Lee Chang-dong’s “Burning” has been named the best film of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival by two critics’ groups, the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) and the International Cinephile Society.
The Korean director’s leisurely paced love-triangle drama has topped all critics’ polls at the festival. “Always shifting gears the moment you think you’ve figured it out, Lee Chang-dong’s slow burn tale of alienation and obsession is something like an art-house equivalent of fine wine,” wrote Ben Croll in TheWrap.
The awards came as sharp-eyed Cannes-watchers on Twitter, noting which filmmakers had returned to the town for Saturday’s awards ceremony, buzzed about rumors that “Burning” might be completely overlooked by the Cannes jury headed by Cate Blanchett.
The FIPRESCI awards, which were chosen by a nine-person jury of critics from seven different countries, went to “Burning” in the main competition, with the jury citation calling it “a visually stunning film and an emotionally complex comment on contemporary society”; and Lukas Dhont’s “Girl” in the Un Certain Regard section, which the jury lauded for “its bold integrity in tackling gender issues and displaying incredible poise.”
For a first or second film from the independent Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week sections, the jury chose “One Day” by Zsofia Szilagyi, lauding how “the precise camera work and the powerful mise-en-scene convey the extraordinary intensity and tension of an utterly ordinary situation with feeling, humor and drama.”
The International Cinephile Society, which is made up of 21 critics from around the world, also gave its top award to “Burning.” In fact, wrote the group in its announcement, Lee Chang-dong’s film “burned the competition to ashes in virtually every category” and “should technically have won everything but Best Actress.” But the ICS follows the same rules as the official Cannes jury, which rules out giving any other awards to the film that wins the Palme d’Or.
“Burning” won the ICS’s Palme, while Jean-Luc Godard’s “Image Book” took the runner-up Grand Prize and Jia Zhang-Ke’s “Ash is Purest White” and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Shoplifters” tied for the Jury Prize.
The group named Alice Rohrwacher best director for “Happy as Lazzaro,” and gave the acting awards to Marcello Fonte for “Dogman” and Zhao Tao for “Ash Is Purest White.”
Its screenplay awards went to Christophe Honore for “Sorry Angel” and Ryusuke Hamaguchi for “Asako I & II.”
In other Cannes awards, the Ecumenical Jury gave its top award to Nadine Labaki’s “Capharnaum,” with a special commendation to Spike Lee for “BlacKkKlansman.”
And the tongue-in-cheek Palme Dog award, which goes to the best canine performance at the festival, was shared by all the dogs in Matteo Garrone’s main-competition film “Dogman.”
The Palme d’Or and other official Cannes awards will be presented during a Saturday evening ceremony in the Grand Theatre Lumiere.
17 Cannes Palme d'Or Winners That Went on to Take Oscar Gold (Photos)
Despite being two of the longest running institutions in cinema, the Oscars and Cannes have not always been the best bedfellows. Only two films have won both the Palme d'Or and Best Picture, "Marty" and most recently "Parasite" ("The Lost Weekend" from 1945 shared the Grand Prix, the top prize from the festival at the time). But many more films that have played on the Croisette at Cannes have been nominated or won other big prizes from the Academy. These are the 17 films that both won the Palme d'Or and won an additional Oscar:
"Marty" (1955)
In the first year that Cannes started calling their top prize the Palme d'Or, the Delbert Mann drama and romance based on a Paddy Chayefsky teleplay won the film festival's highest honor -- and went on to earn four Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing and Best Actor for Ernest Borgnine.
United Artists
"The Silent World" (1956)
Jacques-Yves Cousteau's pioneering, underwater nature documentary beat out films from Satyajit Ray, Alfred Hitchcock, Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa and more to win the Palme d'Or, and it also took home the Best Documentary Oscar.
Columbia Pictures
"Black Orpheus" (1959)
Marcel Camus's dreamy, contemporary take on the Orpheus and Eurydice Greek myth won the Palme d'Or and the Best Foreign Language Oscar.
Lopert Films
"La Dolce Vita" (1960)
Federico Fellini's sensuous reverie of a film "La Dolce Vita" managed Oscar nods for Best Director and Screenplay, but only won for Best Costume Design.
