Cannes 2013: Mutant sushi, Hitler and giant gorilla at Le Marche

CANNES, France -- A trip to Le Marche, the film market at Cannes, is always a tonic experience. The energy created by the unabashed desire to make large sums of money is a refreshing change of pace after the more rarefied experiences of other parts of the festival.

Le Marche is where you can see hijab-wearing women working for an Iranian production company next to a booth where Japanese horror producers are selling “Cult” (“from the producers of ‘Ring’ and ‘The Grudge’”). It’s that kind of a place.

Some things never change about Le Marche. There’s always an almost inexplicable title (“A Girl, a Guy and a Space Helmet”) as well as a big action star like Thailand’s Tony Jaa with a new film (“TYG2: This Time the Fight Goes Beyond”).

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There are also always wacky plot lines that defy rationality. From the U.K. comes “Grey Wolf: The Escape of Adolf Hitler,” described as a docu-drama “based on interviews with eyewitnesses” insisting that Hitler, Eva Braun and “their daughter Uschi” all escaped to Argentina.

And from Japan comes “Dead Sushi,” about a rogue scientist who “injects hotel sushi with a drug that not only brings it to life, but also turns it into ferocious, bloodthirsty killers.” Sounds like a heck of a double bill.

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Least everything seem too bleak and hopeless, Le Marche also finds time for films with both religious and family friendly themes. There’s “The Gospel of Us,” billed as a movie starring Michael Sheen and a cast of more than a thousand performing “a three-days re-creation of the passion of the Christ.” Also in the holiday spirit is “Santa Claws,” about kitties pressed into service to deliver Christmas presents when Santa has a major allergic reaction to cats.

Most interesting of all, at least in theory, was the Korean “Mr. Go,” which uses motion capture and CGI to make a film about a realistic-looking 600-pound gorilla who loves, loves, loves to play baseball. Maybe the Dodgers should look into this.

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