“Twelve days of moviegoing on the French Riviera in springtime can be only so miserable. But this year you will hear no whining from this quarter. At least not yet. The 57th Cannes festival has, in its first few days, showed signs of fulfilling the fantasy of what it could and should be (though it will never, to some old-timers, be what it once was). It has been full of drama, spectacle and (literal) fireworks. There have also been some good movies. And to think that it almost didn’t happen at all.”