戛納電影節：《透納先生》成奪獎熱門

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Mike Leigh's new film about the celebrated British artist JMW Turner, has been lauded by critics at Cannes, with some suggesting it may be in line for prizes at the festival and beyond.

Varietycalled Mr Turner "a natural awards contender", while The Independent predicted its starTimothy Spall would "surely be among the front runners for the festival's best actor award".

"Come awards time, expect Mr Turner to be harrumphing his way to the stage," Total Film's Jamie Graham said.

The film, Leigh's first feature in four years, received its gala premiere on Thursday.

The director's two-and-a-half hour opus, which dramatises episodes from Turner's life in 19th Century London and Margate, is his first period biopic since 1999's Topsy-Turvy, about Gilbert and Sullivan.

However Leigh said the process of making it was "no different" than making his fictional dramas Naked, Life is Sweet and Secrets and lies.

"You can read all the books in world and do research for a million years, but it doesn't make things happen in front of the camera," the 71-year-old told reporters.

"You still have to create a characterisation and breathe flesh and blood into it. Turner is obviously a great artist, one of the great painters of all time, anywhere.

"I felt there was scope for a fascinating film because of the tension between this very mortal - and in some ways flawed and inspired - individual and his epic work."

Spall, one of Leigh's regular collaborators, said he was ideally cast as Turner because "he was a funny-looking, fat little man and so am I".

"Genius is not always in the most romantic of packages," the actor continued. "Most geniuses are strange and are often odd-looking sociopaths."

He said Turner was "slightly brutish - a man with love in his heart but not sure where to put it".

In addition to his paintings, the film deals with Turner's personal life and his relationships with women - among them his housekeeper, a Margate widow and two daughters he declines to acknowledge.

The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw said Mr Turner - one of 18 titles in contention for this year's Palme d'Or award - represented "another triumph"for Leigh and Spall.

"Every scene... is expertly managed; every comic line and funny moment adroitly presented and every performance given with intelligence and love," he said in his five-star review.

In his own five-star rave, The Telegraph's Robbie Collin said Spall "gives what's probably the finest performance in his career".

Spall, 57, also drew praisefrom Screen International's Jonathan Romney, who said he was "magnificent" in a film that "may be the most entertaining art biopic yet made".

The premiere of Leigh's film coincides with the issue of a set of Royal Mail stamps in which Secrets and Lies features alongside nine other British titles.

The director said it was "great" his earlier film had made it onto a stamp - albeit one with a value of ￡1.28, which meant he was unlikely to use it himself.

The 67th Cannes Film Festival continues until 25 May.據英國廣播公司（BBC）報道，由邁克·李（Mike Leigh）執導，根據英國畫家約瑟夫·瑪羅德·威廉·透納（Joseph Mallord William Turner）一生改編的傳記故事《透納先生》在戛納電影節上好評如潮，一些影評人預測《透納先生》（Mr Turner）將會是奪獎大熱門。

透納先生的扮演者蒂莫西·斯波（Timothy Spall）被媒體稱爲“本屆電影節奪獎呼聲最高的明星”，《獨立報》更大膽預測“影帝非蒂莫西·斯波莫屬”。

《完全電影》雜誌（Total Film）的傑米·格拉哈姆（Jamie Graham）說：“讓我們拭目以待。看看到時候蒂莫西·斯波會不會也像片中的透納一樣，一路咳嗽着上臺領獎。”

5月15日，戛納電影節展映了《透納先生》，這是導演邁克·李四年來首部人物傳記片。

這部兩個半小時的影片再現了19世紀浪漫主義畫家透納在倫敦與馬爾蓋特（Margate）度過的一生，也是該片導演繼1999年《酣歌暢戲》（Topsy-Turvy）之後拍攝的首部名人傳記片。《酣歌暢戲》講述的是英國作詞家吉爾伯特（Gilbert）和作曲家薩利文（Sullivan）的故事。

不過，邁克·李表示整個拍攝過程和先前純屬虛構的《裸露》（Naked）、《生活多美好》（Life Is Sweet）、《祕密與謊言》（Secrets And Lies）等影片沒有什麼不同。

71歲高齡的邁克·李對記者說：“縱使你讀遍有關透納先生的書籍，投入大量時間做調研，也不一定就能在攝影機前把透納演‘活’”。

“你得竭盡全力刻畫人物性格，塑造出鮮活飽滿的人物形象。透納無疑是史上最傑出的畫家之一。”

“在這位瑕不掩瑜的畫家與其史詩般的作品之間存在着張力，所以我認爲，距離一部精彩的電影，我們還有提升的餘地。”

作爲導演邁克·李的御用主演，蒂莫西·斯波（Timothy Spall）表示自己完全是本色出演，因爲透納和他一樣是個長相滑稽，身材肥胖的小個子男人。”

蒂莫西·斯波補充說到：“天才往往沒有華麗光鮮的外表，而是隱藏在其貌不揚、性情古怪的人物內心之中。”

在蒂莫西·斯波眼裏，透納是一個感情稍顯粗暴，心裏有愛卻不知如何表達的男人。

除了畫作，該片也重現了透納的私人生活和與他有交集的女人，包括他的女管家，一位馬爾蓋特的寡婦，以及兩個他拒絕承認的女兒。