The 2010 63rd Cannes Film Festival ended on Sunday night after more than a week of festivity. Of all the glamorous news that include the opening of Robin Hood and what's not, the prize giving ceremony last night was enough to sparkle more controversy.
The coveted Palme d'Or prize was awarded to Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. The jury - headed by US director Tim Burton and along with actors Benicio Del Toro and Kate Beckinsale selected the Thai film over juries favourite Of Gods And Men marking the first Asian film since 1997 to win the top prize. Uncle Boonmee depicts the last days of the title character, together with his loved ones – including the ghost of his dead wife and his lost son who has returned in a non-human form – Boonmee explores his past lives as he contemplates the reasons for his illness.
The runner up Grand Prix prize was awarded to one of the front runner film, Of Gods and Men, a French drama by director Xavier Beauvois. The movie centers around an actual event in 1996, where seven French Trappist monks were kidnapped and beheaded in Algeria.
Mathieu Almaric, the once villain in Bond's Quantum Of Solace, won the Best Director award (Prix de la mise en scene) for his direction in On Tour, while Lee Chang-dong won the Best Screenplay (Prix du scenario) for the script of Poetry. Chad's very own Mahamat-Saleh Haroun won the bronze's Jury's Prize (third prize of Prix du Jury) with his film A Screaming Man.
Best Actors award was awarded to Javier Bardem (Biutiful) and Elio Germano (Our Life) while the Best Actress goes to Juliette Binoche for her role in Certified Copy.
This year's Cannes Film Festival is not without a controversy. The critics lamented this year's nominated films as been subpar in quality while other accused the snub at the expenses of British's Mike Leigh (Another Year) and Ken Loach (Route Irish).
According to BBC,
In retrospect, one would be hard pressed to find a film more in tune with Burton's Gothic sensibilities and appetite for the outlandish. Critics have heaped praise on Weerasethakul's movie, though a number felt it was too esoteric to scoop Cannes' highest honour. The praise has been far from universal either, with one British reviewer describing it as "unwatchable".You can read more about the criticism surrounding this year's Cannes at BBC. With the winning of a Thai film, Cannes bid farewell and will be back again next year for more.