The Israeli writer and director Joseph Cedar deservedly won the screenwriting prize for “Footnote,†a story about warring father-and-son Talmudic scholars. Mr. Cedar wasn’t there to accept in person, having not yet returned to Cannes from Tel Aviv. In absentia, he dedicated his award to Donald Krim, the president of the American distribution company Kino International, who died on May 20, a year after receiving a diagnosis of cancer. Kino released Mr. Cedar’s last feature, “Beaufort.â€
For several strange days, Cannes had been hijacked by upsetting news, including two scandals: l’affaire DSK and l’affaire LVT. The news that Dominique Strauss-Kahn of the International Monetary Fund had been arrested in New York on sexual assault charges briefly knocked festival news off the monitors scattered throughout the event’s headquarters. A few days later attention returned to the festival — the halls lighting up with chatter about “The Tree of Life†and a critical favorite that was shut out, Aki Kaurismaki’s film “Le Havre†— at least until Mr. von Trier opened his big mouth.
News about Mr. von Trier dominated the festival for days and overshadowed his competition entry, “Melancholia,†which divided critics and will continue to do so when the movie opens in the United States. A brisk, revived sales market means that American moviegoers can also look forward to seeing a number of the other competition highlights in the coming year, including “Le Havre,†“The Kid With a Bike,†“Footnote,†“The Artist†and the latest from Pedro Almodóvar, the oddly underrated “The Skin I Live In.†These were good films from familiar names in a competition that could use a shot of new energy from the likes of Na Hong-jin, from South Korea (here with the great and lavishly gory “The Yellow Seaâ€), and Joachim Trier, from Norway (with “Oslo, 31. Augustâ€), festival highlights passed over at awards time.
Both movies were in competition in Un Certain Regard, a sidebar of the official selection usually reserved for more ostensibly unusual work. Its top award was shared by the very different “Arirang,†a self-portrait from the South Korean director Kim Ki-duk, and “Stopped on Track,†a fictional look at a dying man from the German filmmaker Andreas Dresen. “Arirang,†a naked, unexpectedly engrossing work made in the wake of a near-fatal accident on one of the director’s films, was widely dismissed as narcissistic, which of course it is given that Mr. Kim is the only star in this one-man show. He’s also a surprisingly entertaining presence who keeps you watching with his tears, anecdotes, foibles, jokes and odd talents: a skilled machinist, he makes espresso machines.
A special jury prize for Un Certain Regard was awarded to its closing-night selection, Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “Elena,†a meticulously shot, overly studied and familiar look at the rabid-dog-eat-rabid-dog world of contemporary Russia that is a letdown after the director’s last Cannes entry, “The Banishment.†The Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof won the directing award for “Au Revoir,†a drama with a thriller undertow about a female human rights lawyer’s struggles to leave Iran. (Mr. Rasoulof himself is banned from leaving the country.) “Au Revoir†and “This Is Not a Film,†a self-portrait from another banned Iranian filmmaker, Jafar Panahi (directing with Mojtaba Mirtahmasb), that was shown out of competition, were late additions to the lineup. The programmers said that both were selected “because they are beautiful,†though Mr. Panahi’s is far more so.
The Palme d’Or for the short film competition went to “Cross Country,†from the Ukrainian director Maryna Vroda; the Jury Prize was given to “Badpakje 46†from the Belgian director Wannes Destoop. The Camera d’Or, for a first-time director, went to “Los Acacias†from Pablo Giorgelli, which was in Critics’ Week, a separate competitive parallel section. The grand prize at Critics’ Week was won by “Take Shelter,†from the American director Jeff Nichols, which had first played at Sundance. --
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