The 76th Cannes Film Festival ended on Saturday with the awarding of the Palme d’Or to “Anatomy of a Fall”. Directed by Justine Triet, this intellectual thriller follows a woman brought to justice after the mysterious death of her husband. Written by Triet and Arthur Harari, the film was an early favorite with critics.
Triet is the third woman to win the palm; Julia Ducournau won 2021 for Titane and Jane Campion won 1993 for The Piano.
The palm was presented to Triet by Jane Fonda, who referred to the “historic” number of women – seven – whose films competed for top honors. The strong main competition, with a jury led by director Ruben Ostlund, effectively announced that the festival had returned to full strength after several choppy pandemic years.
The Grand Prix, effectively the festival’s runner-up, went to The Zone of Interest. Directed by Jonathan Glazer and based on the novel of the same name by Martin Amis, the film revolves around the commander of Auschwitz and his wife, whose house is adjacent to the death camp. The film is a chilling exploration of the banality of evil – the family eats, relaxes and sleeps to the constant sounds of screams, shouts and gunshots – the film here sharply divided critics.
Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki’s latest film, Fallen Leaves, won the Jury Prize. The film is a love story in a slightly funny and melancholic tone. Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen play a couple who meet one night in Helsinki. The actors accepted the award on behalf of their director, who attended the awards ceremony.
Best Director for The Pot-au-Feu went to Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung. The film is a lavish drama set in the late 19th century. Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel star as a foodie couple who live and cook in rural France. The film’s focus on the sensual pleasures of food intrigued many, although one less enthusiastic critic compared it to a French Nancy Meyers film.
The screenplay award went to Yuji Sakamoto for “Monster”. Directed by Japanese author Hirokazu Kore-eda, this touching drama follows a boy whose sudden behavior problems at school escalate and have dire consequences. “Monster” features a delicate score by Ryuichi Sakamoto, who passed away last month.
Best Actor award went to the great veteran Japanese actor Koji Yakusho, star of Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days. The film centers on a loner who cleans (some amazing) public toilets in Tokyo. His quiet, routine life is interrupted by an unexpected visit from a niece, an interlude that brings him both joy and sorrow. Wenders, whose documentary Anselm was screened out of competition, watched with a big smile as Yakusho accepted the award.
The Best Actress award went to Merve Dizdar for her role as a teacher in Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s About Dry Grasses. At the heart of this slow-simmering drama is a male teacher, Samet, who becomes increasingly resentful of his job teaching in remote eastern Anatolia. Dizdar’s character Nuray helps him through his crisis, a stereotypical role that the actress elevates with warmth and subtlety.
British filmmaker Molly Manning Walker’s directorial debut, How to Have Sex, won the award for Un Certain Regard, a section which tends to feature younger directors and what the festival calls “more artistically daring” work than the main competition . The First Feature Film Camera d’Or award went to Vietnam-born director Thien An Pham’s Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell. The Palm for Best Short Film went to Hungarian animator Flóra Anna Buda’s “27”.