As the last films are projected, the critics finalize their predictions and the party-goers can no longer drag themselves to yet a last party, the Cannes train station and Nice Airport prepare for the exodus of festivalites. Meanwhile, the jury locked themselves away in villa, its location totally top secret. With David Cronenberg as president, it is said that the jury members executed their job in all seriousness meeting regularly before dinner just to talk together.

Following Almodovar, Kitano and Jarmusch, it was David Lynch whose film took a detour from the habitual to receive a general public rating. And we can say that the festivalites were pleased with the change as they didn't hesitate a minute in a hearty standing ovation at the official screening. The Straight Story is a true story based on 73 year old Alvin Straight who travels across the state of Iowa in order to cross the Wisconsin border to see his ailing brother ... on a lawn mower! A sort of road movie that travels at 5 miles an hour and presents life from an old man's eyes, a daring thing to do however with today's market geared to and for the young generation. David Lynch won the Palme d'Or in 1990 for Sailor and Lula. Alvin Straight is played by Richard Farnsworth, who himself is 79 years old, and is definitely a favorite for the Best Actor award.

Elsewhere in the competition was La Lettre by Manoel de Oliveira, long time veteran to Cannes and in his nineties these days. This year's Cannes edition has brought a number of literary adaptions with it, from Pola X, an adaptation of Melville's works, Le Temps Retrouvé from Proust's works, The Nanny based on the novel by Pirandello to La Lettre based on Princess de Clèves by Madame de La Fayette. Among these literary adaptations, it is by far Le Temps Retrouvé by Raoul Ruiz that succeeded in its mission and is in good standing for an award.

The buzz concerning the last films in competition: Rosetta by Belgium brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne gives young star Emilie Dequenne a strong chance at the Best Actress award, while Limbo by John Sayles may have missed its mark. 8 1/2 Women on the other hand is said to be rich in surrrealistic images, paying homage to Fellini.

Star Wars

Yes, episode 1, The Phantom Menace did exactly as expected. It broke the box office grossing record for the first day in theaters across the US with $28.5 million, beating out the previous winner Lost World by Steven Spielberg. Lucas' film is expected to top the film's budget of $115 million within a week. The rest is sheer profit.

In Town

To wind up this edition, French singer Johnny Hallyday and Laetitia will be arriving by boat in Cannes for the award ceremony to be presented by Kristin Scott-Thomas. But it will be Sophie Marceau who has the honors of bestowing the Palme d'Or to the winner.

French Justice Minister Elisabeth Guigou was seen going up the Palais steps.

And then there was Spike Lee. His latest film, Summer of Sam based on the serial killer Son of Sam, was shown in the Directors Fortnight selection. It was in 1986 that his first film She's Gotta Have It was screened in Cannes in the same Directors selection.