Movies With A Message

It began in controversy and ended in closure — or, as the French say, cloture. Arguments at the Cannes Film Festival are usually about which film deserved to win or whether the blindingly bright days in this Riviera Eden are just a smidge too cool. This time the world impinged on the art.

The ruckus began just before the festival, when the American Jewish Congress called for a near-boycott on grounds of French anti-Semitism. That charge was answered on opening day when Woody Allen, France's favorite U.S. auteur, showed up to say he loved the French and commended...