Oscar-winning actor Javier Bardem and director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu have unveiled their hard-hitting drama about death at the Cannes Film Festival.
Bardem plays the central role in Biutiful, which is set in the back streets of Barcelona.
His character Uxbal is a criminal hustler and clairvoyant who is struggling to get his life in order and keep his family together.
The Spanish-language film was greeted with warm applause and plenty of tears during the press screening, suggesting it is one of the early favourites for awards at the festival with Bardem in the frame for best actor.
It is Inarritu's first film since Babel four years ago and, despite it's dark storyline, the director insists it is: "the most hopeful of my films by far".
Biutiful will be released later this summer.
