Terrence Malick's The Tree Of Life has won the Palme d'Or at the 64th Cannes International Film Festival after its world premiere in the competition Festival this week. Malick did not attend the ceremony, but the award was received by producers Bill Pohlad & Dede Gardner. Also some controversy surrounded the awarding of the best actress prize to Kirsten Dunst for Lars von Trier’s Melancholia. Hit the jump for the details.
The film, a long-delayed epic about life and death stars Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain & Sean Penn and follows the evolution of an 11-year-old boy from a small Texas town [mirroring Malick's own upbringing in Waco] who's just lost a sibling. His parents, distraught over the unexplained death of their child, respond in divergent ways while both focusing on the grief and the glory of raising children. The film will eventually hit theaters on May 27th. On another note, the biggest shock may have been the awarding of the best actress prize to Dunst for Von Trier’s Melancholia, which followed Von Trier’s recent expulsion from the festival after jokes he made about his affection for Hitler and the Nazi regime.
