Tarantino strikes Cannes gold with 'Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood'

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Quentin Tarantino stormed into Cannes Tuesday with "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood," which critics at the world's biggest film festival hailed as his best movie in years.

They heaped praise on the dark Tinseltown fairytale set in the Los Angeles of 1969 starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a television Western star on the slide and Brad Pitt as his stunt double.

Cast members Brad Pitt (L) and Leonardo DiCaprio pose at the Screening of the film "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" during the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, France, May 21, 2019. /VCG Photo

Twenty-five years after the American director won Cannes' top Palme d'Or prize for "Pulp Fiction," he got some of his best reviews since "Jackie Brown" in 1997.

'baggy, self-indulgent'

Critics clapped at the end having laughed throughout, but there were none of the standing ovations at the press preview that sometimes greet films at Cannes.

And not everyone was won over by Tarantino's genius.

Tim Grierson of the industry journal Screen tweeted that "like a lot of recent Tarantino, this is baggy, self-indulgent, fascinatingly its own thing and ambitiously conceived."

(L-R) Actors Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, director Quentin Tarantino and actress Margot Robbie arrive at the screening of the film "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" during the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, France, May 21, 2019. /VCG Photo

Yet even he conceded that "it's accomplished, sometimes dazzlingly so" even if "it ends up being as hit-or-miss as his last few."

There was much more emotion at the black-tie gala screening, with Tarantino doing John Travolta's two-fingered dance move swipe from "Pulp Fiction" to acknowledge the prolonged standing ovation given by the VIP audience.

Earlier, as he walked the red carpet for the premiere, Tarantino compared his film to Alfonso Cuaron's Oscar-winning "Roma," saying it is "a memory piece, the way 'Roma' was a memory piece... In 1969, Los Angeles was like that."

'Love letter to LA'

The director admitted that "Cannes changed my life" after he brought his first feature "Reservoir Dogs" there in 1992.

"I came here a small independent filmmaker and I left here known by all the critics... and made myself a name as an international filmmaker. And then two years later, my life changed all over again" when he won the Palme d'Or with "Pulp Fiction."

Director Quentin Tarantino (front) and his wife Daniella Pick at the screening of the film "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood" during the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, France, May 21, 2019. /VCG Photo

DiCaprio, 44, told reporters that the film is "a throwback to the type of Hollywood epics we don't get to see any more.

"It's all from the mind of the great Quentin Tarantino, who's not only one of the best writers but one of the best directors on Earth.

"It's about Hollywood and we play outsiders trying to make our way in a changing world in 1969 as the world passes by," he said.

Co-star and architecture buff Pitt, who is 55 but looks far younger on screen, described the movie as "a love letter to Hollywood and to LA... a city I love."

No-spoilers plea

Just before the movie was screened, festival director Thierry Fremaux appealed to critics not to give away the plot.

Tarantino made a similar plea Monday, writing a letter that was posted on the movie's Twitter account begging journalists not to let details slip that might spoil the film for his fans.

A fan of director Quentin Tarantino carries a sign at the screening of the film "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood" during the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, France, May 21, 2019. /VCG Photo

"The cast and crew have worked so hard to create something original, and I only ask that everyone avoids revealing anything that would prevent later audiences from experiencing the film in the same way."

Audiences will have to wait until July to make their minds about "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood," when it will be released in the U.S.

Quentin Tarantino is a renowned director and screenwriter who has helped to advocate overlooked, quality films. Chinese films like Chungking Express (1994) and Hero (2002) were introduced to America because of his work.

(Cover: Director Quentin Tarantino gestures at the screening of the film "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood" during the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, France, May 21, 2019. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP