It is, in short, the most confrontational, and downright grim opening night film that Cannes has offered in some time - well, The Da Vinci Code was downright grim, but differently so. Meirelles' film has generally had a critical drubbing, although it has its enthusiasts - and personally, I think there's much to be admired about it, not least Julianne Moore's strong performance.

The main problem is that Saramago's book is so commandingly resonant that it simply didn't need to be adapted in the first place. Bringing such a degree of perfectionist realism to the theme is a bit like adapting Kafka's Metamorphosis and splashing out on a special-effects beetle.

Given the film's grimness, it felt very incongruous to attend last night's Blindness party. Quips predictably abounded - "I can't see anyone I know" - and a colleague wisecracked to the effect that the bash was remarkably true to the film, in that there wasn't enough food and no-one could find the toilets.

But actually it was a rather dignified beachfront event, and hardkly undercatered. The macaroons were to die for - but what the film's characters wouldn't have done for a macaroon doesn't bear thinking about.
The party cleverly evoked the theme - you entered through a tunnel of dazzling white light, which was an interesting inversion, evoking the disoriented state in which you usually leave Cannes parties. They could have gone all the way, though - for example, by having door staff feel your face instead of checking your invite.

(Photo: Reuters)