2024-04-17 14:15:30
This year’s Cannes festival, which last night solemnly closed its curtain by anointing… Terrence Malick as the new owner of the Golden Palm, was characterized by good films, intense controversies and the… exclusion of many favorites (Kaurismaki, Kusturitsa, Almodovar). The “palm leaf” was given to Jean Dujardin (for a black-and-white silent comedy), while Kirsten Dunst did not leave empty-handed either, after receiving the award for Best Actress.
The big winner of the evening – presented by the actress Mélanie Laurent – was the unconventional Terrence Malick for his film “The Tree of Life”, one of the most talked about films of the Festival, which made a big… doro. Something about the brilliant cast (Brad Pitt – Sean Penn), something about the director’s absence from the scheduled press conference, Malick’s film was the one that the jury – led by Robert De Niro – awarded as the best.
The American director of “The Thin Red Line”, who “preserves” his legend by systematically avoiding the spotlight and interviews, managed with “The Tree of Life” to “divide” both the audience and the critics, since most admitted that they did not understand its content. However, her unique images and dreamy aesthetics seem to have “convinced”.
In fact, the Golden Palm was received from Jane Fonda by the film’s producer Bill Poland who spoke on Malick’s behalf. “Tonight, I took the place of a gyrant. Terrence Malick is a very shy and reserved person. But I spoke with him and I know he is very happy about this award.”
The critics may have “turned” their backs on the “black sheep” of this year’s event, Lars von Trier, but they did not do the same for his leading lady. Thus, Kirsten Dunst, the former engineer of “Spiderman” and current muse of the Danish director, was the one who finally won the award for Best Actress for the film “Melancholia”, leaving behind an excellent Tilda Swinton. “What a week! I thank the committee, which kept the film in the competition section. I am also grateful to Lars von Trier, who let me play this role with great freedom,” said the well-known actress in her acceptance speech.
Jean Dujardin, the star of Michel Hazanavicius’s black-and-white film The Artist, won the Best Actor Award, which was received by Catherine Deneuve. Excited, the big winner knelt down in front of Robert De Niro. It is characteristic that the “ode” to the silent cinema was one of the critics’ favorite choices.
“Drive” creator Nicolas Winding Refn “left” the Cannes Lumiere hall with the director’s award and reading his acceptance speech from his iPhone (!), while the Camera D’or award (debut director) was awarded to Pablo Giorgelli for his film “Las Acacias”, a film which last week received the OFAJ New Critics Award, as well as the Independent Cinemas Association for Distribution.
Maywen Le Besco’s drama “Polisse”, a film about the daily life of a police unit specializing in child abuse crimes, left Cannes with the prize of the committee.
Josef Cedar for his film “Footnote” was given – as expected – the screenplay prize, while the Grand Prix (Gran Prix) was shared by the Dardenne brothers (for their masterpiece film “Kid on a bicycle”) and the Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan (for his film “Once upon a time in anatolia”).Finally the Golden Palm for short film” was received by the film “Cross” by Marina Vronda.
The award for the category “A certain look” of the competition was shared by two films, “Arirang” by Korean Kim Ki-duk and “Stopped on track” by German Andreas Dressen. It is characteristic that in this category, two years ago, the upward trajectory of “Fang” began
Pedro Almodovar’s excellent film “Under the Skin” starring Antonio Banderas failed to win any awards. Almodovar’s thriller about a vengeful plastic surgeon seems to be aimed at a niche audience.
But Aki Kaurismäki’s film Le Havre, the first film in French by the great Finnish director, which deals with the burning issue of immigration, did not manage to walk away with an award either.
Iota Vazoura
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