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Summary Love, the wrenching tale of an elderly Parisian caring for his wife, scooped top prize in Cannes.
Love, the wrenching tale of an elderly Parisian caring for his dying wife, scooped top prize in Cannes on Sunday, handing a second Palme dOr in three years to Austrias Michael Haneke.Confirming Hanekes status as arguably the most important film director working in Europe, the jury headed by Italian director Nanni Moretti crowned his latest film above 21 others racing for Cannes Film Festivals top award.Hanekes octogenarian actors, French screen icon Jean-Louis Trintignant, 81, and Emmanuelle Riva, 85, bowled Cannes over in the story of Georges and Anne, an adoring couple whose bond is tested after she suffers a stroke.Hailed as a masterpiece by critics, and the hands-down favourite to win, the French-language Love marked a journey into tender new territory for a director better known for exposing the icy secrets of the soul.The directors sober camera chronicles the intimacy of Annes physical and mental decline, the crushing efforts required of ageing Georges to help her stand, wash or eat, fulfilling a pledge to care for her at home until the end.Both actors climbed on stage at the star-studded gala in the Riviera city to accept the award with Haneke, who dedicated it to his wife of 30 years.Cannes best actor award went to Danish heart-throb Mads Mikkelsen, searing as a man falsely accused of molesting a child in the psychological thriller The Hunt by Thomas Vinterberg.Mikkelsen, 46, is best known to international audiences for his role as James Bonds nemesis Le Chiffre in 2006s Casino Royale.Two young Romanians, Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur, shared the best actress prize for their roles in Cristian Mungius Beyond the Hills,about a young nun and her friend who falls victim to a deadly exorcism.Mungiu, who captured the Palme dOr in 2007 for the Communist-era abortion drama 4 Years, 3 Months and 2 Days, also won this years screenplay prize for the story that explores how badly institutions can fail the individual.The festivals runner-up Grand Prix award went to Reality, a tragicomedy by Italys Matteo Garrone starring a jailed former mafia hitman as a man driven mad by a quest to become a reality TV star.Neapolitan Aniello Arena got his lucky break in a prison theatre company and was given permission to act in the film on a day-release programme, but not to join the cast and crew on the Riviera.Cannes veteran Ken Loach took the third place Jury Prize for his bittersweet comedy The Angels Share, about a young offender who discovers a life-changing talent for whisky-tasting.The 75-year-old, who took the Palme in 2006 for The Wind That Shakes the Barley about Irelands independence struggle, was comp[eting in Cannes this year for a record 11th time.Cannes shows us that cinema is not just a diversion, but it shows us who we are and how we live together, said the director.
