Cannes: Michael Haneke’s “Amour” takes home the Palme d’Or

GlobalPost

Austrian director Michael Haneke has won the Cannes Film Festival's top prize for the second time as his film "Amour" takes the Palme d'Or.

According to the Los Angeles Times, "Amour" tells the story of what happens to a couple in its 80s when the wife suffers a series of strokes.

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Jury president Nanni Moretti handed the prize over to Haneke while praising the "fundamental contributions" of the film's two French stars, Jean-Louis Trintignant, 81, and Emmanuelle Riva, 85, reported France's Le Parisien. Haneke previously won the festival's top prize in 2009 for "The White Ribbon."

"This film is an illustration of the promise we made to each other, if either one of us finds ourselves in the situation that is described in the film," said Haneke, according to BBC News.

The Cannes jury awarded the second-place Grand Prize to Matteo Garrone's Italian satire "Reality," the story of a Naples fishmonger obsessed with reality TV, reported the Associated Press. Ken Loach's "The Angels' Share," a comedy about whiskey tasting, won the third-place Jury Prize.

According to the AP, Carlos Reygadas was named best director for the surrealist story "Tenebras Lux."

Benh Zeitlin’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner “Beasts of the Southern Wild" also took home the coveted Camera d’Or, reported the LA Times.

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