Ranking the Decade's Palme D'Or Winners

The Cannes film festival can have its own problems – but when you compare it to the Oscars, at the very least, they usually pick better winners. Yes, this decade all 10 Palme D’or winners were directed by men (although, in one case, the director shared it with his two female co-stars) – but they can come from all over the world – and at the very least, they’re interesting films that win. Not always great, but interesting. So here’s the ranking of the decade’s Palme D’or winners.

 

 

10. I, Daniel Blake (Ken Loach, 2016) – There are few things more predictable than the new Ken Loach film being in the Cannes competition lineup – he had four just this decade – unless it’s that for the most part, the film will be forgotten relatively soon after its release. I, Daniel Blake is perhaps the best film of this decade (Sorry We Missed You, which played last year, has opened here yet) – but it’s still a rather predictable Loach effort, about the effects on the poor in England of uncaring government bureaucracy. The one thing about the movie that is great is newcomer Hayley Squires performance. The rest is fine – quite good even – but hardly great. And in a year that was so strong, it’s disappointing the George Miller led jury felt the need to give Loach a second Palme (after 2008’s The Wind That Shakes the Barley).

Great Films in Competition: American Honey (Andrea Arnold) was for me, a major step forward for the great filmmaker, coming to what was about to be Trump’s America and seeing it clearly from an outsider’s perspective. Elle (Paul Verhoeven) was the Dutch maverick’s attempt to piss everyone off – he succeeded brilliantly, with a controversial, incendiary film, and a great performance by Isabelle Huppert. Graduation (Cristian Mungiu) was the Romanian version of the college admission scandal before there was one – and a darkly comic masterclass of one. The Handmaiden (Park Chan-wook) is the most beautiful and ambitious film of Korean master Park Chan-wook’s career – and perhaps his best film. Paterson (Jim Jarmusch) is my favorite Jim Jarmusch film, a beautiful, subtle, perceptive film about poetry and normal life. Personal Shopper (Olivier Assayas) was Assayas building an entire film around text messages, and Kristen Stewart, and pulling it off brilliantly. Toni Erdman (Maren Ade) was the biggest, boldest, tragicomedy of the decade – a three-hour comedy about fathers and daughters, and globalization and so much more.

And the Winner Should Have Been: I don’t want to choose – it is a shame that Cannes mainstay Jarmusch has never won the Palme D’or (at least for features – he won one for one of the shorts in Coffee & Cigarettes in the shorts section) – and Paterson is my favorite of his films, and probably, my favorite of this festival. And yet, I think Toni Erdmann would have been the better choice – a massively ambitious film, one that goes for broke, features two amazing central performances, and is every bit as much of a masterpiece than anything that could have won. The fact that they both walked away with nothing for the jury should be embarrassing for all involved.

 

9. Dheepan (Jacques Audiard, 2015) – This seems like an example of the jury – headed by the Coen brothers – giving the Palme to a director who was considered “due” at the time, so they gave it to Audiard’s revenge film, with so real world importance layered onto it considering immigration in France. It isn’t Audiard’s best film – but I feel it has somehow gotten underrated over the years – probably because it didn’t really need to win the Palme, but it is an excellent, exciting film – expertly crafted by Audiard – with some great performances as well. He hasn’t done much since – just one American film, The Sisters Brothers, which was fine, but didn’t really hit either. This is a very good film – not Palme worthy – but very good.

Other Great Films in Competition: This really was a strong competition lineup this year. The Assassin (Hsiao-Hsein Hou) is a martial arts film as only he can make it – and one of the most stunningly beautiful films you will ever see. Carol (Todd Haynes) is one of Haynes best, most beautiful films – and one of the great romantic films of the decade. The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) is a masterclass is deadpan comedy and storytelling (honestly, I’m amazed the Coens didn’t go crazy for this one) – and one of the best acted films you will ever see, so completely in control of the film. Mountains May Depart (Jia Zhangke) is not quite the best of Jia Zhangke’s films this decade – but it is a stunning, beautiful multigenerational film about life in modern China – and into the future. Sicario (Denis Villeneuve) is just about as great of a mainstream, Hollywood genre film can be – exciting, amazingly well acted, and scripted, and amazing direction by Villeneuve. Son of Saul (Laszalo Nemes) is an emotional powerhouse – and perhaps the only recent film with a truly unique take on the Holocaust – focused solely on one character, blurring the reality behind him – brilliantly directed by Nemes, in his first film.

