Nicole Kidman at the 'Dogville' photo call in Cannes, 5/19/03 Credit: Alan Davidson, WireImage.com More Cannes Photos

By Kirk Honeycutt and Michael Rechtshaffen

CANNES (Hollywood Reporter) - It certainly took awhile this year, but finally a bit of buzz and momentum appears to be gathering around a few films In Competition at the Festival de Cannes.

At midfestival, people are starting to talk about Hector Babenco 's mesmerizing prison drama "Carandiru," Francois Ozon 's stylish and sexy "Swimming Pool," Samira Makhmalbaf's look at Afghanistan's torn society in "Panj E Asr (At Five in the Afternoon)" and Lars von Trier 's artistically challenging if crowd-dividing dark take on small-town behavior, "Dogville."

Of course, many highly anticipated films lie ahead, including those by Michael Haneke, Denys Arcand , Vincent Gallo , Claude Miller, Peter Greenaway, Alexander Sokurov, Bertrand Blier and Clint Eastwood .

Because "Mystic River," Eastwood's conventional yet worthy crime drama, was screened for select press in Los Angeles before Cannes, that film too, at least at this point, should be considered among the stronger entries.

Even with the emergence of some talked-about Competition entries, the lineup is pretty lackluster compared with last year's benchmark program, which included "The Pianist," "About Schmidt," "Man Without a Past," "Divine Intervention," "Punch-Drunk Love," "Bowling for Columbine" and "The Son."

Until the start of the festival's second week, most of the celebration surrounded films at special screenings or Out of Competition, but even those categories seemed to get off to a weaker start than in previous years.

Raoul Ruiz's "Ce Jour-la" is typical Ruiz surrealism. The early sections produced laughs, and the quality of the filmmaking is superior throughout. But the preciousness of the conceit eventually works against the film. The French film could justifiably win awards Sunday, but a Palme d'Or seems unlikely.

Gus Van Sant 's "Elephant" probably annoyed as many as it impressed. The pseudo-documentary-style look at a high school shooting rampage failed to enlighten viewers about this particular American horror. On the other hand, it earned applause at the press screening.

Nuri Bilge Ceylan's "Uzak" (Distant), from Turkey, provided a slow-going look at alienation and helplessness. Most attendees, however, did stick through the press showing to give it also a healthy applause. Will the jury agree with those sentiments?

Makhmalbaf's at times poetic examination of life in Afghanistan post-Taliban, "Panj E Asr," moved at a snail's pace yet most definitely had its adherents. It may be the most politically correct film for jurors to consider, meaning it will probably win its young filmmaker a second award of some sort from a Cannes jury.

Many of the fest's best pictures debuted outside of Competition. Wim Wenders ' "The Soul of a Man" proves a rousing, dynamic tribute to three musical pioneers of the American blues. Sylvain Chomet's animated feature "Les Triplettes de Belleville" delighted audiences with its dry whimsy and smooth blend of 2-D and 3-D animation. Rithy Panh's "S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine" provides a riveting and horrifying look at everyday life inside a torture center of that murderous Cambodian regime.

And, of course, the triumph of January's Sundance Film Festival, Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini's glorious "American Splendor," debuted here in Europe in Un Certain Regard. Among other UCR highlights: David Mackenzie's "Young Adam," an evocative serving of film noir adapted from a forgotten novel by Scottish Beat writer Alexander Trocchi and boasting red-hot performances by Ewan McGregor and Tilda Swinton ; "Mille Mois," a lyrical first feature by Faouzi Bensaidi set in a small Moroccan village; and Sue Brooks' "Japanese Story," a clashing-culture character study graced by a strong Toni Collette performance.

But like Morpheus in "The Matrix Reloaded," which screened Out of Competition last week, Cannes audiences are still waiting hopefully for the One.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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