A hard-hitting Romanian movie set toward the end of the
Communist era won the Cannes Film Festival's top honor on
Sunday.
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, directed by Cristian
Mungiu, was the critics' favorite to win the Palme d'Or in the
buildup to a glittering red-carpet ceremony that ended the 12-day
movie marathon on the French Riviera.
The film tells the grim story of young student friends Otilia
and Gabita, who are ruthlessly exploited when one seeks an illegal
abortion.
But despite being set in the pitiless and colorless landscape of
socialist Romania, the story underlines the lengths to which
friends go to save each other.
Mungiu welcomed the international attention the award would
bring to his and other small-scale productions.
"I ... hope that this award that I am getting tonight is going
to be good news for small filmmakers from small countries because
it looks like you don't necessarily need a big budget and a lot of
stars," he said.
4 Months was one of 22 films in competition, and beat a
series of highly acclaimed pictures for the top prize as the
world's biggest film festival celebrated its 60th birthday.
They included Alexandra, by Russian art-house director
Alexander Sokurov, and three U.S. entries -- No Country For Old
Men by the Coen Brothers, Zodiac by David Fincher and
Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park.
Vintage Cannes
Critics praised the Cannes selectors for a competition lineup
they said was one of the strongest in recent years. There were few
outright duds, and, while many stories were dark, if not
depressing, they also portrayed great humanity.
The nine-member jury awarded the runner-up Grand Prix prize to
The Mourning Forest, a lyrical Japanese movie about grief
directed by Naomi Kawase.
Best director was Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell and
the Butterfly, based on the true story of French journalist
Jean-Dominique Bauby, who suffered a stroke and was paralyzed yet
managed to write a book using one eyelid to communicate.
"I didn't see it as depressing," Schnabel told a news
conference. "I think Jean-Dominique Bauby was saying to all of us:
'I was dead when I had my body. I was blind. It took the harsh
light of disaster to show me my true nature."'
The prize for best screenplay was awarded to German-Turkish
director and writer Fatih Akin for The Edge of Heaven, a
cross-border story of love and reconciliation.
Best actor was Konstantin Lavronenko, who played the male lead
in Russian filmmaker Andrei Zvyagintsev's The Banishment,
another gloomy film that features an abortion.
Best actress was Jeon Do-yeon for South Korean competition entry
Secret Sunshine, an emotional drama about a woman
overwhelmed by loss.
The Camera d'Or for first film went to Jellyfish, an
Israeli-French production by Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen.
As ever, the limelight was frequently stolen by films and stars
outside the main competition.
Angelina Jolie was praised for her role in A Mighty
Heart, about the kidnapping and beheading of reporter Daniel
Pearl by Islamic militants, and Michael Moore, winner of the Palme
d'Or in 2004, brought his provocative Sicko documentary to
town.
George Clooney and Brad Pitt were on the red carpet to promote
blockbuster Ocean's 13, Irish rockers U2 performed for a
large crowd while Kylie Minogue, Elton John, Sharon Stone and Naomi
Campbell worked the nonstop party circuit.
(Agencies via China Daily May 28, 2007)
