Cannes

Palm d’Or winning director Roland Joffé’s latest film “You and I” was screened yesterday in Cannes for buyers only. Produced by Leonid Minkovsky and Ramco productions, the film is based on Aleksey Mitrofanova’s book “t.A.T.u Come Back.” “You and I” is a story of two teen girls who meet and fall in love with each other at a Russian pop concert in Moscow. In only a few days, they find themselves entangled in a web of sex, addiction, and lies.

 Famed American television actress Mischa Barton stars as “Lana”, a beautiful but poor Russian factory worker. After visiting the online chat room of lesbian Russian music sensation “t.A.T.u”, Lana leaves her rural village to travel 9 hours by train to Moscow in order to meet “Janie”, a wealthy American drug addict played by lesser known actress Shantel VanSanten. Once the girls meet, they become instantly infatuated with each other. However, Lana’s aspirations to be a model and Janie’s drug problems come between them, and stall their love. By the conclusion of the film, Lana and Janie are reunited under the same circumstances of their initial meeting- their passion for music and “t.A.T.u.” The film explores Moscow’s club culture, youth, music and drug scene. It also displays and the strong contrast between urban and rural environments- for the film has scenes in both Moscow and provincial Russia. “You and I” is aimed at a youth audience, but may encounter some issues with ratings in American and other international markets because of heavy drug use and sexual content. The acting was nothing spectacular, but nonetheless adequate for teen audiences.

Despite negative whispers in Hollywood about the film, the Cannes screening had a decent attendance of buyers. It will be interesting to see the outcome of this film’s future when it hits screens across the globe.

See a preview here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U68GGtmKX6E