The Palme d'Or is one of the most revered awards in cinema and this year 18 contenders are playing at Cannes in hopes of taking home the award.

The Palme d'Or has been awarded to a number of directors include Abdellatif Kechiche, Michael Haneke, Terrence Malick, Laurent Cantet, Roman Polanski, and Cristian Mungiu. While the festival still has a couple of days to go, most of the competition films have already opened to varying responses. This year the competition slate is dominated by French films that are either co-productions with other countries or realized in France. The U.S., Canada, Russia, Argentina and Spain also have a strong presence in the slate.

The question that many pundits and audiences will be wondering about at this point is which film will win the Palme d'Or. From the movies that have already had their world premieres, a few could be quickly disqualified due to the reviews. The first film is "The Captive" by Atom Egoyan starring Ryan Reynolds. The movie premiered at the beginning of the festival and most critics called it an embarrassment and said it was contrived.

David Cronenberg's "Map to the Stars" was also polarizing as it scored mixed reception. While some critics called it Cronenberg's finest work in a decade, others complained about its cold and dreary outlook.

Bertrand Bonello's biopic "Saint Laurent" was also a mixed bag and many criticized it for being unfocused. Meanwhile, Tommy Lee Jones' "The Homesman" entered the competition with a lot of buzz but disappointed. The movie had a lot of good reviews with many critics hailing it for its performances and truthfulness. However, "The Homesman" was criticized for portraying Indians as villains and for being superficial.

However, there were a number of hits. The Turkish film "Winter Sleep" by Nuri Bilge Ceylan scored rave reviews and the director quickly became one of the front-runners for the top prize. Ceylan's work has been awarded at Cannes before and he has won the Grand Prize and the Best Director awards. However the lack of a Palme D'Or has cause a lot of buzz for this movie especially after its great reception.

Damián Szifron's "Wild Tales" from Argentina was also a huge hit at the festival and was even acquired for U.S. distribution. While the movie has a good reviews, it has a number of things going against it. "Wild Tales" is from a first-time director and in recent years the festival has failed to reward new filmmakers. Additionally, it is a comedy, which is never a good sign at Cannes. Recently the films that have received the Palme d'Or have all been austere and raw dramas. However, this all depends on the judges and every year could be very different.

Mike Leigh's "Mr. Turner" was also a favorite as it premiered on the second day and was immediately hailed as a front-runner for the Palme d'Or. The movie has strong reviews and Leigh is a fixture at Cannes. However it is rare that a director wins the top award twice. Leigh won back in 1996 for "Secret and Lies," but has not won a single award at Cannes since. Only seven directors have won two Palme d'Or awards, with Michael Haneke being the latest on the list. Leigh could become the eighth if the jury decides to reward "Mr. Turner."

Two performance-driven films also received raves but critics were buzzing more about the performances than the actual movies themselves. "Foxcatcher" had an incredible opening in which critics stated that Steve Carell was an Oscar lock. Meanwhile the Dardenne's "Two Days, One Night" opened to great reviews but the focus was mainly on the star Marion Cotillard. While these two films are huge contenders, they may be looking at acting awards as opposed to the Palme d'Or.

A few of the films have gone under the radar even though they garnered strong responses. "Timbuktu" was overshadowed by the glamorous opening night film "Grace of Monaco." While the media paid attention to the Nicole Kidman starrer, the festival screened the French-Mauritanian drama which scored positive reviews. Naomi Kawase's Japanese film "Still the Water" and Alice Rohrwacher's "The Wonders" also received less attention due to the star power attached to other films.

However falling under the radar could be the key to winning the ultimate prize. Last year the jury surprised audiences and pundits by naming "Blue is the Warmest Color" the best in the festival. The movie was not only a controversial choice due to its explicit content but also because it had beat out front-runners "Inside Llewyn Davis," "Nebraska," and "The Past."

Additionally, there are still a number of films that have potential that have yet to bow. These include Xavier Dolan's latest "Mommy," Olivier Assayas' "Clouds of Sils Maria," Andrey Zvyagintsev's "Leviathan," Ken Loach's "Jimmy's Hall" and Jean Luc Goddard's "Goodbye to Language." Michel Hazanavicius' "The Search" could also be a late surprise contender .

The Palme d'Or will be handed out on May 24 with the jury led by Jane Campion.