'Blindness' may prove perceptive

May 14, 2008 Even the director and star of "Blindness" suggested Wednesday that their movie seemed a surprising choice to kick off the 61st Festival de Cannes. Speaking at the opening-day press conference, helmer Fernando Meirelles and actress Julianne Moore mused about how hard it might be for the gala crowd Wednesday evening to chow down in their finery after seeing this bleak allegory about the collapse of civilization. "It's a big honor, and it's big pressure -- but not perhaps the best film to open a festival with," Meirelles said when asked by a reporter how he felt about being In Competition.

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