Cannes - The director of The Da Vinci Code, Ron Howard, said Wednesday in Cannes that people who are afraid they might be upset by his film should not go to see it.

’There is no question the film is going to be upsetting for some people,’ Howard said during a press conference hours before the start of the 2006 Cannes International Film Festival. ’Don’t go to see the movie if you don’t want to be upset.’

The film, which will officially open the festival later Wednesday, has drawn sharp criticism from Christian groups around the world, who claim it blasphemes their religion and the Bible and have threatened a variety of protest actions, including boycotts.

Based on the blockbuster novel by Dan Brown, which has sold an estimated 40 million copies, The Da Vinci Code will be given its world premiere at Cannes.

American actor Tom Hanks, who has the lead in the film, portraying the symbologist Robert Langdon, told journalists in Cannes that The Da Vinci Code was not to be taken as a reflection of reality.

’The film is a work of fiction,’ Hanks said. ’It’s part of a commercial enterprise. It’s entertainment. It’s not a documentary.’

He also said that trying to stay true to the book was not an easy chore.

’The great advantage of the book is that Brown could explain things over five pages and more,’ Hanks said. ’The challenge was to put that into dialogue. It required a lot of condensation.’

The opening ceremony of the 59th Cannes film festival will be preceded by the customary march up the broad, red-carpeted stairway of the Palace of Festivals by Howard, Hanks and other Da Vinci stars, such as Audrey Tautou and Ian McKellan.

As part of an intense 24-hour publicity campaign at Cannes for The Da Vinci Code, the film’s principals travelled to the Mediterranean resort in a specially designed high-speed Eurostar train, the Da Vinci Special, from London’s Waterloo Station, a distance of 1,421 km.

The film opened in France on Wednesday and will hit screens worldwide on Thursday and Friday.

In the days that follow, other film stars will climb the fabled stairway of the Palace of Festivals, with Cate Blanchett, Penelope Cruz, Justin Timberlake, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Bruce Willis, Halle Berry, Ethan Hawke, Juliette Binoche and Bob Hoskins all expected to put in an appearance.

The festival’s artistic director, Thierry Fremaux, has selected 20 films from 13 nations to compete for the Palme d’Or, or Golden Palm, for best film, one of the most prestigious film awards in the world.

The Da Vinci Code will be screened out of competition. The awards will be announced on the last day of the festival, May 28.