Rushes and Floodlights

Please wipe your feet before stepping on the red carpet

17.05.08 / For two weeks in Cannes festivalgoers rush around in a state of perpetual lateness. Or rather, they do something that passes for rushing around which involves navigating the Croisette on foot, running a gauntlet of tourists in swimwear, cineastes in eveningwear, and photographers attempting to tell them apart. Motorized transport is always an option but never a very good one, not even if you’re one of the celestial beings with a car and chauffeur provided by the festival. Police stand purposefully in the street directing traffic that doesn’t move. Cannes is rumored to have 200 taxis available during the festival and nobody can ever figure out where they go to hide. “The film/meeting/party starts in 20 minutes. We’d better walk.”And this means walking in the rain. Just like in any resort town that peddles holidays in the sun, you won’t find anyone in Cannes who believes in rain. “Is it going to rain today?” Of course it won't. “Is the rain going to stop?” Of course it will. So no need to bring an umbrella; you don't want to goad the evil rain god into stirring up some kind of freak storm. And so you’re caught, as everyone has been caught these first few festival days, wading through flooded intersections and sliding on drenched sidewalks. Not even movie stars are safe. Last night at the party for Un Conte de Noël, at the Villa de Mai in the hills above Cannes, we watched Catherine Deneuve narrowly avoid slipping on a wet stone stairway.So does it ever rain in Cannes? Don’t be silly.Of course it doesn’t. — R.K.