Cannes kicks off with two Spanish-language dramas, 'Everybody Knows' and 'Birds of Passage'

CANNES, France - The 71st Cannes Film Festival is underway and L.A. Times critic Justin Chang is there, seeing as many movies as possible and writing about it for a day-by-day, film-by-film diary. This is one in a series of entries spanning from the opening festivities to closing night.

You truly don't know what it means to suffer until you're a journalist covering the Cannes Film Festival. Jet lag, spotty Wi-Fi, a beautiful beach you never have time to visit, that croque-monsieur that smelled kinda funny - it's the worst, I tell you.

But this year really takes the cake. This year, the 71-year-old festival finally did away with its long-standing tradition of holding advance press screenings for films playing in the main competition. Going forward, those press screenings will be held either concurrent with or after the film's public gala screening, robbing journalists of their early access.

What this means, practically speaking, is that no film - and especially no