Last night in the Palais, at last a real 15 minute  standing ovation and genuine love for a film– Nadine Labaki’s “Capharnaum,” in the tradition of movies like “Lion” and “Slumdog Millionaire.”

This could mean trouble for Spike Lee, whose “Blackkklansman” was the only other big hit of the festival in competition. This year’s theme is the Year of the Woman, and Cate Blanchett is in charge, with Ava Duvernay and Kristen Stewart all looking for a reason to award a female director on Saturday.

How will Lee and Labaki divvy up the prizes? Now we have a real horse race.

The audience last night was euphoric when “Capharnaum” ended, and rightly so. Sony Pictures Classics could have a best foreign language film in their hands, and maybe a Best Picture nominee– it’s that good.

The story focuses on 12 year old boy and a toddler who are on the run in the Beirut slums. The boy has run away from his negligent parents and is now suing them for emancipation. In flashbacks we see what happened when he left. It sound simple enough, but “Capharnaum” is exceptional, also recalling “City of God.” No smart movie goer in the world will want to miss this.

Oscar winner Kevin McDonald’s shocking and elucidating new documentary about singer Whitney Houston reveals the horrible truth behind her pain and suffering: Whitney was abused as a child by her late cousin, DeeDee Warwick, sister of Dionne Warwick. Whitney told a lifelong family friend and her assistant, Mary Jones, who tells the story on camera to Mcdonald in Whitney, which debuted tonight in Cannes.

It’s a heartbreaking revelation. I’ve confirmed that neither Dionne Warwick nor Whitney’s mother, Cissy Houston, knew this until McDonald interviewed Jones. As someone who knew Whitney and Dee Dee, it’s just devastating. Whitney suffered so, and DeeDee– who was an alcoholic and battled drugs– must have suffered as well.

Believe me, as kind of an amateur expert on this family over the last three or four decades, I was stunned but not totally surprised. Something had to have plagued Whitney into the grave. Her descent into drugs and madness never made sense. She was wholly self-destructive. And now this revelation maybe makes some sense of it all, of her death, and the death of her daughter Bobbi Kristina.

McDonald’s movie, playing at midnight out of competition, is quite different than what you expect. Clive Davis, for example, makes just a fleeting appearance at the beginning. Instead, McDonald zooms in on Whitney’s struggles with her sexual identity and her growing dependence on drugs.

Her ex husband, Bobby Brown, is not depicted as a villain (although he is shown to be other things). Brown won’t discuss drugs with McDonald, but others talk about his upside down life with Whitney. More importantly, Michael Houston– Whitney’s brother– admits he turned her onto drugs with increasing danger starting when she was just 16. To some extent, this lets Bobby off the hook.

To make his case, McDonald skips over a lot. But his omissions are answered in other films and books and articles– they don’t matter here. He went on a mission to discover what the source of Whitney’s immense pain was– and he found it. Once the Dee Dee Warwick story is revealed, it’s like a gut punch. It explains so much and leaves so many questions that probably can’t be answered. For example, Dee Dee Warwick was no monster. She was a gentle soul who was also in deep pain. What happened to her in her childhood? We may never know.

As a film, “Whitney” excels in many other areas- home movies, rare footage, interviews with family friend “Aunt Bae,” who raised Bobbi Kristina from til age 8 in her home (a wise woman), sincere friends like former sister in law Donna Houston (one of the heroes of this story), and a lot of people who, like Whitney’s fans, have grappled with the mystery of her demise. Even her brother Gary, a long time drug addict, comes off as sympathetic. Until the child abuse is revealed, you see a lot of people in pain trying to figure out what happened in their lives to this amazing singer, beautiful young girl who seemed like she had everything– and it call came crashing down.

A lot of people will ask about Whitney’s sexuality and her relationship with former assistant and best friend Robyn Crawford. I’m happy to say McDonald handles all that with aplomb and grace, doesn’t make any proclamations, and treats Crawford, a fine person, with respect.

On balance, “Whitney” achieves something rare– it treads a thin line between our tabloid desires and the seriousness of a life that became famous. You can’t ask for anything more.

The long awaited “Gotti: In Search of My Father” debuted in Cannes last night, simultaneous to the “Star Wars” premiere at the Palais on the red carpet.

Alas, press was only invited to the glamorous after party at the Hotel du Cap Eden Roc and not to the screening itself, which was for the cast, distributors, and friends of the production. It was the reverse of a lot of premieres.

