The 12-day cinema showcase on the French Riviera winds up with Sunday's awards ceremony which will determine which of the 19 movies in the main competition take away prizes.

After a slow start that had critics scratching their heads about the overall quality of the selection, later entries have lifted the mood in Cannes, where the economic crisis, lack of Hollywood stars and travel disruptions have weighed heavily.

With four films yet to screen, Leigh leads the critics' polls in Cannes. In 1996 he took away the big prize with "Secrets and Lies."

Another Year is his examination of the hidden drama of everyday lives set in a London suburb and starring regular Leigh cast members Jim Broadbent and Lesley Manville. The Daily Telegraph called it "one of Mike Leigh's best films."

Close behind is "Of Gods and Men," French filmmaker Xavier Beauvois' stately re-telling of the true story of seven French monks mysteriously murdered in Algeria in 1996.

The film focuses mainly on the rhythms of monastic life and how the men face up to the growing threat of violent death as civil conflict escalates around them. It has the added appeal of tackling universal themes of faith and religious tolerance.

"It's got crucial things going for it -- a real generosity of spirit, a real sense of forgiveness, and nowhere is Islam blamed," said Mark Cousins, a film historian and Cannes veteran.

He said Leigh was one of the favorites for the Palme d'Or, although he preferred Abbas Kiarostami's "Certified Copy."

OPINIONS DIVIDED

Other frontrunners are "Biutiful," Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's picture of death and redemption starring Javier Bardem, and Doug Liman's "Fair Game" about the true story of outed CIA agent Valerie Plame.

Naomi Watts plays Plame in a movie based on her memoirs of the same name, with Sean Penn taking on the role of her husband Joseph Wilson.

Biutiful was one of the titles in Cannes this year to sharply divide critics and journalists, although Bardem's performance is widely seen as a best actor contender.

Another hotly debated entry was Iranian filmmaker Kiarostami's picture starring Juliette Binoche.

Kiarostami, who used his platform at the festival to criticize the jailing of fellow Iranian director Jafar Panahi, is another former Palme d'Or winner with "Ta'm E Guilass" in 1997.

Ken Loach, who took the award in 2006 with Irish historical drama "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," was a last-minute addition to the lineup with "Route Irish," a thriller about security guards working in Iraq.