Cannes Review: The Princess of Montpensier, A Screaming Man, Outrage

Robert here, still scouring the internet to give you the latest on the films premiering in Cannes.  I'm happy to report that reactions to the films seem to be improving.  Keep your fingers crossed that more gems appear before the fest ends.

In Competition

• The Princess of Montpensier Best known for his film A Sunday in the Country, Bertrand Tavernier's latest, a lavish costume drama was greeted by scattered boos at the press screening, but you wouldn't know it from the reviews.  The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt calls it "one of the finest costume dramas in a long while"  And Geoff Andrew of Time Out London says "Tavernier’s film impresses from start to finish."  Rope of Silicon's Brad Brevet finally chimes in with a negative piece, saying "the treatment of the material is redundant an ineffective."
• A Screaming Man This film about a desperate newly unemployed man in the civil war raged country of Chad is positioning itself as a definite Palme d'Ore contender.  The N.Y. Times' Manohla Dargis (in a piece covering the whole fest) calls it "the strongest competition film" at least so far.  Wesley Morris of MovieNation says, of the director "In every shot, Haroun puts his camera to quiet but grand use."  The Hollywood Reporter calls it "modest but quietly powerful."
• Outrage Takeshi Kitani's yakuza film "could have been called 37 Violent Scenes in a Row" suggests Film.com in their C+ review.  But The Hollywood Reporter considers it "his best film in a decade." Over at Rope of Silicon, Brevet splits the difference, saying " I laughed with and enjoyed this film, but it didn't strike me as any kind of overwhelming achievement."