Setting the scene. Building character. Applying the dialogue. Structuring the story. I mean, it’s a tireless cliché that the motion picture process begins with the words on the page. At the Cannes Film Festival, although the Best Screenplay prize has not always ran, the high esteem and appreciation for the screenwriting craft has been present in so many of their winners. Here are 7 more films you can crank out on your laptop regards that now that won that very prize.
The Barbarian Invasions / Les Invasions barbares (2003) – Denys Arcand
Written and directed by Canadian filmmaker, Denys Arcand, The Barbarian Invasions follows on somewhat from the main character of Rémy (Rémy Girard) from Arcand’s The Decline of the American Empire from 1986. Except our protagonist’s days of adultery are truly in the past, as Rémy now find himself on the final lap of cancer. It’s not all doom and gloom believe it or not, as seasoned pro Arcand weaves another ripe to the bone screenplay full of good nature and charm.
Citing the title from the notion that the 9/11 attacks paved the way for a social changr, barbarian invasions, the film does not dwell on the grim. Instead, Arcand’s characters confirm like old friends would, open to snide digs and mockery of their previous mishaps in life. Even the turbulent relationship Rémy has with his successful London-located son, Sébastien, is warned with that undeniable kinship.
A father show bemusement at their son’s passion for video games, while reciprocally he resents his father’s womanising history. A mother tries to open the door back into her daughter’s life, while the latter herself buries her head in heroin. Comme ci, comme ça. As Nathalie, Marie-Josée Croze took the Best Actress prize at Cannes (to add to the Best Screenplay win). The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language and a bunch of César Awards followed.
Henry Fool (1998) – Hal Hartley
From where I am sitting Hal Hartley appears to be one of the under-rated film-maker forces in the business. Of course he is not the only one. He appears to be one of the rare few though that continues to make movies his way, and mostly for peanuts, a true indie. His unique dead-pan, but very witty dialogue, and his intentionally amateur-dramatic, but very charming performances, are just two of his consistent ingredients.
Henry Fool came nearly ten years after his debut (The Unbelievable Truth). But this is the film, if I had to guess, non-avid Hartley fans (unlike myself) know him for. It spawned two follow-on projects, the more transparent Fay Grim, and the recent return to form Ned Rifle, with the same principle characters.
This first oddball and utterly intelligent adventure then takes the disruptive stranger in town element (Hartley seems so fond of), and has the title character dissect the Grim family. Henry, who already has a troubled past catching up with him, leaves in his path an even more perturbed poet son, and impregnates his sister – which is where Ned comes in. The screenplay is snappy, smart, and funny in some of the wrong places. Which is what makes it irresistible.
Auf der anderen Seite / Yaşamın Kıyısında / The Edge of Heaven (2007) – Fatih Akın
A truly grounded, seductively powerful drama, the Turkish-German production The Edge of Heaven (English / Auf der anderen Seite (German) / Yaşamın Kıyısında (Turkish) was a well-chosen winner of the Prix du scénario (Screenplay prize) at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Written and directed by the naturally gifted Fatih Akın, this is a movie so well crafted scene-for-scene, it is sheer bliss to watch and absorb. Even in its dark, sullen moments – to which it has ample.
Going the long way around, super-effectively so, the narrative is casually segmented into chapter’s labelled based on character demises, though this is hardly just about dying at all. The artistically refined characters we track center around a lonely old man, a desperate “woman of the night”, a reflective, troubled son, a rebellious, estranged daughter, a good-hearted student. There are amidst the drama, too, memorable contemplative moments, as well as an immaculately composed pacing.
Amazon — The Criterion Channel
Левиафан / Leviathan (2014) – Andrey Zvyagintsev, Oleg Negin
I am not fully aware of where the balance of power lies in this industry with regards to the writers. The screenwriters. Does anyone? Those whose words on the page simply have to exist if there are to be any performers, directors, producers. That is where it all begins.
Winning the Screenplay prize, there are no bones to pick from Andrey Zvyagintsev and Oleg Negin‘s Leviathan, a small town drama with wide-scope issues. The acting from the main cast is so incredibly raw, you almost feel their pain. Beautifully shot too, crashing waves and rock faces ebbing around the community tension. The story itself is inch-perfectly executed. A steady pace is given to the air of doom facing the protagonist’s struggle to hold onto his home and land. Not to mention his disintegrating wife, troublesome son, and who he thought was a loyal old friend.
Zvyagintsev’s screenplay does not waste a single word either. So tight is the narrative it is a candle that burns slowly right in front of you. A candle that burns right down to the core, with hardly any whiff of a happy ending, leaving only an appropriately powerful and bleak closure. References to Leviathan as a masterpiece are not, then, unfounded.
YouTube — Chili — Rakuten TV
The Ice Storm (1997) – James Schamus
Good writing, really good film writing, can surpass (or aid) the talents of an actress, actor or film director. The character actions, where the story takes you, the spoken words. The screenplay. Ang Lee‘s never-to-be-forgotten gem The Ice Storm is a tale so full of promise and innocence, that in the end runs effectively cold as the array of characters collide with wrong side of their emotional climate.
The coming of age cliche more then proficiently lands itself with the adults too. Who at times seem clueless and lost, as the kids make their own mistakes, so naively eager to explore their futures in a hurry. So subtle and mellow is the touching drama on offer here, I suspect there are few out there that have forgotten how much of a classic AMPAS omission this was.
Sure, Lee has been rewarded twice by Oscar since then (both as Director with no Picture win). But as well as the buzz Sigourney Weaver was getting the whole awards season that year, James Schamus‘ screenplay was one of the best that year – and deserved a mention. The Cannes jury, however, made a great call among some other exceptional personal stories in competition. Gary Oldman’s Nil by Mouth and Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter can’t have been far off.
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The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) – Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou
As be proved with his 2015 gem, The Lobster, Yorgos Lanthimos carries his unique, sardonic style and humour with him wherever he goes. More significantly with the Greek filmmaker’s foray into English language territory. And yet in his extraordinary 2017 film, Lanthimos, and co-screenwriter Efthymis Filippou, dip their toe in actual Greek mythology. Remember how Agamemnon had to sacrifice his own daughter, Iphigenia, after he accidentally killed one of Artemis’ sacred deer?
This modern, wickedly surreal update this time has Colin Farrell’s surgeon befriended by eerie teenager Barry Keoghan. A revelation is brought to the table and an unfathomable choice has to be made, or else tragedy will befall the family. The writing in The Killing of a Sacred Deer is gloriously deadpan, awkwardly funny, and all the while a through-line of chilling inevitability fills the air. Not many filmmakers can consistently turn the table of defining truly grand cinema. Lanthimos is, indeed, one of a kind.
Volver (2006) – Pedro Almodóvar
No stranger to the Cannes Film Festival himself – was even the jury president not long ago – Pedro Almodóvar brought the magnetic Volver to the event. A consistently brilliant filmmaker, his 2006 venture was a chip off the old block, while still appearing fresh and vibrant. Proving once again he knows how to tell stories about women better than most in the business. Almodóvar was awarded the Best Screenplay prize at the festival, deservedly so as he continues to surprise us.
Also, the jury came to the conclusion that although there was no official ensemble prize, the Best Actress award would be in fact handed to the female cast of Volver. So Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Yohana Cobo, Lola Dueñas, Chus Lampreave, and Blanca Portillo were all declared as winners. It was a fitting honor, there hasn’t been a collection of talented women performing at this level in a single motion picture for years. And they devoured that punchy script from Almodóvar.
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