Cannes report: Tarantino, von Trier, and eight other mid-fest talking points

1.  Frontrunner to win: Still A Prophet, with Bright Star retaining loyal followers, and Fish Tank (and possibly Looking For Eric) in contention.

2.  Best performance, male: Still A Prophet’s Tahar Rahim. And now maybe Christoph Waltz from Inglourious Basterds.

3.  Best performance, female: Could be Katie Jarvis in Fish Tank or Abbie Cornish in Bright Star. But how about Kim Hye-Ja, who’s so maternally fierce in Mother? And don’t rule out Charlotte Gainsbourg, for hysteria above and beyond the call of duty in Antichrist.

4.  Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds: Is it anything more than an exercise in style? Love the Nazis.

5.  And love the Romanians, too; their world-cinema hot streak continues. Police, Adjective (in the Certain Regard sidebar), about a cop trying not to bust a kid for possession of hashish, is one of the strongest things in the festival.  And Tales From the Golden Age, also in the sidebar, samples the best in Romanian filmmaking black humor in an omnibus of short dramas based on urban legends out of Romania’s unfunny late communist era.

6.  Lars von Trier: Yes, he made Antichrist during a period of serious depression. But still, yeeesh, rancid.  Anyhow, glad it’s now got U.S. distribution, since it’s something to, uh, see.

7.  Blood sucking, bullet shooting, mutilation, dismemberment: Anyone want a glass of Provencal wine?

8.  Taking Woodstock: Ang Lee paved Paradise, put up a parking lot.

9.  Almodovar: Can I hire him to redecorate my home?

10. Up: Remember Up, which premiered so long ago last week? Delightful. It opens on May 29.