Cannes 2006

The reaction to last nights pre-premiere screening of The Da Vinci Code for international movie critics was tepid to say the least. One source claimed the response from the press was largely negative, another claimed loud laughter during one of the main scenes. Stephen Schaefer from the Boston Herald said: "Nothing really works. It's not suspenseful*. It's not romantic. It's certainly not fun." *Even my American spell-checker had a problem with that one! The Da Vinci Code Eurostar train safely delivered the film's cast and director to Cannes last night. The 59th Cannes Film Festival officially began a few hours ago with the world premiere of The Da Vinci Code. The Festival de Cannes has now officially started with The Da Vinci Code crew leading the way up the red carpet, Tom Hanks stopped and made a gesture to the thousands of spectators to follow them. Then came the official Cannes jury, with Wong Kar Wai in front and Zhang Ziyi, Monica Bellucci classically dressed in a sparkling long black dress, Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth and Helena Bonham Carter alongside, together with Patrice Leconte, Elia Suleiman and Lucrecia Martel. The celebrity hungry crowd were also able to catch a brief glimpse of Sidney Poitier before he officially opened the ceremony with his well received speech "Before you, in a place impregnated with an atmosphere which so many geniuses have known, it is an inestimable privilege to welcome the motion-picture generation of today and tomorrow. Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great respect that I hereby declare the 59th Festival de Cannes open."