By Dave McCoy MSN Movies Lead Editor | |
I was just finishing up my final dispatch when the word came down that the Cannes jury had made their award selections. Coincidentally, I was writing a rave review of the second to last film I saw at the festival. It's called "Entre les murs" ("The Class"), directed by Laurent Cantet. It's passionate, pulsing with life and along with Nuri Bilge Ceylan's "Three Monkeys" the best film I saw at Cannes.
Apparently, the jury agreed with me.
In a unanimous decision, "The Class" just received the coveted Palme d'Or, which not only means the jury got it right, but in the process, ended 21 years of French failure and frustration at Cannes. The last French film to win the festival's top award was "Under the Sun of Satan" in 1987. That Cantet is among the best current French filmmakers (rent "Human Resources" or "Time Out" for proof), rather than a one-time knock off, is icing for a French nation hungry for a win. Jury president Sean Penn set the tone two weeks ago when he said the Palme d'Or winner would (and I'm paraphrasing) reflect what is going in the world i.e. a social or political work. "The Class" is definitely that. It's entirely set within the walls of in an inner-city Paris junior high school, either in a class room or a teacher's lounge. It's the anthesis of typical American maudlin underdog teacher-student movies, like "Stand and Deliver" and "Lean on Me," instead presenting school realistically, difficultly. Cantet made it entirely with non-actors and it's easily the smartest, most authentic film about school I've ever seen. It's also hilarious (the kids could have collectively shared the acting award) and riveting, and delves into socio-political-racial issues (not to mention educational approaches) in naturalistic ways. Never does the film stoop to preachy, heavy-handed sentimentality. Hopefully the Palme means the film will find an audience in America. It has the potential to be a huge art house hit.
The jury also made me do the happy dance by awarding Ceylan the Best Director award for "Three Monkeys." Other winners included: two Italian films, "Gomorra" and "Il Divo" won second and third place prizes, respectively; the Dardenne brothers, who failed in their third attempt for a Palme d'Or, settled for Best Screenplay for "The Silence of Lorna"; Best Actress went to Sandra Corveloni for "Linha de Passe" and Best Actor to deserved Benicio del Toro for "Che." That award, plus special jury prize for Clint Eastwood and "Changeling," was the closest thing to an American win. Yanks were otherwise shut out. Also shut out was the well-received, visionary Israeli feature, "Waltz with Bashir." I guess the jury doesn't like animation.