Back to normal? Cannes Film Festival prepares to party

By JAKE COYLE
AP Film Writer

After the 2020 Cannes Film Festival was canceled by the pandemic and the 2021 edition was scaled back — even kisses were forbade on the red carpet — the lavish French Riviera cinema soiree is set to return with a festival that promises to be something like normal. Or at least Cannes’ very particular brand of normal, where for 12 days formal wear and film mingle in sun-dappled splendor, standing ovations stretch for minutes on end and director names like “Kore-eda” and “Denis” are spoken with hushed reverence. This year’s festival, which starts Tuesday, features the star power of Tom Cruise, a splashy new Elvis Presley biopic and a long-list of world-renown auteurs.