Now is the time when Cannes pundits start getting properly excited about the impending programme. Last year a number of enticing projects ( Black Swanand The Tree of Life, to name but two) weren't completed in time and the ultimate competition felt a little bit thin.

This year, observers were confident that David Cronenberg’s

A Dangerous Method

(about Freud and Jung), Pedro Almodóvar’s

The Skin I Live In

, Walter Salles’s adaptation of Jack Kerouc’s

On the Road

and Wong Kar-wai’s

The Grandmasters

would all be unspooled at the Palais. Sadly there are now doubts over the readiness of each of those intriguing movies.

Still, the remaining possibilities are acceptably thrilling. Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne’s

The Kid with a Bike

, Lars von Trier’s

Melancholia

, Gus Van Sant’s

Restless

and Nanni Moretti’s

We Have a Pope

should all be on show.

And yes, barring yet one more calamity, Terrence Malick’s

The Tree of Life

, delayed since the 12th century, will finally get its unveiling. Malick’s epic is due for release in the US, the week after Cannes ends. The final programme will be with us on April 14th.