France Hopes to Win Cinematic Glory by a Bulbous Nose

France is pinning its hopes of cinematic glory on a bulbous nose when the 43rd Cannes film festival opens Thursday.

The nose in question is sported by the French actor Gerard Depardieu in a swashbuckling adaptation of “Cyrano de Bergerac,” Edmond Rostand’s 19th-Century play about a witty hero whose romantic hopes are dashed by the size of his grotesque protuberance.

The latest incarnation of the story, which has been filmed many times and was liberally adapted for Steve Martin’s “Roxanne”, is said to be the most expensive French-language film in history and was a last-minute selection for the 12-day festival.

Unlike most other films competing for the prestigious Golden Palm award, which receive their premieres at Cannes, it has already been playing to capacity audiences in French cinemas for six weeks.

But festival organizers waived their usual preference for brand-new films and picked “Cyrano de Bergerac” after realizing France otherwise risked a poor showing at its own party.

Competing against 18 other films which include offerings by U.S. director Clint Eastwood, Briton Alan Parker, Italy’s Taviani brothers and New Wave veteran Jean-Luc Godard, “Cyrano de Bergerac” faces no easy task.

The script is in verse and although the original text has been cut and polished to woo modern ears, it remains to be seen whether such a profoundly French project will win over the 10-member international jury chaired by Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci (“The Last Emperor”).

But film critics say even if the work fails to win the Golden Palm, Depardieu deserves the prize for best actor for his interpretation of Rostand’s tragicomic hero.

Depardieu, who each day donned a different artificial nose to match the mood of the scene he was acting, has attended 11 festivals in his career and, although he starred in the 1987 Cannes prizewinner “Under Satan’s Sun,” he has never won best actor.