Thai Film Wins Cannes' Top Honor

The Cannes Film Festival's top prize, the Palme D'or, went to Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, the fantastical story of a man's past lives and ghostly relatives. Weerasethakul thanked the jury warmly for his win, telling them that he "would like to kiss all of you" and that he was a huge fan of Tim Burton's hair. Uncle Boonmee is the first Thai film to win the honor. Juliette Binoche and Javier Bardem were honored for their acting—with Binoche winning Best Actress for her turn in Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami's Certified Copy and Bardem sharing the best male performance award with Elio Germano. Bardem starred in Alejandro González Iñárritu's art-house picture Biutiful, and Germano earned his award in his convincing portrayal of a construction worker in in Daniele Luchetti's Our Life. Mathieu Amalric won Best Director for his Tournée, and the Grand Prix award went to Xavier Beauvois’ Of Gods and Men. Rounding out the awards were the Certain Regard prize, awarded Saturday to Ha Ha Ha, a South Korean comedy, and Año Bisiesto, which took home the Caméra d’Or.