Postcard from Cannes: American films talk of town

American movies don’t always dominate the conversation at Cannes, considering it's considered the last refuge of art house cinema and a proud bastion of internationalism (often with a French colonial accent).

But Stateside cinema is in full force at this year’s festival. Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” served as curtain raiser, and “Madagascar 3” (of all things) kept the red carpet humming Thursday on day two of the event.

There are no less than six U.S. movies in the 22-strong competition section, including:

• John Hillcoat’s star-packed Prohibition-era movie “Lawless," with Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman and Guy Pearce;
• Andrew Dominick’s thriller “Killing Them Softly," with Brad Pitt;
• Lee Daniels’ “The Paperboy," with Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey and Nicole Kidman;
• Jeff Nichols’ “Mud,” with McConaughey again, but this time with Reese Witherspoon;
• And my own tip for the Palme d’Or, David Cronenberg’s Don DeLillo adaptation, “Cosmopolis," starring Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche.

Meanwhile, in the sidebar "Un Certain Regard" section, Sundance discovery Benh Zeitlin’s extraordinary blast of bayou poetry “Beasts of the Southern Wild” is also a front-runner for recognition.

The American wave breaks Saturday with the premiere of “Lawless," but with that lineup it seems bound to dominate the conversation all week.