Cannes Film Festival Opens

Posted by Bridget Lux May 17, 2006

The 59th Festival de Cannes (pronounced "can") began today and with it came the celebrities, such as Tom Hanks and France's own Audrey Tautou, producers, directors, the press (reportedly 4,000 of them!) and hordes of film fans. The festival also brings back memories of years past - Brigitte Bardot, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, as well as a taste of French Riviera culture.

For nearly two weeks, the movie-world's lenses are focused on this small, coastal town in the South of France - and Cannes doesn't disappoint.

This year, the opening film is a controversial one: "The Da Vinci Code." The book's author, Dan Brown, (who is also in Cannes) has been embroiled in a couple of lawsuits over its contents; certain religious groups have already threatened to boycott the movie.

The first wave of reports about the movie are in and they are just as could be expected: Possibly the harshest movie critics on earth are snubbing their noses at the American thriller. Uh, what did we expect?

I say, you be the judge.

And while a trip to Cannes may be out of the cards for this year, you can always mark your calendar for next year. In the meantime, rent "To Catch a Thief," the '50s classic with Grant and Kelly set on the Cote d'Azur.