With a jury from the official section chaired by the Swedish director Ruben Östlund, who last year won his second Palme d'Or for the satire El Triángulo de la tristeza, in this 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival the winner had to be somewhat special . So much so that the Anatomy of a Fall, by the French Justine Triet, was awarded the prize, the third woman to achieve the highest distinction in the prestigious competition after Jane Campion for The Piano (1993) and Julia Ducournau, member of the jury this year and compatriot who awarded it. he achieved two editions ago for his controversial Titane.
It is a thriller that portrays the intense trial of a woman (wonderful Sandra Hüller) accused of the death of her husband, who appears lifeless outside his chalet in the Alps. The only witnesses are her son, who is visually impaired, and her dog. The trial ends up showing the ins and outs of the complicated relationship of the couple and exhibits the different points of view of those involved. Who really knows what they both lived together?
Under an endless shower of applause, Triet, 44, very emotionally received the award from Jane Fonda and launched a very demanding speech against the Macron government's pension reform. Although she did not reveal the details of the internal debates of the jury, Östlund pointed out in a subsequent press conference that the director's film created a "conversation" among all the members.
During the closing ceremony presented by the actress Chiara Mastroianni, there was a standing ovation for Roger Corman, who at 97 years of age has delivered the Grand Jury Prize for The Zone of Interest, by Jonathan Glazer, alongside Quentin Tarantino. who started as the top favourite.
The fourth feature film by the British filmmaker, author of Sexy Beast, Reincarnation and the cult film Under the Skin, made an impact with its chilling portrayal of the Holocaust through a Nazi family that lives pleasantly a few meters from a fence that separates them from the horror experienced by Jewish prisoners in Auschwitz.
And all this without showing violence or suffering. Hell is represented in the film with shrill sounds, distant shots and scenes in which the chimney of the crematorium can be seen. The area of interest, distributed by A24, is also a tribute to the writer Martin Amis, author of the novel of the same name on which Glazer is based, who curiously died last Saturday at the age of 73, one day after the film was screened. The film has also been recognized by the Fipresci Critics Award.
The Finnish Aki Kaurismäki has won the Jury Prize for Fallen leaves, an atypical love story under the shadow of the war in Ukraine. The director did not come to the ceremony and instead his two leading actors have collected the award. And the Vietnamese Tran Ahn Hung has been distinguished as best director for his exquisite direction of The Pot au Feu, a gastronomic tale set in the 19th century with Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel.
The winner for Best Screenplay was Sakamoto Yuji for Monster, by Hirokazu Kore-eda. The scriptwriter was not present at the gala and the award was collected by the Japanese director, who has directed a story that revolves around childhood, homosexuality and lies.
In the acting categories, Japan's Koji Yakusho won best actor for his emotional role as a man who meticulously cleans toilets in Tokyo parks in Wim Wenders' Perfect days. The German director has not been able to hide his emotion with the award for this veteran actor, who started as a favorite in the pools, and he shed the occasional tear.
Against all odds, the best actress award went to Merve Dizdar for About Dry Grasses, by Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, a story about good and evil, the inconsistencies of human beings and isolation. And we say by surprise because the one who had all the numbers to succeed in this category was the German Sandra Hüller, star of both Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest.
However, the rules of the Cannes Film Festival prevent a film from taking two awards if it has won the Palme d'Or or the Grand Jury Prize. Both veterans Nanni Moretti, Ken Loach and Marco Bellocchio have left empty-handed. Just like the Americans Todd Haynes and Wes Anderson.
27, by Flora Ana Buda, has collected the award for best short film and the Vietnamese Pham Thien An has won the Caméra d'Or with L'arbre aux papillons d'or. For its part, How to have sex, British filmmaker Molly Manning Walker's debut, has been awarded best film in the Un Certain Regard section. While the Malaysian Tiger Stripes, by Amanda Nell Eu, triumphed at Critics' Week. It should be remembered that a few days ago the victory of Creatura, by the Catalan filmmaker and actress Elena Martín Gimeno, was announced as the best European Film of the Filmmakers' Fortnight.
