Whispers started over the weekend that a new film would be added in competition at the Cannes Film Festival and, as usual, many speculated that it would be Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life.” To no great surprise, it wasn’t, as it turns out — instead, Cannes favorite Ken Loach will be presenting his new film, Iraq war drama “Route Irish,” only a year after “Looking for Eric” premiered on the Croisette.
Variety claims that Loach had initially decided not to submit the film, but recently changed his mind, and the film’s been accepted into the festival’s main strand, where it will compete with the likes of Doug Liman’s “Fair Game,” Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s “Biutiful,” Abbas Kiarastomi’s “Certified Copy” and Mike Leigh’s “Another Year.”
The drama, which sees Loach reuniting with regular screenwriter Paul Laverty and, for the first time in 20 years, DoP Chris Menges (“Kes,” “The Reader”), is named after the dangerous road between Baghdad airport and the green zone of the city, and follows two private contractors in love with the same woman. It’s apparently quite action-heavy, a departure for the filmmaker, and there’s no doubt that this is an enormously exciting addition to the line-up.
Incidentally, you can now watch six of Loach’s classic films in full, legally and for free, on YouTube. “Cathy Come Home,” “Kes,” “Riff-Raff,” “The Navigators,” “Poor Cow” and “Ae Fond Kiss” are all now available, with more promised, so if you’re unfamiliar with the great director’s work (what have you been doing with yourself?), then now seems like the perfect time for a crash course.
