Cannes 2017 International Film Festival

Day four of the festival was dominated, at least briefly, by the “security scare” at the Palais des Festivals. As if journalists were not frayed enough by the interminable lines for screenings and the extra security, the several hundred who had lined up for over an hour to see Michel Hazanavicius’ Le Redoutable were suddenly ordered to move back by surging security officers.

The familiar with a twist. Ladies are foregoing petticoats, women are baring more, and peach appeared in shoes and clothes.

Boldly original, Okja, the new film from the talented South Korean writer-director Bong Joon Ho, is not just an ambitious film with a social message, but a charming fable about the incomparable love of a young girl for her special “Super Pig,” whose name provides the film’s title. Working with a larger budget than the usual, and defined by some dazzling state of the art special effects, Okja is the most eccentric film to date in competition at the 2017 Cannes Film Fest.

: Blame global warming – Cannes 2017 is summery and sunny. A great reason for stars to show some skin, play with color and experiment with shoes of all styles.

40 years ago, Arnold Schwarzenegger, then a famous bodybuilder and an aspiring actor (he had already done Bob Rafelson's Stay Hungry, which earned him the best newcomer Golden Globe by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association), came to Cannes with a documentary which became a must-see in the world of body building, Pumping Iron, by George Butler. Since then Schwarzenegger, who came back to Cannes with Terminator 2 and True Lies, has become a global movie star, Governor of California, object of a much talked-about divorce from journalist Maria Shriver, and is now back as producer and narrating voice of another documentary, in 3D, Wonders of the Sea, directed by Jean-Michel Cousteau (son of Jean Jacques) and Jean Jacques Mantello.

The 1970s hit the Croisette hard, amd Cannes fell deeply in love with the sex, drugs and rock 'n roll generation that was shaking Hollywood to the foundations. An unsung master among giants, Hal Ashby became the darling of the 1978 edition of the festival with his soulful, blistering Coming Home, the story of what happens to warriors after the war is over.

You never know who might stop by the HFPA lounge in Cannes. Today it was none other than ex-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The weather is sunny and warm, sunscreen is an item in hot demand and the HFPA is headquartered on the beach - Nikki Beach, to be exact, on the sand across the Croisette. The first weekend rolled in, in full force, signaling that the midpoint of the festival is within reach, and that favorites and trends will soon take over the conversation.

Yes, the red carpet is nothing to take too seriously – it’s the work that counts – so laugh it up baby!.

It took Cannes over 40 years to recognize the work of women behind the camera - Jane Campion took the spot with The Piano in 1993. And now they're everywhere: this year the contingent of women directors, producers and lead actresses is, as the French say, incontournable.