French shocker ‘Titane’ wins Palme d’Or as Lee slips up

Shock-fest “Titane” took home the top Palme d’Or prize at Cannes on Saturday, revealed early at the closing ceremony in an embarrassing slip-up by jury president Spike Lee. French director Julie Ducournau is only the second woman to scoop the prize, for a movie that was one of the wildest, sexiest and most violent ever shown at the Cannes film festival.

“It’s the first film ever where a Cadillac impregnated a woman. That blew my mind!” Lee said. “That’s genius and craziness together.” “Titane” tells the story of a woman who kills without a care, with brutal scenes that had many cinemagoers shielding their eyes during the opening night. Lee, the first black man to lead the jury, read out the winner at the very start of the prize ceremony, rather than introducing the first award of the night for best actor.

After an awkward pause and regrouping, the best actor award went to US actor Caleb Landry Jones for his chilling performance in “Nitram” about Australia’s worst mass shooting. Making a film about the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, in which 35 people died, triggered harsh criticism of director Justin Kurzel in Australia. But critics were won over at the Cannes premiere, with Variety calling it a “devastating study of atrocity” that shows “quiet respect for the victims’ dignity”.

It was a huge night, too, for the previously unknown Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve, who was rocketed to stardom by her role in “Worst Person in the World”. Her role as a twenty-something searching for her identity and pinballing through relationships was a sensation, and caught the 33-year-old totally unprepared. “No one has seen me in anything,” she told AFP after the premiere. “The other day I woke up and I puked. And today I woke up and I cried.”

‘Letting the monsters in’

When it finally became time to announce the Palme d’Or for real, Lee said: “I apologize for messing up.” But then he almost fluffed the presentation again, starting to announce the winner rather than presenter Sharon Stone, by which point Ducournau was giggling in the audience. She still broke into tears when the official announcement was made, and told the crowd: “This evening has been perfect because it’s been imperfect. Thank you for letting the monsters in.” The only other woman to win the top prize is Jane Campion for “The Piano” in 1993.

Other winners on the night included Leos Carax as best director for “Annette”, the flamboyant rock opera starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, and written by eccentric Los Angeles pop duo Sparks. The second-prize Grand Prix was shared between Iran’s two-time Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi (“A Hero”) and Finland’s Juho Kuosmanen (“Compartment No.6”), while best screenplay went to Japan’s Hamaguchi Ryusuke and Takamasa Oe for “Drive My Car”.

The race had been wide open this year, with critics pointing to many possible successors to “Parasite”, the South Korean hit which took home the last Palme in 2019 before making history by triumphing at the Oscars. Last year’s festival was cancelled because of the pandemic.

Spit tests

There were doubts early in the festival about the COVID logistics, with some festival-goers grossed out by the spit tests required every 48 hours, and criticism on social media over unmasked attendees in the cinemas at early premieres. Restrictions were tightened, partying scaled back, and even though the stars couldn’t quite keep themselves from hugs and kisses on the red carpet, the festival appeared to pass without a major outbreak.

But there was still plenty of star power. Tilda Swinton was ubiquitous on the red carpet, appearing in five films of the official selection. She starred in “Memoria” by Thailand’s former Palme winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul, which shared the third-place jury prize with “Ahed’s Knee” by Nadav Lapid. But Swinton was clear that her proudest moment was receiving the Palm Dog award on behalf of her three spaniels, who appeared with her in “The Souvenir Part 2”. “Honestly, this is the prize to get,” she said at Friday’s canine ceremony, as she tied the red collar prize around her neck. — AFP

French director Julia Ducournau poses on stage with US actress Sharon Stone, French actor Vincent Lindon, French actress Agathe Rousselle and US director and Jury President of the 74th Cannes Film Festival Spike Lee after she won the Palme d’Or for her film “Titane” during the closing ceremony of the 74th edition of the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday. — AFP photos

Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve poses with her trophy during a photocall after she was awarded with the Best Actress Prize for her part in the film “Verdens Verste Menneske” (The Worst Person In The World)”.

Hong Kong director Tang Yi poses with her trophy during a photocall after she won the Palme d’Or - Short Film for her film “All the Crows in the World”.

Italian director Marco Bellocchio poses during a photocall after he received an honorary Palme d’Or.

Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi poses with his trophy after he won the Best Screenplay prize for the film “Drive My Car”.

US actor Caleb Landry Jones delivers a speech on stage after he was awarded with the Best Actor Prize for his part in “Nitram”.

Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul poses with his trophy after he was jointly awarded with the Jury Prize for the film “Memoria”.

French director Julia Ducournau poses on stage with her trophy after she won the Palme d’Or for her film “Titane”.