Okay. Maybe this is more of a "What Is" than a WTF...

Every May, Cannes becomes the best scouting grounds for potential Midnight Madness films. These gems are rarely found in the Cannes Film Festival that the papers cover with the red carpet and the Palm D'Or, but rather in the Cannes Film Market, the underbelly of the glamourous festival.

The market, or the "marche," is where producers and sales agents screen their films to potential buyers with the hope to sell them to various international territories. The majority of these films are a far cry from the "works of art" that the journalists fight to see in the main Festival, but a moving pictures featuring zombies, masked killers, giant boa constrictors, ninjas, and other guilty pleasures. Film buyers and celluloid headhunters go from one screening to another, looking for the next big thing, or at least something that could work for cable or dvd. The majority of the films screened, for the most part, are terrible or mediocre at best, but ever once in awhile something un-spools that stands out from the crowd and this year it was the new Jean Claude Van Damme film.

Yes. You read right. The new Jean Claude Van Damme film. JCVD.

Just the mention of his name brings to mind 80s and early 90s action fodder like Bloodsport, Double Impact, Street Fighter, Universal Soldier, and Time Cop.

After he seemed to command a moderate presence at the box office, he served as a vessel for Hong Kong directors looking to enter Hollywood with hits and misses like Hard Target (John Woo), Maximum Risk (Ringo Lam) and both of Tsui Hark's works Double Team (where he teamed up with Dennis Rodman!) and Knock Off (where he partnered with Rob Schnieder!). But most recently he has been associated with a number of films that bypass the North American cinema circuit altogether, and appear late at night on cable or float up in the "Hot Action" sections of chain movie rental outlets.

Often people seem bewildered at how Van Damme can continue making films, but one must not underestimate the power of JCVD! While he is a joke amongst cineastes, in less discerning circles, he is considered value for money. Consider the fact that he is not only the most famous Belgian in the movie world, but also the only international action star who speaks French. While one of his new films might not ignite cinema audiences in North America, he can certainly sell tickets and dvds in places like South America and Eastern Europe. Just a "pre-sale" alone in those territories can bankroll a film with him as lead star.


So how could the best film in the market possibly be the new film strarring Jean Claude Van Damme? Well, the title alone should say it all: JCVD.

Leading up to the invitation only screening that the French distributor Gaumont held in the market, there was already buzz about the film, primarily through coverage over at TwitchFilm.net where a very cryptic teaser trailer had been posted. The teaser had Van Damme crashing an audition for actors applying to play the role of Van Damme...?



In the screening room of the Star Cinema along the Rue D'Antibes, there was an excited buzz in the audience as the lights dimmed and JCVD rolled and the experience was one easily one of the best of my Cannes 2008 trip. As the credits rolled and most of the buyers and journalists were filing out, the lights came on, and who was sitting in the back, but the man himself, Jean Claude Van Damme! The remaining audience begin to walk towards him applauding. JC stood, waved and then quietly went out the back exit of the cinema. A class act.

Need a second opinion? Read what Todd Brown over at Twitchfilm.net has to say (he was sitting beside me).

And here is the full promo for the film. You can look forward to more posts about the most famous movie star from Belgium in the future...