“The White Ribbon,” a sober meditation on life in a German village on the cusp of World War One, filmed in black and white, took the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday evening.
In other awards, French director Jacques Audiard’s crime drama set in Corsica, “A Prophet,” won the Grand Prize.
Sony Pictures Classics has bought the rights to distribute both films in the United States.
Haneke, an Austrian director, was praised for his film about a small village that is gradually revealed as a repressive community where psychological abuse is commonplace, and sinister forces seem to fester among the children.
The title refers to the ribbons some of the village children are made to wear to show their supposed purity. While never mentioning war, the current running beneath the film suggests the tenor of communal life as it was for the generation which 20 years later would embrace Hitler.
Cannes jury president Huppert said it was an "extraordinary film" that "doesn't deliver any messages, but says important things."
The Times of London hailed its "cold brilliance" and an "uncompromising vision."
Not all notices were favorable. Manohla Dargis wrote in The New York Times: "One of the truths about Mr. Haneke’s work is that his totalizing worldview can feel almost as punishing and sadistic as the cruelty he metes out on screen. That’s part of the point of course: the audience should feel wretched to appreciate that the world can be wretched..."
Meanwhile, “Kinatay” director Brillante Mendoza received the jury’s Best Director prize. And acting awards went to Charlotte Gainsbourg for Lars von Trier's controversial "Antichrist" and Christoph Waltz for Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds."
Here’s the complete list of winners:
-
Palme d'Or
DAS WEISSE BAND [1] (THE WHITE RIBBON [1]) directed by Michael HANEKE
-
Grand Prix
UN PROPHÈTE [2] (A PROPHET [2]) directed by Jacques AUDIARD [3]
-
Award for Best Director
Brillante MENDOZA [4] for KINATAY [5]
-
Award for Best Screenplay
LOU Ye [6] for CHUN FENG CHEN ZUI DE YE WAN [7] (Spring Fever [7])
-
Award for Best Actress
Charlotte GAINSBOURG [8] in ANTICHRIST [9] directed by Lars VON TRIER [10]
-
Award for Best Actor
Christoph WALTZ [11] in INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS [12] directed by Quentin TARANTINO [13]
-
Jury Prize Ex-aequo
FISH TANK [14] directed by Andrea ARNOLD [15]
- BAK-JWI [16] (THIRST [16]) directed by PARK Chan-Wook [17]
-
Vulcain Prize for an artist technician, awarded by the C.S.T.
MAP OF THE SOUNDS OF TOKYO [18] directed by Isabel COIXET [19]
-
Palme d'Or - Short Film
ARENA [20] directed by João SALAVIZA [21]
-
Short Film Special Distinction
THE SIX DOLLAR FIFTY MAN [22] directed by Louis SUTHERLAND [23]
- , Mark ALBISTON [24]
Un Certain Regard Prize - Groupama Gan Foundation for CinemaKYNODONTAS [25] (DOGTOOTH [25]) directed by Yorgos LANTHIMOS [26]
-
Jury Prize - Un Certain Regard
POLITIST, ADJECTIV [27] (POLICE, ADJECTIVE [27]) directed by Corneliu PORUMBOIU [28]
-
Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize Ex-aequo
KASI AZ GORBEHAYE IRANI KHABAR NADAREH [29] (NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT PERSIAN CATS [29]) directed by Bahman GHOBADI [30]
- LE PÈRE DE MES ENFANTS [31] (FATHER OF MY CHILDREN [31]) directed by Mia HANSEN-LØVE [32]
Cinefondation :-
1st Prize Cinéfondation
BÁBA [33] directed by Zuzana KIRCHNEROVÁ-ŠPIDLOVÁ [34]
- 2nd Prize - Cinéfondation
-
3rd Prize Cinéfondation Ex-aequo
DIPLOMA [37] directed by Yaelle KAYAM [38]
- NAMMAE UI JIP [39] (DON'T STEP OUT OF THE HOUSE [39]) directed by JO Sung-hee [40]
Golden Camera :-
Caméra d'or SAMSON AND DELILAH
directed by Warwick THORNTON [41]
-
Caméra d'Or - Special Distinction
AJAMI [42] directed by Scandar COPTI [43], Yaron SHANI [44]
-
Jury Prize - Un Certain Regard