A bit of history took place at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, as Bong Joon-ho just became the first Korean director to take home the Palme d'Or. The filmmaker won Cannes' top prize for his dark horror comedy, Parasite, which is getting best-of-the-year type buzz from critics. In his A- Collider review out of the festival, Gregory Ellwood writes that giving too much away from the film would "ruin the almost ingenious twists and turns Joon-ho has crafted in Parasite. From a storytelling perspective they are superb."
Mati Diop's refugee drama Atlantics took home the second-place Grand Priz, while the third-place Jury Prize was a tie between Ladj Ly's thriller Les Miserables and the weird Western Bacurau from Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles. No awards love for much-hyped films like Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood or Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life, but Best Director did go to former Palme winners Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne for the Belgian drama The Young Ahmed.
Here's the full list of winners from the 2019 Cannes film festival:
Palme d’Or: Parasite, Bong Joon-ho
Grand Prix: Atlantics, Mati Diop
Jury Prize (tie): Les Misérables, Ladj Ly and Bacurau, Kleber Mendonça Filho & Juliano Dornelles
Best Actress: Emily Beecham, Little Joe
Best Actor: Antonio Banderas, Pain & Glory
Best Director: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, The Young Ahmed
Best Screenplay: Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Céline Sciamma
Special Mention of the Jury: It Must Be Heaven, Elia Suleiman
Camera d’Or: Our Mothers, César Díaz
Short Film Palme d’Or: The Distance Between Us And The Sky, Vasilis Kekatos
Special Mention of the Jury: “Monstruo Dios,” Agustina San
Queer Palm (Feature): Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Céline Sciamma
Queer Palm (Short): The Distance Between Us And The Sky, Vasilis Kekatos
For all of Collider's reviews from Cannes 2019, check out the links below:
- ‘Parasite’ Review: Boon Jong-Ho Presents a Masterclass on Scamming | Cannes
- ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ Review: Pitt and DiCaprio Set Tarantino’s Fairy Tale Ablaze | Cannes
- ‘Frankie’ Review: Isabelle Huppert and Marisa Tomei Impress in Small Family Drama | Cannes 2019
- ‘Pain and Glory’ Review: Antonio Banderas Channels the Quiet Agony of Pedro Almodóvar | Cannes
- ‘A Hidden Life’ Review: Terrence Malick Tells A Tale Of WWII Conscientious Objecting | Cannes
- ‘The Lighthouse’ Review: Robert Pattinson Goes Mad in ‘The Witch’ Director’s New Film | Cannes
- ‘Rocketman’ Review: Taron Egerton Bares Elton John’s Soul in Spectacular Fashion | Cannes 2019