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| Thai film pulls off Cannes shock | Thai film pulls off Cannes shock |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The Cannes Film Festival has given its top prize, the Palme d'Or, to the mystical Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. | |
| It beat British director Mike Leigh's Another Year, which was seen as the favourite by many at the French event. | It beat British director Mike Leigh's Another Year, which was seen as the favourite by many at the French event. |
| Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, the winning film is about a dying man who is visited by his late wife and his missing son, who has become an ape. | Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, the winning film is about a dying man who is visited by his late wife and his missing son, who has become an ape. |
| US director Tim Burton led the jury that picked the victor from 19 entries. | US director Tim Burton led the jury that picked the victor from 19 entries. |
| Uncle Boonmee is played by Thanapat Saisaymar, a roof welder from north-east Thailand whose previous acting experience was limited to TV commercials. | |
| I would like to thank all the spirits and all the ghosts in Thailand who made it possible for me to be here Apichatpong WeerasethakulDirector | |
| Suffering kidney failure, the character is visited by a selection of spiritual beings, both human and animal, as the director uses a dreamlike style to examine the themes of reincarnation and animism. | |
| Variety magazine described it as "wonderfully nutty", while Screen International called it "a beautifully entrancing filmÂ… simple in story but complex in structure and subtext". | |
| The UK's Telegraph newspaper gave it a five-star review, noting it was "barely a film; more a floating world". | |
| Accepting his trophy, Weerasethakul said: "I would like to thank all the spirits and all the ghosts in Thailand who made it possible for me to be here." | |
| The director had previously won the third-place jury prize at Cannes with his 2004 film Tropical Malady. | |
| Although it gained a glowing response from critics in Cannes, his latest film was considered a dark horse in the race for the Palme d'Or. | |
| Leigh's Another Year, starring Jim Broadbent and Lesley Manville, stood out for many critics. | |
| Javier Bardem and Juliette Binoche picked up acting honours | |
| But Leigh, who won the Palme d'Or for Secrets and Lies in 1996, went home empty-handed. | |
| Tim Burton, who chaired the nine-member jury, said: "Each and every one of us has some favorites that didn't make it." | |
| Fellow judge Kate Beckinsale joked: "We tried to invent more prizes." | |
| Critics had also tipped French director Xavier Beauvois' solemn drama Of Gods and Men, telling the true story of seven French monks who were killed in Algeria in 1996. | |
| That film took the grand prize, putting it in second place. | |
| French actress Juliette Binoche won best actress for her role as a gallery owner in Tuscany in the romantic drama Copie Conforme (Certified Copy), directed by Iran's Abbas Kiarostami. | French actress Juliette Binoche won best actress for her role as a gallery owner in Tuscany in the romantic drama Copie Conforme (Certified Copy), directed by Iran's Abbas Kiarostami. |
| CANNES WINNERS Palme d'Or - Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, directed by Apichatpong WeerasethakulBest director - Mathieu Amalric for On TourBest actress - Juliette Binoche for Certified CopyBest actor- Javier Bardem for Biutiful and Elio Germano for Our Life (shared)Best screenplay - Lee Chang-Dong for PoetryGrand Prix - Of Gods and Men directed by Xavier BeauvoisJury Prize - A Screaming Man directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun | |
| Kiarostami earned the Palme d'Or in 1997 with Taste of Cherry. | Kiarostami earned the Palme d'Or in 1997 with Taste of Cherry. |
| Spain's Javier Bardem was joint winner of the best actor accolade for playing a corrupt policeman who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. | Spain's Javier Bardem was joint winner of the best actor accolade for playing a corrupt policeman who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. |
| He appears in Biutiful by Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, best known for Babel and 21 Grams. | He appears in Biutiful by Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, best known for Babel and 21 Grams. |
| Bardem shared the prize with Italian actor Elio Germano for La Nostra Vita. | Bardem shared the prize with Italian actor Elio Germano for La Nostra Vita. |
| The prize for best director went to actor-turned-filmmaker Mathieu Amalric for his story of the struggling manager of a burlesque dance troupe, Tournee (On Tour). | The prize for best director went to actor-turned-filmmaker Mathieu Amalric for his story of the struggling manager of a burlesque dance troupe, Tournee (On Tour). |
| South Korean director Lee Chang-Dong's Poetry took the best screenplay prize. | South Korean director Lee Chang-Dong's Poetry took the best screenplay prize. |
| Ken Loach, another British arthouse heavyweight, also lost out four years after winning the festival's top accolade for The Wind that Shakes the Barley. | |
| His new movie, Route Irish, is a revenge drama based around the deployment of private security contractors in Iraq. | His new movie, Route Irish, is a revenge drama based around the deployment of private security contractors in Iraq. |