Some pics get bashed before the reviewers ever see them

Storms are brewing over Cannes, and not just on the beaches.

Filmmakers and distribs are complaining that their competition films are being tried in the press and judged by politicians before they've even screened. The dustup is particularly touchy during a difficult period for arthouse films, when bad press can be fatal for pics that need special care and handling in the worldwide market.

Politicians have said Rachid Bouchareb's competition player Outside the Law should be banned, Wild Bunch sales agent Vincent Maraval says there's a campaign to discredit Nikita Mikhalkov's Cannes competition player, Burnt by the Sun 2, and American films are coming in for harsh criticism, sight unseen. ...

Of Burnt by the Sun 2, a sequel to the 1995 Oscar winner, Maraval cites French newspaper Libération's criticism of Mikhalkov's "mysterious Competition presence" as soon as the Cannes Official Selection lineup was announced, and Le Monde's claim that Sun 2 reps a "hymn to Stalin."

"Anyone who's ever seen a Nikita Mikhalkov film knows his films are anti-Stalin," a furious Maraval told Variety.

Controversy is a Cannes tradition. But the Law and Sun 2 spats underscore far larger issues. "It's truly disturbing how the French press criticizes films they haven't even seen," says Maraval. ...

Lefort shrugs off criticism. "I may not know the films, but I know the directors," he says. "Cannes' mandate is to shed light on auteur films and new talents. This year's selection seems lazy and unsurprising."

Maraval contends that French critics "don't like Mikhalkov, Bouchareb or Tavernier because they make popular films, reaching general audiences." ...