Astor Pictures Corporation
"A Man and a Woman" (1966)
The Academy rewarded this French New Wave romance starring Anouk Aimee and Jean-Louis Trintignant with two Oscars, one for its screenplay and another for Best Foreign Language Film.
Allied Artists Pictures
"MASH" (1970)
It's surprising to see Cannes anoint a film as irreverent as Robert Altman's screwball war satire "MASH," but though the Oscars nominated it for Best Picture, the award went to another war film, "Patton." "MASH" did pick up a win for Altman's ingenious ensemble screenplay.
Twentieth Century Fox
"Apocalypse Now" (1979)
Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam war masterpiece was still a work-in-progress when it screened at Cannes, and it would split the Palme d'Or with "The Tin Drum" that same year. It was nominated for eight Oscars and won two, but lost Best Picture to "Kramer vs. Kramer."
United Artists
"The Tin Drum" (1979)
After splitting the Palme d'Or with "Apocalypse Now," "The Tin Drum" won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar with ease.
The Criterion Collection
"All That Jazz" (1980)
Weirdly, Bob Fosse's musical was nominated alongside "Apocalypse Now" at the 1979 Oscars, opening in December of that year, but it won the 1980 Cannes after cleaning up four Oscars just a month earlier.
Columbia Pictures Corporation/20th Century Fox
"Missing" (1982)
Jack Lemmon won Cannes' Best Actor prize for Costa-Gavras's political thriller in addition to "Missing" winning the Palme d'Or. And Lemmon and co-star Sissy Spacek each scored acting nominations in addition to the film being nominated for Best Picture, but it only won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Universal Pictures
"The Mission" (1986)
Starring Robert de Niro and Jeremy Irons as Spanish Jesuits trying to save a native American tribe, Roland Joffe's "The Mission" won the Palme d'Or and earned seven nominations but only one Oscar win for Best Cinematography.
Warner Bros.
"Pelle the Conqueror" (1987)
The legendary Max von Sydow plays a Swedish immigrant in Denmark in this Danish film that won the Palme d'Or, the Best Foreign Language Oscar and netted Sydow his first acting nomination.
Miramax
"The Piano" (1993)
Holly Hunter won the Best Actress prize at both Cannes and the Oscars for Jane Campion's drama that won the Palme d'Or and was nominated for eight Oscars in all.
Miramax
"Pulp Fiction" (1994)
Much has been written about the bombshell Quentin Tarantino set off when "Pulp Fiction" debuted at Cannes and polarized audiences by winning the Palme d'Or, not to mention the cultural rift it created when it went head-to-head with "Forrest Gump" at the Oscars and lost.
Miramax
"The Pianist" (2002)
Winning Best Director for Roman Polanski and Best Actor for Adrien Brody, "The Pianist" was a strong favorite to win Best Picture after winning the Palme d'Or, but it lost to the musical "Chicago." Just don't expect a repeat from Polanski anytime soon.
Focus Features
"Amour" (2012)
Michael Haneke had just won his second Palme d'Or for his sobering romance about old age "Amour," and rightfully so. The film paired French New Wave legends Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva and scored five Oscar nominations in all, including Best Picture, but only came away with a win for Best Foreign Language Film.
Sony Pictures Classics
"Parasite" (2019)
Before Bong Joon Ho's masterpiece "Parasite" became an unlikely Best Picture winner, becoming the first international film to ever win the top Oscar, it was an equally surprising Cannes winner, taking the Palme D'Or from a field that also included "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood," "Bacurau" and "Portrait of a Lady on Fire." Bong not only became the first Korean director to ever win the Palme, "Parasite" was only the second film to win Best Picture and the Palme D'Or since "Marty."
Neon
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But only two films have ever won both the Palme D’Or and Best Picture
Despite being two of the longest running institutions in cinema, the Oscars and Cannes have not always been the best bedfellows. Only two films have won both the Palme d'Or and Best Picture, "Marty" and most recently "Parasite" ("The Lost Weekend" from 1945 shared the Grand Prix, the top prize from the festival at the time). But many more films that have played on the Croisette at Cannes have been nominated or won other big prizes from the Academy. These are the 17 films that both won the Palme d'Or and won an additional Oscar: