ALEX FARBA

The big film of Day 4, saturday here, was the Yves St Laurent film by French "auteur" directeur Bernard Bonello entitled SAINT LAUTENT.  My internal jury is still out on this heavily stylized G&LT opus in flagrante and on the director as well, but I must admit that it was infinitely more interesting than the other St Laurent movie by Galil Lespert with a no-name cast that came out the same year, 2014  -- which I made a point of seeing when I was more or less living in Paris three years ago and was vaguely kept awake. That was shortly after we met, in fact, at the Cinematheque in the aftermath of Jancsó in Dec. 2013.

Bonello is a special Festival Guest this year and is being biven a mini retro of four films. So far I've caught this and his Le Pornographe, featuring Jean Pierre Léaud as a hardcore porn director -- good choice! He looks like he never got over the 400 blows, which is as it should be... n'est-ce pas?

Hadn't even heard of this guy before but he has now suddenly become news worthy for me and I still have to see another film of his, "Nocturama" (Paris is happening)  tomorrow to fill out the file on him ...

Wondering if you have seen this or any other films by Bonello and look fwd to some of your deft critical surgery if so -- or even if not so.

This YSL was an all star job with an extreme charismatic perf by actor Gaspar Ulliel, whom I'd never herd of previously -- and an incredible supporting lineup: Jéremie Renier, Louis Gardel (who played JL Godard a month ago at Cannes and here plays Yve's hard core gay lover), Léa Sedoux, Helmut Berger (as the aged YSL), V. Bruno Tedeschi (Sarkozy's sister in law) and an unrecognizable Dominique Sanda (!) erstwhile of The Finzi Contini Gardens, now 70 something, as Yve's mother... quite a lineup -- i'm obviously going to have to see this picture again, just for the Who's Who and who was That again of the casting ...

Anyway, any remarks you may have will be highly appreciated.

This festival is fukking nuts! -- almost every film Ive seen has benn interesting in one way or another - I saw more good pictures in One Day here than the whole ten daze at Cannes, and there were at least Ten or fifteen movies I wanted to see but couldn't get to because of around the clock skedding and the need to catch at least some sleep -- to be alert enough to absorb the riches coming at you non-stop from a variety of silver screens ... golly, gee willickers! -- embarras de choix, anyone?

Pictures  i missed here but are now on my eventual must-see indispensable list include:   A doc on French Jewish actor of many classics, Marcel Dalio (les Règles du jeu, etc., etc.)  a doc on Brian de Palma, Tarkovski's The Mirror, Mifune, the Last Samurai  (doc, 2015), A Journey Thru French Cinema by Tavernier (2016), Hal Ashby's Let's Spend the Night Together (1982 Rolling Stones doc), Bonello's House of Tolerance, half a dozen Finnish films old and new, some more Sauras I couldn't get to --- JeezusamaJigg ~ the list goes on and on. The programming at Sodankylä is head and shoulders above Cannes -- and unlike the Riviera rat race there is almost no dross mixed in with the gold here -- but, hélas - not enough time to mine it all unless one were to take a raincheck on sleep entirely for five straight nights --

En somme: This is like about five festivals packed into one lasting 5X24 =(120) hours -- fully packed To the gills. And in between, zillions of fascinating people to meet and talk film with -- like for example, the other day while talking a coffee break, I find myself chatting with one of the rare Gringos here -- who turns out to be the head programmer for Telluride! -- then the French and Polish entourage of Hanna Schygulla, not to mention Hanna herself -- got all their emails -- Shee man, this is just one long outdoor and indoor cinema party, fueled by Reindeer stew and plenty of Black Rooster juice (Kakus Beer and Ale) -- Highly recommend if you got nothing better to do next June -- 

 Gaspar Ulliel down to the buff in Yves St Laurent turns in  a bare bones reincarnation of the troubled haute couture genius 

 Alex, Sodankylä