De Niro jury faces tough choice as Cannes ends
Source: Agencies |
May 23, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Cannes film festival jury led by Robert De Niro faced a tough choice yesterday as it picked the winner of the Palme d'Or top prize, with movies from Finland, Spain, the United States and France all in the frame.
Guessing the winner of the world's biggest cinema showcase, overshadowed by the shock exit of Danish director Lars Von Trierfor for joking that he was a Nazi and understanding Hitler, is notoriously tricky.
The race in 2011 is seen as unusually open-ended, however, with US maverick Terrence Malick a slight favorite for his metaphysical epic "The Tree of Life" starring Brad Pitt.
Also heavily favored by Cannes' notoriously picky critics are Finnish film maker Aki Kaurismaki's comedy "Le Havre," silent, black-and-white romance "The Artist" from France and Spaniard Pedro Almodovar's thriller "The Skin I Live In." A further five movies won passionate, though not unanimous support, underlining how this year's selection has upped the ante after some disappointing competitions in recent years.
"My choice for Palme d'Or would be Aki Kaurismaki's 'Le Havre,' with Pedro Almodovar's 'The Skin I Live In' and the Dardenne brothers' 'Kid With A Bike' runners-up," said Mike Goodridge, editor of movie publication Screen. "My betting is that a Robert De Niro-led jury will go for 'The Tree Of Life,'" he added.
In addition to the films, the A-listers came out in force, the parties were loud and lavish and the giant market saw bustling trade in signs that the financial crisis that dampened recent festivals was finally fading from view.
The movies were reduced to a sideshow on Wednesday last week, when Von Trier joked about being a Nazi and Hitler sympathizer in an outburst which prompted the festival to take the unprecedented step of throwing him out the following day.
His competition movie "Melancholia," starring Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg, remained in the competition.
Guessing the winner of the world's biggest cinema showcase, overshadowed by the shock exit of Danish director Lars Von Trierfor for joking that he was a Nazi and understanding Hitler, is notoriously tricky.
The race in 2011 is seen as unusually open-ended, however, with US maverick Terrence Malick a slight favorite for his metaphysical epic "The Tree of Life" starring Brad Pitt.
Also heavily favored by Cannes' notoriously picky critics are Finnish film maker Aki Kaurismaki's comedy "Le Havre," silent, black-and-white romance "The Artist" from France and Spaniard Pedro Almodovar's thriller "The Skin I Live In." A further five movies won passionate, though not unanimous support, underlining how this year's selection has upped the ante after some disappointing competitions in recent years.
"My choice for Palme d'Or would be Aki Kaurismaki's 'Le Havre,' with Pedro Almodovar's 'The Skin I Live In' and the Dardenne brothers' 'Kid With A Bike' runners-up," said Mike Goodridge, editor of movie publication Screen. "My betting is that a Robert De Niro-led jury will go for 'The Tree Of Life,'" he added.
In addition to the films, the A-listers came out in force, the parties were loud and lavish and the giant market saw bustling trade in signs that the financial crisis that dampened recent festivals was finally fading from view.
The movies were reduced to a sideshow on Wednesday last week, when Von Trier joked about being a Nazi and Hitler sympathizer in an outburst which prompted the festival to take the unprecedented step of throwing him out the following day.
His competition movie "Melancholia," starring Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg, remained in the competition.
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