Oscars 2016: Cannes Winners

Hello, Bloggers, the Cannes Film Festival just came to a close which means they announced their winners for the main prize and since it is usually a place for films to gain early traction in the awards circuit, I figured I'd discuss the winners and whether they will be major players. Here we go:

Palme D'Or: Dheepan by Jacques Audiard

This one was surprising to a lot of people considering how it didn't get as much buzz as some other films competing for the big prize. But, I have become a fan of Jacques Audiard's work, so I'm sure it's a good film. Whether or not this will be an awards player is up in the air. Maybe in the foreign language category.

Grand Prix (2nd place): Son of Saul by Laszlo Nemes

This is one of the few films expected to win the Palme D'Or considering the amount of buzz it received. But it at least came close. This one I could also see making a play in the Foreign Language category at the Oscars given its buzz and the fact it's a Holocaust film and those films usually do very well.

Jury Prize (3rd place): The Lobster by Yorgos Lanthimos

This one, which is Yorgos Lanthimos' English language debut, looks very interesting. It is about a man who is forced to find a mate within 45 days or he will be turned into an animal. Another intriguing idea from the mind that gave us Dogtooth. 

Best Director: Hou Hsiao-Hsien for The Assassin

This one was a surprise. I figured that given the reception Carol received, this award would maybe go to Todd Haynes. But because The Assassin is a genre or martial arts film, this win was still a nice change of pace. At least Carol didn't go home empty handed as you'll see.

Best Actor: Vincent Landin for The Measure of a Man

I had a small hunch this would go to Michael Caine for Youth given the film's reception and that it would be like when they gave the same award to fellow veteran Bruce Dern for Nebraska. But of course, I was wrong. I haven't really heard of this film until now, but I'll have to watch it somehow.

Best Actress (tie): Rooney Mara for Carol and Emmanuelle Bercot for Mon Roi

Interestingly, while Rooney Mara won, she didn't share the prize with her co-star Cate Blanchett, who has already become a strong frontrunner in the Best Actress race. But Mara winning this might hint as who the true lead is in Carol or who might have more screentime between her and Blanchett. Because of only Mara winning for her film, Bercot sharing the prize was a shocker, in my opinion.

Best Screenplay: Chronic by Michel Franco

This is the award that I figured Yorgos Lanthimos was going to win for The Lobster. Mainly because other pundits predicted him to win in this category. But given the buzz Chronic received, I figured it wouldn't go home empty handed.

So, I think Carol is still a major player in the Oscar race. The only question, at this point, is which category will Mara and Blanchett be placed in. But Son of Saul could also be a player in the awards race and likely for Best Foreign Language Film since it is in Hungarian and is from Hungary. I suppose Dheepan could compete in the same category and The Lobster could make an appearance somewhere given the fact, like Dheepan, it has a director who has gotten one of his films to the ceremony. Plus, The Lobster has a pretty starry cast (Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly).

Those are my thoughts on the winners at Cannes and whether they will gain any traction in the awards race. Whether you agree or disagree, please feel free to write your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks for reading!