No matter how we do it, it’s kind of funny to see girls in evening dresses and guys in tuxedos at eight in the morning, queuing up to get into the cinema along with the rest of the instigators. On the other hand, a morning screening at the imposing Lumiere Theater is perhaps the only opportunity for some to take pictures on the Cannes red carpet, although this is not a premiere, and therefore formal attire is not required.

The hours of the day are really not enough for those who want to watch (only) the highlights of various programs. The contest kicked off on Wednesday night with a new film by Hirokazu Kore-eda, who once made a name for himself in Cannes with the wonderful shoplifters. In “Monster” the Japanese director creates a complex canvas, in the center of which are children. A junior high school student who lost his father has problems at school. His worried mother is trying to figure out what is happening with the help of a young teacher, and what at first seems clear, gradually takes on new dimensions.

In general, Kore-eda uses a modular structure here, with different perspectives, to slowly and methodically reveal the fullness of his myth. He dares to focus on young children in a film that explores many questions (friendship, sexual awakening, school bullying, loss), however, without appearing chatty or overworked. Here we see the view of children as opposed to the view of adults, but also vice versa, since everyone is looking for some kind of redemption (this, perhaps, is also the “monster” of the name), and the innocence of youth is, of course, the one who has the “advantage”.

The next long queue (in the rain) in front of the Debussy Hall led us to the official premiere of the “A Certain Spectacle” segment. There the audience was greeted by the artistic director of the festival, Thierry Fremaux himself, who first introduced President Michael S. Reilly to the jury, and then introduced the cast of the opening film Animal Kingdom by Thomas Kelle.

In a world where some people mutate into animals, series regular Romain Duris plays a troubled father who moves his teenage son to the edge of a forest. When the young man begins to show signs of the mutation, they both have to face serious challenges with the help of a young policewoman (Adele Exarchopoulos). Although a French production, the fantasy story that reads like an allegory of growing up and diversity is up to Hollywood standards, with impressive scenes, special effects and the relative superficiality that it entails.

As for the evening show, it again had a competitor, namely the sensational “Return” by Catherine Corsini, who some time ago was accused of rudely … beating (this was denied) her leading actresses on the set. The latter are young girls, French women of African descent, who return with their mother for the summer to Corsica, where they were born. A Mediterranean sun, two fresh faces, and a few apt references to “old” and “new” France all add up to a fairly typical coming-of-age movie. At least we hope everyone is healthy.

However, the record for the longest film still belongs to Steve McQueen. Oscar-winning British director signs one here a four-hour project focusing on Amsterdam then and now. Where then is the period of the Nazi occupation of the city and the pogrom of the Jews, which is told through the narrator, at the same time on the screen we see modern Amsterdam, mainly during the quarantine period. The concepts of collective memory and freedom are intertwined in an epic work that requires endurance, but it is worth it. At the time of writing, Harrison Ford and the rest of the cast of the latest Indiana Jones are arriving at the nearby Lumiere Hall for the official premiere. Cars and pedestrians, who have been waiting for hours, stand at attention. More tomorrow…