“Blue is the Warmest Colour” takes Palme d'Or

(From left) Actress Lea Seydoux, director Abdellatif Kechiche and actress Adele Exarchopoulos ecstatic on stage after “Blue is the Warmest Colour” received the Palme d'Or in Cannes. Photo Courtesy: getty images

“Blue is the Warmest Colour” (“La Vie d'Adele”), an intimate love story about two young French women, has won the Palme d'Or for best film at the Cannes Film Festival.
It has attracted attention for bold scenes, as well as the acclaimed performances of actresses Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux.
Hollywood veteran Bruce Dern won best actor for his performance in Nebraska, while French star Berenice Bejo -- known for silent film “The Artist” -- won best actress for her role in “The Past”.
The winners were picked from the 20 films in competition and were named at the festival's closing ceremony on Sunday.
“Blue is the Warmest Colour” is a three-hour coming-of-age movie in which Exarchopoulos plays a 15-year-old who falls in love with an older woman, played by Seydoux. Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, it won rave reviews in Cannes, being described as “epic yet intimate” by The Guardian.
But it also shocked some critics. The Hollywood Reporter said the “sprawling drama” would “raise eyebrows” as it crossed the barrier “between performance and the real deal.”
Some had questioned whether some scenes may make it too explicit for the top prize. But director Steven Spielberg, who chaired the jury, told reporters: “I think it will get a lot of play... I think this film carries a very strong message, a very positive message.” In an unusual move, Spielberg awarded the prize to the two lead actresses as well as the director.
Amat Escalante, who made brutal drama “Heli” about Mexico's drugs war, was something of a surprise choice for best director. China's Jia Zhangke won best screenplay for “A Touch of Sin”, an examination of rampant corruption in his country.
The Jury Prize went to “Like Father, Like Son”, about two families who discover that their six-year-old boys were switched at birth, directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda.
Films that missed out included “Behind the Candelabra” -- in which Michael Douglas plays the legendarily flamboyant entertainer Liberace -- and Italian director Paolo Sorrentino's “The Great Beauty”, a sumptuous story about an ageing novelist.
Spielberg was joined on the jury by Life of Pi director Ang Lee, actress Nicole Kidman and Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz. The other judges were filmmaker Lynne Ramsay, French actor Daniel Auteuil, Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, Japanese director Naomi Kawase and Bollywood star Vidya Balan.

Source: BBC