CANNES, France: Half-way through the celebrated Cannes film festival, a French film on racism has emerged as the front-runner for the Palme d'Or first prize from a field stacked with strong movies by veteran directors.

"Hidden," by Austrian director Michael Haneke and starring Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche, is the critics' pick with nearly half the 21 selected films seen, according to compilations of scores given by various trade reviews.

The competition though has been somewhat overshadowed by the out-of-competition international premiere of "Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith," which late Sunday brought stormtroopers and director George Lucas to the red carpet.

The sci-fi spectacular rounds out the six-part series Lucas began in 1977 and has been riding on a wave of anticipation around the world ahead of its general release on Wednesday and Thursday.

Reporters at the festival said the films being shown both in and out of competition represented one of the strongest line-ups to be seen in years, though, as usual, some duds have been uncovered as well as unexpected gems.

"Hidden" impressed with its story about a television presenter (Auteuil) who starts receiving videos whose contents show someone has an intimate knowledge of his life.

In subtle fashion, it slowly reveals its themes of secrets, France's discrimination against its large Arab immigrant population and more generally the West's skewed approach to dealing with other cultures, especially those in the Middle East.

Trade magazines Screen International and Le Film Francais published scores showing it was the critics' favourite although another film by US director Gus Van Sant, "Last Days," inspired by singer Kurt Cobain's final hours before his suicide, was close behind.

Out of competition, Woody Allen's latest movie "Match Point" a drama, not a comedy this time also won raves, even from reviewers often non-plussed by the director's later films.

And "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang," a sassy, funny and contemporary look back at LA gumshoe thrillers impressed.

At the other end of the scale were competition films that failed to live up to their promise, including "Bashing," a Japanese film about a woman freed from a hostage ordeal in Iraq facing ostracism in her home country, and "Once You're Born," an Italian melodrama about a young rich boy who is saved from drowning by a boatload of illegal immigrants heading to his country.

It is impossible to draw the line under the festival yet, however. The organizers have learnt to cannily space out the movies over the event's 12-day run, meaning many gems are left to be screened before the Palme is awarded in a celebrity-heavy ceremony on Saturday night.

Movies yet to be seen that are keenly awaited include "A History of Violence," a smart thriller by Canada's David Cronenberg and starring Viggo Mortensen, and "Broken Flowers," an exercise in humorous nostalgia directed by Jim Jarmusch.

(China Daily 05/20/2005 page14)