Sundance in 1998). According to Ebert, Turan "wants to get an overview of the whole festival." That's hilarious. How can you get an overview of a festival when you haven't seen a movie? That's not an overview; it's called a short attention span! And laziness! And it's an insult to the filmmakers and your readers.

Favorite Restaurant: I don't usually plug, but if you're ever in Cannes, find La Mirabelle. It's situated about halfway up a winding alley, Rue Saint-Antoine, across from the docks. The food is absolutely exquisite. It's so mind-blowing that I dropped to my knees and nearly found religion ... but then just realized that, no, it's just a terrific chef doing his or her job.

And finally ...

Palme d'Or Prediction: He's won the Best Director award and he's loved in Europe, so it's about time Pedro Almodóvar wins Cannes' biggest prize. Look for "Volver" to do very well on Sunday night. You can get all the results at http://movies.msn.com/movies/cannes06.

Au revoir...

What Cannes selection interests you most? Write us at heymsn@microsoft.com.

Dave McCoy is lead editor for MSN Movies.