Robin Write Revisits Cannes: Best Screenplay

Robin Write at writeoutofla.com shares his favorite Best Screenplay winners at Cannes.

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. This is sometimes what isee beyond anything else. 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. I still think, to many of us on the outside looking in, that many of the scriptwriters are perhaps not getting the coverage for their achievements they deserve. That and ninety-nine other problems in the movie business. Being in the screenwriting field myself, you have to forgive me for singing loudly in this choir.

The sheer range of winners in Cannes with the Prix du scénario (award for best Screenplay) is still impressive, even if limited by the fact this particular prize was not even awarded for nearly half the years it existed. The world is a huge place, and this great festival certainly covers many corners of it. That said, the screenplays winners do appear to be a little more opaque than some of the other categories (like acting and directing for example) – which is certainly not a bad thing. I did, however, have little trouble shortlisting five of my favorite winners in this category. Next time you see these movies, take note of the writing, if you have not already :

2014 – Andrey Zvyagintsev (Leviathan)

Worthy Alternatives:
Bruce Wagner (Maps to the Stars)
Damián Szifron (Wild Tales)

There are no bones to pick from Andrey Zvyagintsev’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-peerfectly 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.

1997 – James Schamus (The Ice Storm)

Worthy Alternatives:
Gary Oldman (Nil by Mouth)
Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter)

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 (as Director wth 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.

1981 – István Szabó (Mephisto)

Worthy Alternatives:
Andrzej Zulawski & Frederic Tuten (Posession)
Michael Mann (Thief)

Also winning the FIPRESCI Prize that year, István Szabó’s Mephisto is an exhausting obsession movie. There’s a lot going on here too, like the rise of the Nazi party, while our protagonist has an affair with a mixed race woman. The elements that make this story truly mean something though are not just used flippantly, nor are they over-powering the narrative. What does scream louder than anything else is that this is a movie about acting (however deeply you want to look into that as a social theme) with the incredible lead performance by Klaus Maria Brandauer. “I need the German language, I need the motherland, don’t you see!” he declares in despair at one point, in a moment, like many others, that is the most important thing in the world. Watch it with Cabaret, you decide the order.

2003 – Denys Arcand (The Barbarian Invasions)

Worthy Alternatives:
Lars von Trier (Dogville)
Gus Van Sant (Elephant)

There’s nothing funny about terminal cancer. Or heroin. Or cheating on your wife. And there are many things less upsetting than a damaged, bitter father-son relationship. So The Barbarian Invasions might not appear to be a pleasing viewing prospect. Denys Arcand’s follow-on story from The Decline of the American Empire (nearly twenty years prior) is far from bleak as a whole. In fact, it is intelligent, compelling and inviting from the very start. The set-up is so immediately engaging and familiar you perhaps feel the film is way beyond the ten minutes you’ve watched so far. While the political backdrop and family history contribute to the movie’s narrative and form much of the script’s dialogue, one of the real perks is the dry humor that is also present. The bittersweet and frank interactions, that often tend to be about the main character Remy’s outlook on women, fit perfectly, and ground us to the human story.

1998 – Hal Hartley (Henry Fool)

Worthy Alternatives:
Vincenzo Cerami & Roberto Benigni (Life Is Beautiful)
Paul Laverty (My Name Is Joe)

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. 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. Heny, 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.

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Robin Write, longtime fixture at AwardsDaily, runs his own site at writeoutofla.com

You can follow him on twitter too.