Cannes Film Festival: Sean Penn fails to save face

Sean Penn managed to adopt a convincingly stoic aspect at the Cannes Film Festival after receiving abysmal reviews for his new drama The Last Face.

Playing in the main competition, the film stars Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem as two doctors caring for the wounded in an African warzone.

Penn directed the film, but does not feature in it.

The Guardian, the Daily Telegraph and The Irish Times all carried rare one-star notices.

At a press conference, a diplomatic journalist asked Penn what he thought about the film’s “mixed reviews”, many of which complained about the underdeveloped black characters.

“Well, we’ve finished the film,” he said. “So it’s not a discussion that can be of any value. I stand by the film as it is. Everybody is well entitled to their response.”

Penn was asked how he dealt with egos on set. His answer sounded reasonably sincere.

“Your first challenge is dealing with your own ego,” he said.

He also discussed addressing important political issues through entertainment.

“It’s important to entertain if entertainment is not synonymous with Donald Trump’s behaviour. Too much of film is today I think. Greek tragedy has almost been forgotten.

“But to find beauty in things is the way to fix things. Our idea of beauty today is a perversion of it.”

Gimme Danger

The veteran rock star Iggy Pop, now an implausible 69, was having a better time of it at Cannes.

The great man was in town for a midnight premiere of Gimme Danger, Jim Jarmusch’s documentary on Iggy’s band The Stooges.

The picture, which went down a storm, reveals the star to be as lithe, witty and articulate as ever.

The Irish Times asked him how, when so many of his contemporaries died young, he continued to remain so lively and lucid.

“Who’s lucid?” he said in jest. “Me? Well, I had really great parents and I didn’t listen to them. Later in my life I began to listen to them - particularly my mom. Simple stuff like that. When I am not doing this job I go to bed early.

“For some reason I have been able to regenerate from the various things I put into myself. Eat three squares. Work reasonably hard. Nothing fancy.”

Notwithstanding the minor catastrophe that was The Last Face, this year’s Cannes competition had been well received.

A week after it screened, Maren Ade’s Toni Erdmann remains favourite to take the Palme d’Or on Sunday night.

The German would only be the second female director to win the prize.