Cannes Film Festival Readies for Its Close-Up

May 14, 2008 — -- The Cannes Film Festival conjures images of glamour and decadence -- black ties, red carpets and the blue Mediterranean bobbing with the glowing lights of yacht parties -- as film glitterati from around the world converge on the French Riviera.

The global audience for the annual event, which opens Wednesday, makes it a favorite place for Hollywood to introduce potential Oscar films as well as some of its biggest crowd-pleasers.

This year, Cannes will showcase 57 full-length films from 31 countries. American offerings include the latest "Indiana Jones" movie, director Clint Eastwood's 1920s-era mystery drama "Changeling" and the DreamWorks animated comedy "Kung Fu Panda."

"Cannes is the world stage," says Harvey Weinstein, co-chair of The Weinstein Co. "It's got good acceptance in the United States, but not the mass acceptance that it has in Europe, Asia, the Middle East. People from everywhere come to the Cannes Film Festival."

This time, Weinstein is rolling the dice with "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." The romantic comedy, written and directed by Woody Allen, stars Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz in a story of American sisters who visit Spain and are drawn into love affairs with a painter and his explosive ex-wife.

The on-screen erotic couplings of the top stars has generated much talk leading into the festival, and Allen acknowledges that the emphasis is less on comedy and more about the chemistry.

"This is mostly a romantic film. It's really about the complexity of relationships. It's a love film," Allen says. "I had the good fortune to be able to bring together a tremendous cast of actors, and it made the thing really sing for me. Same script not done in Barcelona, not done with these people, would not have the same resonance."

Weinstein is counting on the movie's lightheartedness to win admirers. "Sometimes at Cannes you watch a lot of serious films. All of a sudden you see a movie like this, and it lifts your spirit," he says.