In the league of Allen’s earlier works like Bullets Over Broadway, Vicky Christina Barcelona and Match Point, Cafe Society went well with critics and others. (AFP)īeyond all these, is the refreshing New York of the 1930s which Allen portrays through stunning visuals - which turned out to be an apt canvas for an opening night gala. Read: Post Paris attacks, Cannes tries hard to balance security with festivity Woody Allen and his partner Soon-Yi Previn arrive for the opening ceremony at Cannes. While Allen has a wonderful way with one liners that tickle us no end, he also presents a more serious side to life in New York and its Cafe culture - which can be compared to India’s sort of thing that became a rage with society journalists hunting down mostly Bollywood celebrities and digging into their private lives.Ĭafe Society also paints a graphic picture of crime in the 1930s seen through the exploits of Bobby’s elder brother, Ben, who dumps bodies in a pit and covers them with concrete. Read: Cannes | Not just films, a town famous for luxury, heists and more Woody Allen and actor Kristen Stewart pose during a photocall for the film Cafe Society at Cannes. But the problem is that Vonnie already has a boyfriend, and Allen - who dons the role of a narrator - fills in the gaps in the story that is one of heartbreak and reconciliation and, yes, wit (”You should live each day as if it is your last, and one day you will be right.”). There he meets his mother’s brother, Uncle Phil, who is a high-profile casting agent - who hires the boy to run errands for him and also introduces him to his pretty secretary, Vonnie (Kristen Stewart).īobby is smitten by Vonnie’s simple charms and simpler outlook in life that is far removed from the artifice and glamour of Hollywood. The father is a jeweller, and one of his two sons, Bobby (played impressively by Jesse Eisenberg in what could be his career-defining moment) is sick and tired of the business and leaves for Hollywood to try and find luck in the magic of movies. Incidentally, Lafitte, a French comedian co-stars in Paul Verhoeven’s rape drama, Ellen, which premieres at the festival next week.Īllen seemed unfazed by all this, and went through the evening with his trademark sardonic smile.Ĭafe Society is itself a sweet, sardonic story of a Jewish family settled in the 1930s New York. Read: No one asked Woody Allen about his alleged sexual crimes at Cannes Despite Laurent Lafitte’s comment, director Woody Allen seemed unfazed by all this and went through the evening with his trademark sardonic smile.
Possibly, Latiffe’s remark was also meant for director Roman Polanski, who still faces a criminal charge in the US for having raped a teenage girl many years ago.
It was meant to be a joke, but drew loud gasps from the huge international audience which felt that it was an unkind knock on the 80-year-old celebrated veteran, Allen. “It’s very nice that you’ve been shooting so many films in Europe, even if you are not being convicted for rape in the US,” said Lafitte.
The Cannes Film Festival went red in its face n Wednesday evening when the Master of Ceremonies Laurent Lafitte, made a distasteful joke minutes after Woody Allen’s opening movie, Cafe Society, had won a standing ovation.