Cannes festival falls in 'Amour' as Haneke wins top film honor again
Source: Agencies |
May 29, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
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CRITICS lauded the Cannes film festival jury yesterday for awarding director Michael Haneke's "Love" (Amour) the coveted Palme d'Or for best picture, justifying its status as favorite going into Sunday night's awards ceremony.
The Austrian has now won the top prize at the world's biggest cinema showcase twice, joining a small elite of multiple winners and cementing his place as a master of film making.
Slow and understated, Love's portrayal of an elderly French couple facing the last stages of life had audiences in tears and critics rushing off to write five-star reviews virtually across the board. Its victory was particularly welcome in France, with the stars of the movie, both in their 80s, highly respected names in French cinema.
"The names of Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant ... will play in the public eye like a French victory," said Le Parisien newspaper.
Conspicuous by their absence from the awards ceremony that wrapped up the 12-day festival on the French Riviera were United States productions, five of which made it into the main competition of 22 entries.
Not even the acting talent of A-listers Nicole Kidman and Brad Pitt, alongside hot emerging Hollywood names like Jessica Chastain, Tom Hardy and Zac Efron, was enough to win over the judges led by Italian director Nanni Moretti.
Turn the clock back a year, and US director Terrence Malick was winning the Palme d'Or for "The Tree of Life" and Kirsten Dunst scooped the actress award for her role in Lars von Trier's apocalyptic epic "Melancholia."
Cannes critics were cool towards most US films, although New Zealand-born Andrew Dominik's "Killing Them Softly," starring Pitt as a mob enforcer in a recession-hit US city, was reasonably popular.
"None set the town on fire and clearly can't count upon widespread critical support down the line," said The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy.
What the strong North American presence did do, however, was put stars on the red carpet, a key ingredient to success at a film festival which thrives not only on high-brow cinema but also on glamour, fame and celebrity buzz.
In addition to Haneke, two other former Cannes winners won - Briton Ken Loach won third prize for Scottish comedy caper "The Angels' Share" and Romanian Cristian Mungiu won best screenplay for exorcism drama "Beyond the Hills."
The movie's two young stars, Cristina Flutur and Cosmina Stratan, were surprise dual winners of the actress prize, while Danish star Mads Mikkelsen scooped the best actor prize for his portrayal of a man wrongly accused of child abuse in the drama "The Hunt."
The Austrian has now won the top prize at the world's biggest cinema showcase twice, joining a small elite of multiple winners and cementing his place as a master of film making.
Slow and understated, Love's portrayal of an elderly French couple facing the last stages of life had audiences in tears and critics rushing off to write five-star reviews virtually across the board. Its victory was particularly welcome in France, with the stars of the movie, both in their 80s, highly respected names in French cinema.
"The names of Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant ... will play in the public eye like a French victory," said Le Parisien newspaper.
Conspicuous by their absence from the awards ceremony that wrapped up the 12-day festival on the French Riviera were United States productions, five of which made it into the main competition of 22 entries.
Not even the acting talent of A-listers Nicole Kidman and Brad Pitt, alongside hot emerging Hollywood names like Jessica Chastain, Tom Hardy and Zac Efron, was enough to win over the judges led by Italian director Nanni Moretti.
Turn the clock back a year, and US director Terrence Malick was winning the Palme d'Or for "The Tree of Life" and Kirsten Dunst scooped the actress award for her role in Lars von Trier's apocalyptic epic "Melancholia."
Cannes critics were cool towards most US films, although New Zealand-born Andrew Dominik's "Killing Them Softly," starring Pitt as a mob enforcer in a recession-hit US city, was reasonably popular.
"None set the town on fire and clearly can't count upon widespread critical support down the line," said The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy.
What the strong North American presence did do, however, was put stars on the red carpet, a key ingredient to success at a film festival which thrives not only on high-brow cinema but also on glamour, fame and celebrity buzz.
In addition to Haneke, two other former Cannes winners won - Briton Ken Loach won third prize for Scottish comedy caper "The Angels' Share" and Romanian Cristian Mungiu won best screenplay for exorcism drama "Beyond the Hills."
The movie's two young stars, Cristina Flutur and Cosmina Stratan, were surprise dual winners of the actress prize, while Danish star Mads Mikkelsen scooped the best actor prize for his portrayal of a man wrongly accused of child abuse in the drama "The Hunt."
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