So up the red carpet went John Travolta, accompanied by the “Gotti” gang, sort of piggy backed onto the “Solo” premiere. It was a little like having two weddings at the same time in a catering hall. The “Gotti” guests then rolled off to a smaller screening room in the Palais. But they got their important moment of international promotion.

John Gotti Jr. was pleased. The movie is based on his life and the book he wrote about his infamous father. He saw the  finished film last night for the first time and gave it its benediction. “It’s very hard to see your life up  on the screen,” he told me, but he’s very happy with star Travolta.

He’s got to be happy with the producers– mostly Edward Walson– who flew in 50 Cent to perform for the formally attired guests at the DuCap. There’s nothing better than seeing rich, black tie and gown guests waving their arms and dancing to X rated rap by a pool on the Mediterranean. And actually, 50 Cent was great musically– he also said that he came because he was such a fan of Travolta’s work in “Pulp Fiction.”

Gotti Jr– who is soft spoken and very friendly– told me as a federal felon who served 10 years in prison it took him two weeks to his passport for this trip. “We only got approved on Saturday,” he said. He came alone, with just a pal, wife and kids left at home. Even his famous sister Victoria Gotti hasn’t seen the movie yet.

Meanwhile, Variety’s international edition gave Travolta some cooked up award– Icon of the Century– and the actor who rose to fame on “Saturday Night Fever” was very gracious. He wore a flowing mane of hair, and  sported a Clark Gable mustache. He was also wearing what looked like a velvet tuxedo with a “puffy shirt” and 17th century sleeves that billowed out of the jacket cuffs.

“You may wonder why I’m dressed this way,” he told the crowd, and then explained it was a tribute to an outfit he’d seen Warren Beatty wear in “Shampoo” 40 years ago.

Travolta brought his family, including daughter Ella, who sat on an outdoor couch and studied her phone during the proceedings, and seven year old son Ben, who eschewed formal wear for beach togs (it was after midnight) and bounced on he same couch trying to get his older sister’s attention.

The real Han Solo never had it this good.

Disney-Lucas Films launched its “Solo: A Star Wars Story” in Cannes on Tuesday night, giving the festival a much needed shot of Hollywood glamour amid a frustrating fortnight.

“Solo,” a Ron Howard film, was the first and only real adrenaline boost for Cannes on the red carpet, with the John Williams “Star Wars” theme signalling the most excitement so far. Disney responded by throwing an old fashioned premiere on the Croisette, at the beach club across from the Carlton Hotel. Around 10pm, the studio set off fireworks akin to the Macys Thanksgiving Day parade over the Cannes marina– sight to behold as cast members like Woody Harrelson, Alden Ehrenreich, and Emilia Clarke mixed with the likes of Cannes’ other American superstar of the week, Spike Lee.

“Solo” was met in the Palais with cheers and applause lasting five minutes or more. I’m told this will not be a standalone movie. “If it’s a hit,” was the consensus among participants, there will be sequels. One cast member advised me they were already in the works.

Will “Solo” be a hit? Yes. First of all, it’s a “Star Wars” movie. Second, it’s filled with action scenes pulled off skillfully by Howard, who came in and replaced a pair of directors who had edgier plans. “They wanted to make this more meta, like Guardians of the Galaxy,” said a source. “Lots of in jokes. That just doesn’t work for Star Wars. And what they saw on the screen each day in dailies didn’t match what was in their script.”

Indeed, “Solo” hews closely to the earnestness of all the previous installments of the 41 year old franchise. Building on its own massive mythology, “Solo” tells us how Han got his name, how he met Chewbacca, and where he was while Luke Skywalker was just getting his bearings.

Nevertheless, this is a difficult “Star Wars” film to make because there  is no Force, no Yoda, no light sabers. Everything in this movie takes place before Han wanders into the world of Luke and Leia and the Empire. There were actually more Star Wars stormtroopers on display in the Palais last night than in the movie.

So “Solo” is really an origins story. In the sequels perhaps there will be more reference to the aforementioned. But here Han is just a kid who’s in a hot romance and trying to survive. There’s no Darth Vader, either, although there’s no dearth of Darth in a way. You’ll have to watch the movie to see what I mean.

#fireworks for @starwars #solo #afterparty @festivaldecannes #jetset

A post shared by Norah Lawlor (@lawlormedia) on May 15, 2018 at 3:08pm PDT