Quentin Tarantino catching a fly

The 57th annual Cannes International Film Festival is off to a rousing start, with the head of the jury slugging a security guard on the way into a screening of Man Bites Dog by Belgian actor, writer and fellow jury member Benoît Poelvoorde.
So much for Quentin Tarantino’s first day on the promenade.
For the next 12 days, the French Riviera city will host a dizzying run of screenings, publicity spectacle, dealmaking and exclusive parties attended by more than 15,000 movie paparazzi and movie writing hangers on. The galaxy of A-list stars expected to attend this year include: Brad Pitt, Charlize Theron, Maggie Cheung, Cameron Diaz, Gong Li, Penélope Cruz, Uma Thurman, Tom Hanks, Sharon Stone and Sean Penn. Y-y-a-a-w-w-n-n.
Okay, okay. At least in part, the Cannes Film Festival is about movies. In that regard, Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar kicked off the festival with Bad Education, a dark tale of priests’ sexual abuse of boys, homosexual love and lies.
Otherwise, want to know what’s going on at Cannes? James Mottram, of Britain’s Channel 4, offers a straightforward account of the “well-balanced affair,” while Roger Ebert reflects on the meaning behind Cannes, in the process offering hints as to the films which may emerge as contenders for the coveted Palme d’Or, the top prize at the festival.

Raymond Tomlin

Raymond Tomlin is a veteran journalist and educator who has written frequently on the political realm — municipal, provincial and federal — as well as on cinema, mainstream popular culture, the arts, and technology.

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