Chekhovian drama “Winter Sleep” was awarded the much awaited Palme d’Or at the final ceremony of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, and remained one of the frontrunners right into the final straight.
Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan accepted the award, handed out by Quentin Tarantino and Uma Thurman at the French Riviera festival. Ceylan expressed surprise at the decision, but said he was very pleased to win, especially in the year which marks the 100th anniversary of Turkish cinema. In his speech, Ceylan alluded to anti-government protests in Istanbul that began a year ago and have raged following a recent mining disaster that killed hundreds.
“I want to dedicate the prize to the young people in Turkey and those who lost their lives last year,” said Ceylan.
The film beat out Xavier Dolan’s hyped-about “Mommy,” which settled for the Jury Prize, along with Jeal-Luc Godard’s “Goodbye to Language.”
The runner-up Grand Prix award went to Alice Rohrwacher’s Italian-language film “The Wonders.”
Julianne Moore won best actress for her performance in David Cronenberg’s dark Hollywood satire “Maps to the Stars.” Screenwriter Bruce Wagner accepted the award for Moore and cheered the town he savagely parodies in the film: “Vive Los Angeles. Vive David Cronenberg. Vive Julianne Moore. And vive la France,” he said.
One anticipated call was the naming of Timothy Spall as best actor in Mike Leigh’s biopic of the artist JMW Turner. He spoke emotionally about a long, humble career that has often gone without such notice.
“I’ve spent a lot of time being a bridesmaid,” said the veteran character actor, whose phone rang as he t ried to read his speech from it. “This is the first time I’ve ever been a bride.”
Spall’s performance has been much celebrated for its emotional depth, despite Turner’s vocabulary in the film often consisting of grunts, snorts and spitting saliva onto the canvas.
Bennett Miller (“Capote,” “Moneyball”) won best director for his wresting drama “Foxcatcher,” the American film that made the biggest impact at Cannes. Miller dedicated his award to his stars Channing Tatum, Steve Carell and Mark Ruffalo, as well as producer Megan Ellison.
Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “Leviathan” secured the best screenplay award. Based on the Book of Job, “Leviathan” tells the story of a man battling endemic corruption across the church and state and modern-day Russia.
Eighteen features battled it out in the competition strand of the 67th Cannes film festival. The winners in the sidebars were announced on Friday, with canine horror “White God” taking the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section, while Annie Silverstein’s “Skunk” took top honours in the Cinefoundation. “The Tribe” triumphed in Critics’ Week, while “Love at First Fight” won the top gong at the Directors’ Fortnight.
