Luc Besson in row over Cesar awards

An almighty row has erupted in France over whether Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, a comedy movie that has become the most successful French film ever made, should be eligible for the Cesars, the country's equivalent of the Academy Awards.

A raft of the movie industry's biggest hitters, among them director Luc Besson and the celebrated actor Alain Delon, think not. Meanwhile, siding with ordinary cinemagoers, Charlotte Gainsbourg, the English-born daughter of musician Serge Gainsbourg, believes it most definitely should. 

The controversy arose after Dany Boon, the writer, director and star of the movie - a story about a postmaster from southern France horrified at the idea of having to displace himself from his rural idyll - announced he would be boycotting the awards ceremony, which take place this evening.

His beef was that the film only received one Cesar nomination, for best original screenplay, even though it had been seen by close to 20 million people, a third of France's population. 

"I am going to watch the ceremony at home," said Boon. "[With the Cesars] we're celebrating cinema but we're not really represented... I thought we would have more nominations. One should acknowledge a film's success and its popularity with audiences."

However, Luc Besson, the director of the Bruce Willis-starring Hollywood blockbuster The Fifth Element disagrees. While he conceded the film was "very cute", he asked: "Does it have the best cinematography? No. The best editing? No. There are many places in which the film does not deserve to be nominated." And Alain Delon, the recipient of many best actor Cesars himself, questioned whether Boon's performance was up to much. 

But Charlotte Gainsbourg, an actor herself, felt that the film's critics were just being snooty. "I don't understand why comedies are undervalued but it's always been the case... It's as if commercial successes replaces the need for recognition by the profession, as if it was enough, which is totally stupid. In many ways it's harder to make a comedy than to make a drama."

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