In a series of startling decisions that sent shockwaves through the Festival Palais last night, the jury for the 52nd Cannes Film Festival spread their five main prizes over two of the bleakest and most austere films at the festival.
The jury was chaired by the Canadian film-maker David Cronen berg, and included actors Holly Hunter and Jeff Goldblum; directors Andre Techine and George Miller and opera singer Barbara Hendricks.
Giving all three acting awards to non-professionals and not a single prize to any of the seven English-language films, the jury undoubtedly has strengthened the view that Cannes is totally out of touch with international cinema-going audience. Only one of the past five Palme d'Or winners, Secrets and Lies in 1996, attracted any notable cinema admissions around the world.
Last night's surprise winner of the major prize, the Palme d'Or, was the Belgian entry, Rosetta, directed by the brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne. In another surprise, Emilie Dequenne, the non-professional who plays the central role, shared the jury's best actress award.
There was even greater astonishment at the closing ceremony when the jury awarded three major prizes to the French entry, L'humanite, which had one of the highest walk-out rates of any film in the festival. The film's director, Bruno Dumont, received the runner-up award for best film, Le Grand Prix du Jury, along with best actor to Emmanuel Schotte and joint best actress to Severine Caneele, both non-professionals. The only universally popular award of the night came when the Spanish film-maker Pedro Almo dovar was named best director for All About My Mother, the critical favourite of the festival.
The jury's award for best screenplay went to Yuri Aarabov and Marina Koreneva for Alexander Sokurov's indifferently received picture of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun in Moloch. There was a more respectful response when the 90-year-old Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira, was given the minor prize, Le Prix du Jury, for La Lettre.