The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/arts/entertainment-cannes.html May 25, 2007
Romanian Film Favorite as Cannes Winds Up By REUTERS Filed at 9:10 a.m. ET CANNES, France (Reuters) - When director Pedro Almodovar was named hot favorite to triumph at the <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/cannes_inter national_film_festival/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier> Cannes Film Festival in 2006, he called it a curse after he failed to win. The dubious honor of pre-award favorite -- which so often goes to a film that then fails to win the competition -- falls this year to a movie depicting Romania towards the end of the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu and all its uncaring grimness. One of the first films to be screened, ``4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days'' has led virtually from the start. Directed by Cristian Mungiu, it unfolds in a single day and tells the story of Gabita illegally aborting an unwanted baby and the trials of her friend and accomplice, Otilia. Its popularity in Cannes is appropriate given that the main competition was full of harrowing tales, while several have also featured outstanding performances by leading actresses. The movie marathon wraps up with Sunday night's award ceremony. Journalists are winding down, the crowds are thinning out and the films are back in focus after 10 hectic days of screenings, interviews, red carpets, parties and deals. ``4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days'' is one of the few films in Cannes this year that united critics from France and those from the non-French-speaking world. The often yawning gap between the two camps has made the 60th Cannes Film Festival even more difficult to predict than usual, although there is a general feeling that the quality of the main competition line-up has been generally good. With two films yet to screen -- <http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=98330&inline=ny t-per> Emir Kusturica's ``Promise Me This'' and Naomi Kawase's ``The Mourning Forest'' -- favorites include ``No Country For Old Men'' by the Coen brothers, ''Alexandra'' by Russia's Alexander Sokurov, ``Zodiac'' by David Fincher (U.S.) and ``Secret Sunshine'' from South Korea. <http://www.online.reuters.com/> Copyright 2007 Reuters Ltd. ---------------------------- Vali "Noble blood is an accident of fortune; noble actions are the chief mark of greatness." (Carlo Goldoni) "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." (Jimi Hendrix)
