Jury President Isabelle Huppert announced the 62^nd Cannes Film Fest awards, eliciting cheers and jeers from the critics sequestered in their separate theatre with direct transmission. Giving the eight awards to nine different films (the Jury Prize went to two films), the top prize, the coveted Palme d’Or, went to Austrian director Michael Haneke for The White Ribbon. Shot in black and white and set in a German town on the eve of WWI, ugly events happen without the perpetrators ever discovered. Huppert said she was happy to see Haneke’s totally ethical humanity rewarded, adding that he does take a strange but therefore more fascinating path into the human soul. She accurately described Haneke as “keeping his distance from his subject matter. He doesn’t deliver messages but shows things in a subtle way.”

Director Michael Haneke with his Palme d'Or

What amounts to the second prize, the Jury Prize, went to many critics’ favorite, French director Jacques Audiard’s A Prophet. Set in a French prison, the plot follows 19-year-old Malek El Djebena’s fight against prejudice against Arabs and his eventual inclusion in the Corsican gang that runs the prison. A taut, intricate story is powerfully presented with masterful pacing and performances.

Veteran French New Wave director Alain Resnais received a Lifetime Achievement Award in the most moving moments of the awards ceremony. Represented here by his latest film Wild Grass, Resnais deserved this recognition and the entire audience overwhelmingly approved this special recognition.

By contrast, loud jeers greeted the announcement that the Best Director prize went to Brillante Mendoza for Kinatay. This dark and gruesome film revolves around the kidnapping, torture, murder and dismemberment of a drug-addicted stripper. Besides that, a lengthy night section is barely discernible on the screen, so dark is the image.  When challenged regarding this prize, jurors defended their choice saying Mendoza had an original, powerful style, though several also admitted they didn’t want to see the film again. Mendoza said he expects controversy over the film.

Best Director Mendoza and Jury Prize winner Chan-Wook Park

The Jury Award went to two films: Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank and Chan-Wook Park’s Thirst. Both films divided audiences, but both also expressed strong authorial voices. More popular were the awards for best actress to Charlotte Gainsbourg for Lars von Trier’s Antichrist and Christoph Waltz for Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. While Tarantino’s film wasn’t very highly regarded, Waltz was a hit with his clever performance and his wit on fine display at the press conference after the award announcements. Similarly, Gainsbourg received applause though many did not so positively embrace von Trier’s film. Both actors’ commented on the artistry of their respective directors and the superb guidance they received for them to portray their characters.

Best Actress Charlotte Gainsbourg and Best Actor Christophe Waltz

Finally, the screenplay award went to Chinese director Feng Mei for Spring Fever. Mei admitted to critics who questioned him about the seemingly spontaneous exchanges in the film that, indeed, the screenplay had been worked on right through production and editing. The irony of his receiving the screenplay award was not lost on the audience. Having had trouble with censorship in the past, and since Spring Fever directly portrays homosexuality, Mei hoped no one on the cast or crew would have any problems.

It was a festival of strong directors with decisive ideas and distinctive styles for depicting them.  We film lovers come together for information and insight. We get a snapshot of what a couple dozen directors from all over the world have on their minds, and we applaud stylistic risks and, at best, reinvigorated conventions. We gain information and insights. We also leave with more questions than we had when we arrived.

Diane Carson, a freelance writer from St. Louis, has reviewed and taught film for over two decades. She’s covering the 2009 Cannes Film Festival for STLtoday.com.