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Cannes: Palme D'Or Winner is Uncle Boonmee, Best Actress Binoche, Best Actor Bardem and Germano

The Cannes Film Festival juries handed out their awards Sunday. Competition jury president Tim Burton announced the winner of the Palme d'Or: the complex critics' fave from Thailand, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The runner-up Grand Prix prize went to Of Gods and Men, directed by Xavier Beauvois. In a sign that the jury was not unanimous in support of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Biutiful (comme tout le monde), the best actor prize was shared by Biutiful's Javier Bardem and Elio Germano for La Nostra Vita. Mike Leigh's well-reviewed Another Year was shut out of the awards, as best actress went to Cannes poster subject Juliette Binoche for Abbas Kiarostami's Certified Copy, rather than Lesley Manville. Best director was a surprise: French actor-turned-director Mathieu Amalric for his colorful burlesque film, Tournée. Best screenplay went to another well-reviewed film, Lee Chang-dong's Poetry.

By Anne Thompson
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May 23, 2010 6:02 AM
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Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is nothing if not consistent. Over his career--until now, working closely with non-linear novelist/scenarist Guillermo Arriaga--he has crafted a series of films (Amores perros, 21 Grams, Babel) about people in trouble who behave badly, who are in terrible pain. His camera (in this case, wielded by frequent collaborator Rodrigo Prieto) moves freely, swirling around his characters and boring in on their inner thoughts, seeking emotion, emotion, emotion. That's Gonzalez Inarritu's great passion.

By Anne Thompson
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May 17, 2010 4:10 AM
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4 Comments

Cannes news and notes:

By Anne Thompson
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May 3, 2010 1:20 AM
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2 Comments

Weekend Boxoffice: Why Coens Burn Up B.O.

Am I the only one surprised by how well Burn After Reading is doing at the boxoffice? Remember, before No Country for Old Men, the Coens were hit or miss at the boxoffice, mostly miss. They were lucky if their pics got to $25 million! So why is this nihilistic nasty little movie doing so well? Even those who figured the CIA comedy would open on star power and marketing prowess didn't think it would actually play with audiences. But clearly, it is--prognosticators expect the movie to score this weekend, again!

By Anne Thompson
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September 18, 2008 8:14 AM
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No Country for Old Men: That Pesky Ending

I'm having big debates about No Country for Old Men, especially the ending. If you've read the Cormac McCarthy book, you know that the Coens have done a very faithful adaptation, which McCarthy admires. [SPOILER ALERT] The duo was attracted to the very things that make the movie unconventional: a major character dies, and the forces of good don't triumph over the forces of evil at the end.