There was arthouse philosophy and Hollywood glamour. There was Sean Penn,
Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman. Even a troop of kicking kung-fu pandas
got a look in. As the world's cinematic elite descended on Cannes yesterday,
it was festival time again.
Actors, directors and critics turned out in style for the opening of this
year's event, the 61st in its illustrious history, as a political and
philosophical thriller from Fernando Meirelles became the first film to
compete for the Golden Palm award.
Blindness, a dystopian epic about a world in which more and more people lose
their sight, features Moore in the starring role and has been praised for
its thoughtful and challenging portrayal of humanity spinning out of control.
But, for all its critical cachet, Meirelles and Moore failed to take centre
stage. Despite the festival's reputation for showcasing the world's most
innovative cinema, there was only one film anyone was talking about, and it
starred the decidedly mainstream actor Harrison Ford.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is not even in the
official competition to win the Palme d'Or, but many yesterday felt it might
as well be. Few among the crowd outside the Palais des Festivals could stop
talking about the excitement generated by Steven Spielberg's new
blockbuster, to be premiered on Sunday in Cannes.
Even the critics agreed it was understandable that the cinematic juggernaut,
starring Cate Blanchett with Ford, was eclipsing other offerings. Dan Jolin,
features editor of Empire magazine, said that while Blindness, adapted from
the novel by the Portuguese Nobel laureate Jose Saramago, was a worthy
choice, it was also bleak and uninviting.
A British film that examines the last six weeks in the life of the Maze
prison hunger striker Bobby Sands has drawn criticism from those who see it
as an untimely celebration of terrorist martyrdom. The 96-minute film,
Hunger, was part-funded by Channel 4 and directed by the artist Steve
McQueen.
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