So, here's the skinny: in Paolo Sorrentino's follow-up to his critically acclaimed "Il Divo," he cast Sean Penn as a (seemingly) barely functioning goth rocker who finds out his father he hasn't seen in 30 years is dead and then goes on a road trip to find the SS Officer who made his life hell when he was imprisoned at Auschwitz.
Huh? Yeah, that was pretty much the collective cry from critics at Cannes where the film first premiered, and while we've only seen snatches of stills and footage until now, Twitch has uncovered the theatrical trailer for the movie's release in France and it's…interesting. Allowed the time to stretch out in the trailer, the overall tone of the film — and in particular Penn's performance — is much more easily understood, but it still comes off as a pretty oddball piece of filmmaking. Our review from Cannes said the film was pretty much like three different movies disjointedly mashed together and that vibe is certainly felt. On the upside, the film does feature music by David Byrne and Will Oldham and the closing Arcade Fire gag is pretty amusing.
"This Must Be the Place" opens in France on August 24th. As of yet, the film is without U.S. distribution. Check out the trailer below.