Cannes Film Festival: Cinema, a mirror of the world for better and for worse

A searing critique of a dictatorship at the heart of a tense film. Jafar Panahi, winner of the Palme d'Or for A Simple Accident, shows that politics and cinema can be formidable allies. "This is the time to ask Iranians, in Iran and around the world: let's put our differences aside. The most important thing is our country and the freedom of this country," the Iranian filmmaker declared Saturday evening. The Iranian news agency simply stated that this choice was political. But the next day, Iran summoned the French chargé d'affaires in Tehran to protest against Paris's "insulting" comments. Given that Panahi films clandestinely to circumvent censorship, these reactions are not surprising. The Cannes Film Festival , the sounding board, will have carried his words loud and clear. The Palme d'Or is celebrating its 70th anniversary and remains the greatest award in world cinema. Every newly elected official sees his or her destiny shaken up, like the American Sean Baker last year. On...