by Deborah Cole (On Twitter: @doberah http://twitter.com/#!/doberah)CANNES, France Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami in March had a powerful impact on Naomi Kawase's haunting new film in competition at Cannes, the Japanese director said on Wednesday.   "Hanezu" -- one of 20 contenders for the coveted Palme d'Or to be awarded by jury president Robert De Niro on Sunday -- tells the story of a love triangle in the mountainous Asuka region, seen as the birthplace of the Japane...

by Deborah Cole (On Twitter: @doberah http://twitter.com/#!/doberah)CANNES, FranceJodie Foster drew cheers at Cannes on Tuesday for her latest film "The Beaver" and said she thought the experience of making it could be "therapeutic" for her troubled star Mel Gibson.   The small-budget drama, directed by Foster and featuring Gibson as a depressed toy company executive who turns to a beaver hand puppet to help him get his life back on track, had a shaky opening at US cinemas ...