First Looks At Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Mekong Hotel And Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt [Cannes 2012]

With Cannes being right around a week out, we’ve all been getting our first looks at some of the biggest projects set to bow at this year’s festival, and today is no different, as two of the absolute biggest films set to debut on the Croisette this year have just debuted their first pieces of promotional material.

First up, we have our first look at Palme d’Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s new film, Mekong Hotel. The film is his follow up to the absolutely brilliant Uncle Boonmee, and is one of the early favorites for the festival’s main award this year.

Here is the film’s synopsis from The Match Factory:

‘Mekong Hotel’ is a portrait of a hotel near the Mekong River in the north-east of Thailand. The river there marks the border between Thailand and Laos. In the bedrooms and terraces, Apichatpong held a rehearsal with his crew for a movie that he wrote years ago called Ecstasy Garden. The film shuffles different realms, fact and fiction, expressing the bonds between a vampire-like mother and her daughter, the young lovers and the river. Mekong Hotel – since it was shot at the time of the heavy flooding in Thailand – also weaves in layers of demolition, politics, and a drifting dream of the future.

As a massive fan of him and his work, Mekong is far and away one of my most anticipated films from this year’s festival slate, and these photos do nothing but add to that. They look atmospheric, beautiful, and simply fantastic. Toss in an awesome premise, and you have me in.

Source Flix / The Playlist

The other big film to debut some new footage/photography is Thomas Vinterberg’s next film, The Hunt. The return of the iconic Dogme 95 director, the film follows ’40 year-old Lucas has a new girlfriend, a new job and is in the process of reestablishing his relationship with his teenage son, Marcus. But things go awry. Not a lot. Just a small comment. A random lie. And as the snow falls and the Christmas lights are lit, the lie spreads like an invisible virus. The shock and mistrust gets out of hand, and the small community suddenly finds itself in a collective state of hysteria, while Lucas fights a lonely fight for his life and dignity.’

The film stars Mads Mikkelsen, Susse Wold, Thomas Bo Larsen, Lars Ranthe and Anne Louise Hassing, and has become one of the most talked about films from this festival’s slate. Vinterberg is one of the film world’s greatest filmmakers, or at least most singular, and with this great a cast, this film should be nothing but spectacular.  

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIAV66tGSO8&version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08tDHExamtw&version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdRkJI5QMfw&version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0]

Source Flix / The Playlist
What do you think?