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Irish war film wins top prize at Cannes Festival

Vaiju Naravane

It could be taken as a metaphor for the brutality in occupied Iraq, says director Ken Loach

Paris: Ken Loach, one of Britain's most respected film directors, was awarded the Cannes Film Festival's top honour, the prestigious Palme d'Or, for his film "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," a depiction of British brutality during the occupation of Ireland in the 1920s.

Amid the star-studded, black-tie glitter and glamour that marked the evening, Mr. Loach's film, which he said could be taken as a metaphor for the brutality in occupied Iraq today, struck a sombre note.

"Maybe if we tell the truth about the past, maybe we tell the truth about the present," he said as he accepted the award from French actress Emmanuelle Beart.

"The Wind That Shakes the Barley" beat 19 other films in competition, including Spanish Director Pedro Almodovar's "Volver" starring Penelope Cruz, who was awarded best actress award along with the film's entire female cast.

At a press conference Mr. Ken Loach, who has come close to winning the award seven times in the past (his noted films include "Land and Freedom" and "Raining Stones") said: "I don't need to spell it out, but the wars we have seen, the occupations we have seen throughout the world, people can't turn away from that."

The film tells the tale of Ireland's struggle for independence from Britain through the experiences of a young doctor who joins a rag-tag band of guerillas fighting the ruthless British occupiers.

Savage in his depiction of violence, Mr. Loach unflinchingly examines how families are divided by political strife and, in this case, how an unpopular peace treaty which pledges allegiance to the British crown tears the doctor and his brother apart.

Significant first

In a significant first, this year's jury led by Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai gave collective acting awards rather than picking out single individuals.

The best actor prize went collectively to the French Arab male cast "Days of Glory," by Rachid Bouchareb an Algerian-born Frenchman.

The film shows Algerians and Moroccans fighting for France in World War II.

Many of the noted films dealt with the horrors and consequences of war, reflecting the artistic world's deeply felt concerns over the present aggressively militaristic climate.

Thus, the runner-up Grand Prix went to another war-themed movie with overtones of Iraq, "Flanders" by French director Bruno Dumont, which takes place in an unnamed West Asian country. It examines the effects of conflict on a conscripted young farmer.

"There has been a lot of violence, a lot of brutality. We've had to enter very bleak landscapes, intently bleak landscapes," said British actress and jury member Helena Bonham Carter.

A co-panelist, Palestinian director Elia Suleiman, said: "A lot of the films discuss the issues facing the world today. I don't think it's by accident.

"We are living in a troubled global atmosphere."

"Babel," another widely acclaimed ensemble piece about the perils of cultural incomprehension starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, earned Mexico's Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu the best director's award.

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