The White Ribbon has won the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes film festival.
Directed by Michael Haneke, it explores the strange and disturbing things that start to happen in a German village on the eve of World War I.
Shot in black and white, it has no musical score and focuses on the generation that would grow up to embrace national socialism.
The story is narrated by schoolteacher in the village and the cryptic and sombre style has already led some critics to compare it to Hidden (2005).
The winners in the major categories were:
- Palme d’Or – The White Ribbon (Das weiße Band) by Michael Haneke
- Grand Prix – Un prophète by Jacques Audiard
- Best Director – Brillante Mendoza for Kinatay
- Prix du Jury
- Best Actress – Charlotte Gainsbourg for Antichrist
- Best Actor – Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds
- Best Screenplay – Lou Ye for Chūn fēng chén zuì de wǎn shàng
> Read more about The White Ribbon at IFC
> Michael Haneke at Wikipedia
> Official Cannes site