One time enfant terrible of American cinema (he’s a little old for that now) and Cannes favourite Quentin Tarantino flew flamboyantly into town yesterday to deliver the annual lesson in cinema.

We didn’t have tickets and so after spending eight or nine lifetimes watching Steven Soderbergh’s marathon-like 'Che' we decided to kick back, rest up, drink a few coups de champagne, read the papers and get ready for today’s premiere of Synecdoche NY. 

We’ve scarcely been able to hide our collective excitement at the prospect of Philip Seymour Hoffman taking centre stage as a theatre director in the midst of a nervous and artistic breakdown in Charlie Kaufman’s first directorial outing. Kaufman is best known for scripting the bizarre Being John Malkovich and the brilliant Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and is a master of comedy, romance and winsome weirdness.

Although the rumourmongers have been spreading word that Synecdoche is unreleasable in its present form we stand (rather, sit) undeterred. We can’t wait! 

Expect the reviews to come fully loaded with discussions of the surprising accessibility of the film’s quirky ideas, its sweetness and the big laughs that mostly come from Hoffman’s chameleon like performance and a supporting cast including Dianne Wiest and Emily Watson.

Stay tuned all weekend as we bring you more news, gossip and reviews right up till Sunday night when we’ll let you know who Sean Penn and his jury have chosen as this year’s winner of the Palme d’Or.