Sunday, May 23, 2010

Cannes Awards

Robert here, to let you know that the Cannes awards are official, some surprises and some not.

Palme d'Or
<--Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives by Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Weerasethakul's film was one of the few widely praised ones at the festival.  Add to this a sense of topical unconventionality that many thought would appeal to Burton and his jury.

Grand Prix
Of Gods and Men directed by Xavier Beauvoi

 Best Director
Mathieu Amalric for directing Tournee

Definitely a bit of a surprise.  Amalric's film premiered early to lackluster response and many people expected it was forgotten by now.  Apparently not


 Jury Prize
A Screaming Man, directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun

Another of the few almost universally praised films at this year's festival.

Best Performance for an Actor
Javier Bardem in Biutiful &

Elio Germano in Our Life

This was largely expected.   Will Oscar take notice?  They've liked Bardem and director Inarritu in the past.  Or does the miserablist tone of the film hurt?


Best Performance for an Actress
Juliette Binoche in Certified Copy -->

This probably won't be on Oscar's radar (Abbas Kiarostami's films have never been).  This is however the first Cannes Best Actress award for 2010 poster girl Ms. Binoche.


Best Screenplay
Lee Chang-dong for writing Poetry