Director Jacques Audiard (center) poses with his Palme d'Or award with the stars of Dheepon Sergio Aguero Manchester City Shirt , Jesuthasan Antonythasan (l) and Kalieaswari Srinivasan, on Sunday in Cannes, France. Photo: IC Led by Joel and Ethan Coen as the presidents of jury, the 68th Cannes Film Festival came to an end Sunday night. While no particular dominated at the event - each of the event's eight awards went to eight different films - the panel showed a definite preference towards French directors and actors.
The most highly anticipated award - the Palme d'Or - went to French film Dheepan. Named after the film's lead character, Dheepan tells the story of a Sri Lankan Tamil refugee. Looking for a normal life Ilkay Gundogan Manchester City Shirt , he leaves Sri Lanka and heads to Paris, where he ends up working as a caretaker. However, the film only scored a 2.5 out of 4 in the Screen Jury Grid, performing a little above average.
Giving the award to 63-year-old director and screenwriter Jacques Audiard must be very satisfying for the people of France. Though he did not make his directorial debut until the age of 42 and only produces a new film around once every four years, Audiard is one of the most popular directors in France.
Six years ago Raheem Sterling Manchester City Shirt , his prison drama A Prophet, which many call his best work, was also selected for the competition section of the Cannes Film Festival that year. However, strong competition that year saw A Prophet lose to The White Ribbon by German director Michael Haneke and receive the second-place award the Grand Prix.
According to an article written by film critic Dunhe on ent.sina, compared with many other art film directors John Stones Manchester City Shirt , Audiard's most identifying characteristic as a director is his "balance."
"Jacques Audiard's works maintain a balance by considering the perspectives of both male and female audience members. Violence and love are the two eternal themes in his works.
"With his emphasis on narrative stories, Audiard's films are not difficult to understand even for common moviegoers. At the same time, the director shows a clear personal style," Dunhe added.
While Audiard's win struck up some controversy, Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien's Best Director win for martial arts film The Assassin was seen by many as more deserving of the prize.
Together with Todd Haynes' romantic drama Carol Vincent Kompany Manchester City Shirt , The Assassin achieved the highest score in the Screen Jury Grid - a 3.5.
French connection
According to a report by critics Yu Deshu and Chu Fei on the entertainment section of news portal qq, the red carpet ceremony is often regarded as an indicator as to who is more likely to take home awards as the crews filming the red carpet walk tend to pay more attention to likely hopefuls.
This theory may hold some water. When Hou took to the red carpet along with Shu Qi and Chang Chen, the lead actress and actor for his film, the camera lingered on them for several minutes and took plenty of close-ups of the actors, as well as airing a complete interview with Hou.
By comparison Danilo Manchester City Shirt , the crew for the other Chinese language film in competition, mainland director Jia Zhangke's Mountains May Depart, was not seen at the red carpet. It seems Jia didn't expect to win any awards.
Having participated in the Cannes film competition three times already, Shu's loss in the Best Actress category disappointed many Chinese audiences, especially considering that the award was shared between French actress Emmanuelle Bercot and American actress Rooney Mara this time.
Giving one award to two or more recipients is often seen as the jury trying to strike a balance. Yet when it came to overall wins this year was anything but balanced as the Palme d'Or Kyle Walker Manchester City Shirt , Best Actress, Best Actor and Grand Prix awards went to French directors or actors (Grand Prix winner László Nemes was born in Budapest, but grew up in Paris).
"No wonder people were commenting that this year's Cannes Film Festival was more of a domestic event instead of an international one," Yu and Chu wrote in the article on ent.qq.
"By giving the Palme d'Or to Dheepan, the Cannes reminded me of The Class (2008). Both films are about the immigration problem in France. Nothing new. Blue is the Warmest Color (a film depicting a same-sex relationship) in 2013 is also an old topic Claudio Bravo Manchester City Shirt ," Yu Xin, a Chinese film critic, commented on his Sina Weibo. "These award-winning French films were not that impressive."
Yet, Dunhe does not think too badly of Dheepan. "The Assassin is a little too on point. Son of Saul is too young. The Lobster it too full of itself and Carol is too neat. By comparison, Dheepan has a plain story that is easy to grasp and at the same time hit several points Blank Manchester City Shirt , talking about topics like immigration, trauma and the struggles of the lower class."
Cannes Winners:
Palme d'Or
DHEEPAN Directed by Jacques Audiard
Grand Prix
SON OF SAUL Directed by László Nemes
Award for Best Director
Hou Hsiao-hsien for THE ASSASSIN
Award for Best Screenplay
Michel Franco for CHRONIC
Award for Best Actress
Emmanuelle Bercot in MON ROI
Rooney Mara in CAROL
Award for Best Actor
Vincent Lindon in THE MEASURE OF A MAN
Jury Prize
THE LOBSTER Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Palme d'Or - Short Film
WAVES '98 Directed by Ely Dagher
Source: Official website of the Cannes Film Festival