American actor, director and producer Robert De Niro will be feted with an Honorary Palm d’Or for lifetime achievement on the Cannes Film Festival’s opening night, 13 May. The 78th edition of what is now acknowledged as the Queen of all Movie Festivals will run for 12 days till 24 May, and will announce its selections in Paris soon.
De Niro had presided over the main competition jury at Cannes 14 years ago in 2011.
After hearing about the honour, the American actor, who is acknowledged as a living legend, said, “I have such close feelings for Festival de Cannes…especially now when there’s so much in the world pulling us apart, Cannes brings us together — storytellers, moviemakers, fans, and friends. It’s like coming home.”
In a very important way, De Niro was truly an actor, who had the phenomenal ability to sink into any character. As a villain in Cape Fear who terrorised a small family as revenge, he also charmed his way into our hearts with his boyish smile and joy de vivre in the 2015 The Intern in which he essays an office executive working for Anne Hathaway. As an anti-hero in the first films made by Brian De Palma, he placed himself on the cinematic saddle working in movies like Greetings and The Wedding Party.
His parents were New York painters, and he imbibed their calm and artistic attitude to life. In fact, even his violence had a kind of subtlety that was amazing.
He was also Bohemian and picked up a lot of mannerisms and codes of conduct that were peculiar to the streets of the city. In Mean Streets, for instance, De Niro depicted the street culture with its disarming simplicity and beauty.
All through his career, he acted out characters from the Italian-American mafia. But his most memorable role was Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Part II – as Vito Corleone. He got the Best Supporting Oscar for this. Whether he was a small thug or a big gangster, he left a mark that was inspiring.
He was also a perfectionist, going to the extent of securing a taxi driver’s licence to essay a cabbie in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. His commitment to his roles was unbelievable. He mastered the saxophone for New York, New York, and took up boxing and gained 30 kilos for Raging Bull. The Oscar for Best Actor was his.
De Niro has had a long relationship with the Festival on the Croisette (Cannes), The King of Comedy opened the 1983 Cannes, and the following year, he presented Once Upon A Time In America.
Well, my two favourite De Niro titles are Cape Fear and The Intern – and what a contrasting arc!