Brad Pitt has touched down at Cannes Film Festival to promote his latest film Killing Them Softly and has - just like last year - caused a furore.

Stopping to sign autographs for his adoring female fans, the Hollywood heartthrob then posed for photographs before attending a press conference for the film, described by one Forbes' reviewer as a violent "thinking man’s crime story."

Killing Them Softly - directed by Andrew Dominik, who Pitt last worked with on The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - is a contemporary tale of an enforcer (Pitt) charged with hunting down the thieves who robbed a mobbed-up poker game. It also stars Richard Jenkins, Ray Liotta, James Gandolfini, and Sam Shepard.

See all the first photos of Pitt at Cannes below...

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  • Brad in Cannes

    US actor Brad Pitt and New Zealand's director Andrew Dominik (R) pose during the photocall of 'Killing them Softly' presented in competition at the 65th Cannes film festival on May 22, 2012 in Cannes. AFP PHOTO / VALERY HACHE

  • Brad in Cannes

    (From L) US actor Ray Liotta, US actor Brad Pitt, New Zealand's director Andrew Dominik, Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn and US actor Scoot McNairy pose during the photocall of 'Killing them Softly' presented in competition at the 65th Cannes film festival on May 22, 2012 in Cannes. AFP PHOTO / VALERY HACHE

  • Brad in Cannes

    US actor Brad Pitt and US actor Ray Liotta pose during the photocall of 'Killing them Softly' presented in competition at the 65th Cannes film festival on May 22, 2012 in Cannes. AFP PHOTO / ALBERTO PIZZOLI

  • Brad in Cannes

    US actor Brad Pitt arrives for the photocall of 'Killing them Softly' presented in competition at the 65th Cannes film festival on May 22, 2012 in Cannes. AFP PHOTO / VALERY HACHE

  • Brad in Cannes

    US actor Brad Pitt poses during the photocall of 'Killing them Softly' presented in competition at the 65th Cannes film festival on May 22, 2012 in Cannes. AFP PHOTO / ALBERTO PIZZOLI

  • Brad in Cannes

    US actor Brad Pitt (C) arrives for the photocall of 'Killing them Softly' presented in competition at the 65th Cannes film festival on May 22, 2012 in Cannes. AFP PHOTO / ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT

  • Brad in Cannes

    US actor Brad Pitt signs autographs as he arrives for the photocall of 'Killing them Softly' presented in competition at the 65th Cannes film festival on May 22, 2012 in Cannes. AFP PHOTO / ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT

  • Brad in Cannes

    US actor Brad Pitt signs autographs as he arrives for the photocall of 'Killing them Softly' presented in competition at the 65th Cannes film festival on May 22, 2012 in Cannes. AFP PHOTO / ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT

  • Brad in Cannes

    Actor Brad Pitt poses at the 'Killing Them Softly' photocall during the 65th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 22, 2012 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

  • Brad in Cannes

    Actor Brad Pitt poses at the 'Killing Them Softly' photocall during the 65th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 22, 2012 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

  • Brad in Cannes

    Actor Brad Pitt poses at the 'Killing Them Softly' photocall during the 65th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 22, 2012 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)