Thai Film 'Uncle Boonmee' Wins Palme d'Or at Cannes

"I'd like to thank the jury, particularly Tim Burton, whose haircut I really like," said Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul when receiving the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival today. His entry, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, is about "a man suffering from acute kidney failure who spends his last days in the country surrounded by his family," which sounds a bit like Denys Arcand's The Barbarian Invasions, an Oscar-winning foreign language film and a Palme d'Or nominee back in 2003. The jury this year was comprised of Kate Beckinsale, Benicio Del Toro, Alexandre Desplat, Giovanna Mezzogiornio, Alberto Barbera, Victor Erice, Shekhar Kapur, the previously mentioned Tim Burton, and Emmanuel Carrere. Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi was supposed to be on the jury, as well, but he is currently imprisoned by his awful, awful government. It's the second time in a year he's been locked up in Iran, and he's been serving a sentence for unknown charges since February. Apparently, it's believed he was working on a movie detailing the post-election events in Teheran, something his family stringently denies. Panahi's jury seat at Cannes remained empty, and it had been reported that he would be freed to coincide with the screening of Certified Copy, by his fellow Iranian director, Abbas Kiarostami, but Iran announced that his sentence had been extended. On May 18th, Panahi communicated from prison that he's been mistreated and his family has been threatened, and he'll now begin a hunger strike. Say what you want about the US government on either side, but can you imagine Michael Moore actually going to prison for making a film? Certainly, he'd never go on a hunger strike, no matter what the circumstances. Sorry...I couldn't resist. But isn't what's happening to Panahi awful? Scores of filmmakers and fellow artists have signed petitions seeking his release, and hopefully it will come soon. There will probably need to be some international pressure placed on the government to make it happen, however. The Hollywood Reporter has the full list of winners, but here are some highlights. Speaking of Kiarostami, Juliette Binoche won Best Actress for her work in Certified Copy, and it would be very rewarding as a fan of the filmmaker to see her get some recognition in the US, as well, just to introduce a truly unique filmmaker to American audiences, even if they never seek out Ten or Taste of Cherry. Javier Bardem tied for Best Actor for his work in Bitiful with Our Life star Elio Germano. South Korean director Lee Chang-don won Best Screenplay for Poetry, and Mathieu Amalric, the actor who played the villain in Quantum of Solace and was so astounding in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, won Best Director for On Tour, a film about American showgirls in Paris. Here's the trailer for this year's Palme d'Or winner, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives:

Comments

[knives]

" he is currently imprisoned by his awful, awful government. "
You're quite good at that understatement thing.
I really do hope that he and all others arrested because of the election revolt get freed soon. Truly it is one of the worst things happening right now.

[Get The Big Picture]

Yeah, I have to be a little careful. I got a rash of angry e-mails for suggesting that maybe Nigeria doesn't have the most healthy global reputation when District 9 was out.

[SEAN]

You might have to be careful Colin but I dont

FUCK the Iranian gov...

Free Jafar Panahi....

Freedom for all those who are oppressed by their disgusting fanatic government., as well as peace!

The world saw what happened and hopefully things will somehow improve for the Iranian people who want a democratic government free of fear