The correspondence of loving senses, at least in the cinema, is a rare pearl. We were used to seeing an empty chair, but the scenario has changed. In the wake of a giant like Abbas Kiarostami (of which he was a director’s assistant), the Iranian Jafar Panahi, one of the greatest living directors, confirmed the prediction and won the golden palm of the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival with To Simple accident (soon in the room with Lucky Red), despite a long -hour blackout threatened the correct performance of the award ceremony.
The film all agreed, because it is a Universal story, of rare strength, in which wars and oppressions are condemned. Panahi focuses with intimism and passion on the story of a man who, after years, meets his tormentor. He decides to execute him, but an ethical dilemma grips him: will it be right to kill him? And above all, is it really he who ruined his life? Panahi’s is a cry of freedom through the camera. After Antonioni, it is the only filmmaker to win the golden palm, the gold bear, the golden lion and the gold pardo. Only the Oscar is missing, which we hope will arrive this year.
Panahi is normally combined with the Iranian Nouvelle Vague, which began in the seventies. He has always been a dissident, lined up against the regime. All his films were shot in clandestinity, without having the permits, and with few means. Over time he also became the protagonist of his stories. He has been arrested, tortured, deprived of his rights several times.
In his defense, the international community has lined up, and the hope is that this recognition in Cannes did not have repercussions on his return to his homeland. For the writer The circle And The Bollon BolloncinoOr there are two of the most powerful visions on the screen of the last three decades. The one that describes Panahi with To Simple accident It is a hug between past and present. And this was the cardinal image that marked the Festival. On the official manifesto, the embrace between Anouk Aimée and Jean-Louis Trintignant in A man, a woman by Claude Lelouch. At the opening evening Robert De Niro, when he received the honorary golden palm, immediately went to embrace Leonardo DiCaprio.
There is a search for optimism and forgive these dark times, just as we have seen in Jeunes Mères of the Dardenne brothers. The competition was of a high level, with stories that emphasized the flow of time and affections. Perhaps he would have deserved the rigorous more Two prosecutors by Sergei Loznitsa (excluded from the Palmarès), and the Italy of Mario Martone with Out It remains once again dry mouth. But see a fastening movie like Or secreted agent Of the Brazilian Kleber Mendonça Filho win two prizes (best actor to Wagner Moura and best direction) can only warm the heart. Long live Cannes, live hope, live cinema.
