A good but not so extraordinary film wins the highest prize on the Croisette, Anatomy of a Fall. The Grand Prix goes to The Zone of Interest directed by the British Jonathan Glazer but in German on the distant inspiration of the homonymous novel by Martin Amis
History inevitably repeats itself. As in 2015 none of the three Italians in the race came out with a prize, also the trio of 2023 – Looker, Moretti e Rohrwacher – failed to earn even one accolade at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. The jury presided over by the Swede Ruben Östlund has oriented itself elsewhere, and in particular has assigned the Golden palm tree to the French filmmaker Justine Triet for its good (but not so extraordinary from top prize on the Croisette) Anatomy of a fallthat is to say Anatomy of a fall.
An interesting and intense legal movie built on the edge of ambiguity enhanced by the monumental interpretation of the German actress Sandra Hueller who, curiously, is also the co-protagonist (and co-producer) of the film awarded with the Grand Prizethat is to say The Zone of Interest directed by the British Jonathan Glazer but in German on the distant inspiration of the homonymous novel by Martin Friends, sadly disappeared just in these days. It is the glacial story of the everyday life of the Höss family on the edge of Auschwitz, whose husband is a senior SS officer commander in chief of the camp. Glazer informs it geometrically by bringing out the evident order/chaos contrasts through a skilful work on the visual space vs the sound space.
Directly in Asia – the great geographical protagonist of this edition – the awards for best direction went (to the Vietnamese Tran Hero for his “tasty” French film The Pot-au-feu where ex in life Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel meet as a couple on the set), for the male interpretation (in the Japanese superlative Koji Yakushoprotagonist of the excellent film by Wim Wenders, Perfect Dayswho perhaps would have hoped for and deserved a heavier and more personal prize), for the screenplay (in Japanese Yuji Sakamoto screenwriter of Monster of the compatriot Hirokazu Kore-eda) and finally to the leading actress (the vibrant Turkish woman Merve Dizdar for perhaps the most beautiful, complex and powerful work of the competition, About Dry Grasses of the talented Nuri Bilge Ceylan).
Last, but absolutely not least, the Jury Prize went to this year’s critics’ darling, the Finn Aki Kaurismäki with its poetic and always surreal Fallen Leavesalso possible Palme d’Or of the heart.
Altogether it was about an average good edition the one that closed tonight: all the award-winning films deserved recognition but perhaps in a different way, and certainly several others would have equally (or even more) deserved to be on the stage of the winners. For example the full-bodied Chinese Wang Bingthe touching Ken Loach, and why not at least one of our standard-bearers. Competition archived, Cannes 2023 will also remain the extraordinary presence of Martin Scorsese with its actors DeNiro and DiCaprio to seal his umpteenth great film placed out of competition. But also the last one Indiana Jones with a lively Harrison Fordthe new work after 30 years of the mysterious Spaniard Victor Ericethe honorary palm a Michael Douglas and the militant words of Jane Fondawhich awarded the Palme d’Or (with great feminist pride) to the winner.