By Mike Collett-White and Alexandria Sage
CANNES, France (Reuters) – Austrian director Michael Haneke was the popular winner of the Cannes film festival’s top honor on Sunday with “Love” (Amour), an elegiac tale of an elderly couple facing the inescapable, yet no less tragic march of death.
Haneke joins an elite group of two-time winners of the coveted Palme d’Or at the world’s biggest film festival after his “The White Ribbon” won in 2009.
The glamorous red carpet awards, held amid thunder, lightning and pouring rain on the French Riviera, brought to an end a 12-day blur of screenings, photo shoots, parties and deal making on Cannes’ giant marketplace.
“It’s raining a little,” deadpanned “The Artist” actor Jean Dujardin, wiping his soaking forehead as he entered the theatre after signing autographs.
Haneke’s moving tale set inside a Paris apartment and following a man caring for his ailing wife reduced audiences to tears. The award underlined the 70-year-old’s reputation as one of the greatest European directors working today.
“I must say I cried a lot,” fashion designer and jury member Jean Paul Gaultier told a news conference.
