Cannes to kick off with Da Vinci Code controversy

CANNES, France - As the 59th Cannes film festival prepares to kick off, there are only four words on everyone's lips: The Da Vinci Code.

One of the most eagerly anticipated movies in years opens the annual event tomorrow, bringing glitz and controversy to the red carpet.

Its star Tom Hanks arrived from London in a special train decorated with a giant Mona Lisa today to be greeted by hundreds of fans and journalists at Cannes' station.

Hanks was accompanied by co-star Audrey Tautou, director Ron Howard and the bestseller's publicity-shy author Dan Brown, and will join a host of 'A'-listers descending on the French resort town to mix the business of interviews with the pleasure of parties and luxury yachts over the next 12 days.

Howard's adaptation of Brown's book triggered a fresh wave of protests among Christians for suggesting Christ married Mary Magdalene and they established a dynasty which the Church stopped at nothing to try to cover up.

In South Korea today, a court rejected a petition by a Christian group to block the movie release in the country, which has one of the highest proportions of Christians in Asia.

In the mainly Catholic Philippines, censors gave The Da Vinci Code an "adults only" rating, saying that it required "mature discernment" because of the plot that involves Jesus having a child with Mary Magdalene.

And in India, the government has decided to show the film to Catholic groups before taking a decision on clearing it for a scheduled release later this week.

The controversies, alongside calls from the Vatican to boycott the book and film, have given studio Sony Pictures the kind of publicity money can't buy.

"I don't think this was a movie that set out to be controversial," said Hollywood Reporter's Gregg Kilday.

"It was always meant to be a mainstream glossy Hollywood thriller. But because of the religious elements in the book that have attracted the attention of a lot of religious leaders ... it promises to be a big controversial bow for the festival."

The most recent parallel is Mel Gibson's 2004 The Passion of the Christ which grossed $612 million in global ticket sales partly thanks to the controversy it caused.

Teenage fans cheering Hanks at his arrival in Cannes had no doubt the film would be a success.

"He is just so sexy," 19-year old Gaelle Mancinelli said, trying to take a photo of the actor as he was driven past the crowds. "I hope the film will be as gripping as the book."

Away from The Da Vinci Code, Cannes this year promises a mix of political fireworks, sexual experimentation and blockbuster thrills worthy of the world's biggest film festival.

Other major US productions include X-Men: The Last Stand, starring Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry, and the animated Over the Hedge, with Bruce Willis providing voice-overs.

Spanish veteran Pedro Almodovar is back with Volver, starring Penelope Cruz, and US film maker Sofia Coppola presents Marie Antoinette, with Kirsten Dunst playing the reviled young queen as France spirals towards bloody revolution.

As well as escapism and history there is plenty of politics, with Richard Linklater's Fast Food Nation aiming to spoil the appetites of the big fast food chains and Italian production Il Caimano satirising outgoing prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Oliver Stone showcases 20 minutes of his upcoming 9/11 film World Trade Centre, French director Rachid Bouchareb examines the forgotten role of Arabs in defending France during World War Two and his countryman Bruno Dumont promises to provoke with Flandres, set in an unspecified war.

Britain's Ken Loach tackles the early days of the fight for independence in Ireland, and former US vice president Al Gore talks about global warming with An Inconvenient Truth.

Sex hits the screen with John Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus, except the buzz is that this time it is real, not simulated. And On Ne Devrait Pas Exister by French porn star HPG focuses on a porn actor who wants to break into traditional cinema.

- REUTERS