And the Winner Should Have Been: For me personally, I would take either Carol or The Lobster as the winner here – as both are among the very best films of the decade. We know they like to reward loyalty though – and it was only Haynes’ second film in competition, and Lanthimos’ first (probably why Son of Saul didn’t break through either). So on that level, why not give the top prize to The Assassin as Hsiao-Hsien as been a fixture of Cannes for decades.

 

8. Blue is the Warmest Color (Abdellatif Kechiche and Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux, 2013) – Blue is the Warmest Color has suffered a major downgrade in its critical reputation since it’s win – when director Kechiche’s abusive, exploitative behavior has come to light, and his subsequent films have not been well received. What I will say is that I understand the criticisms – and it’s certainly a male gaze film – and yet it is raw and emotional and beautiful in its own way – and the Steven Spielberg led jury was correct in awarding both Exarchopoulos and Seydoux in the win as well. Perhaps I don’t like it as much as I did then – but it’s a very good film.

Other Great Films in Competition: This really wasn’t the best year for Cannes – but the great films in competition really was great. Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel & Ethan Coen) was my choice for best film of the decade, and it may just be the Coens best film ever, and deserved all the love it could get. Like Father, Like Son (Hirokazu Koreeda) isn’t the best film by Japanese master Hirokazu Koreeda, but it’s close, and a very emotional film to boot. Nebraska (Alexander Payne) is probably Payne’s best film next to Election – a wonderful father/son story, shot in beautiful black and white. Only Loves Left Alive (Jim Jarmusch) is one of Jarmusch’s best films – an old man’s film, about the passing of time – but one that doesn’t do well at festivals, because it needs time to grow. A Touch of Sin (Jia Zhangke) is my favorite Jia Zhangeke film – a number of stories about random violence in China – done in different styles by China’s best director.

And the Winner Should Have Been: Obviously, I think Inside Llewyn Davis should have won this one – it was the best of the decade – and the Coens have been around long enough that having two Palmes would not seem like too much (since their only other Palme was way back in 1991 with Barton Fink). I also wish that Jia Zhangke and Jim Jarmusch should have a Palme as well – and would have been fine with either of them winning.

 

7. The Square (Ruben Ostlund, 2017) – Ostlund’s epic art world satire is the kind of film that lashes out in all different directions for nearly three hours, with a brilliant performance by Claes Bang to hold it all together. Does it all work – probably not – but I love it anyway, as its so weird, so one-of-a-kind – and so much fun – which isn’t always something you associate with a Palme D’or winner. Still waiting for him to follow it up with something though. The Pedro Almodovar led jury had many choices, so I’m not sure why they went here, but it’s a decent choice.

Other Great Films in Competition: Really a strong year this year. The Beguiled (Sofia Coppola) was an entirely different take on the same story Don Siegel/Clint Eastwood told decades before. Good Time (Benny & Joshua Safdie) is the most energetic, propulsive thriller of the decade, with a great Robert Pattinson performance at its core. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Yorgos Lanthimos) isn’t quite as good as The Lobster – but is a disturbing allegory that only Lanthimos could make. Loveless (Andrey Zvyagintsev) is perhaps not quite as good as Leviathan – but is an emotional powerhouse about the inhumanity of modern Russia. The Meyerowtiz Stories (Noah Baumbach) is one of Baumbach’s best – a funny, emotional, family story with some great performances. Okja (Bong Joon-ho) is Bong lashing out in many different directions, most of them brilliantly. You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay) is a revenge thriller in the Taxi Driver mold, but completely stripped of all the excess plot stuff that isn’t needed – to produce something completely unique.

And the Winner Should Have Been: While this was a strong year this year, I am struck that I’m not sure any of the talented directors listed above made their best film this year. The best, for me, was Good Time – but that doesn’t strike me as a Palme winner for directors that young. My choice would have been one that the jury clearly loved – as they gave it two prize – You Were Never Really Here – which would have been a statement to be sure.

 

6. Uncle Boonme Who Can Reclass His Past Lives (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2010) – Clearly the weakest year for the Official Competition of the decade – that was probably needed for the Tim Burton led jury to go with something this weird to win the top prize. Burton probably had a soft spot for the weirdness, for the low-budget special effects as the type of think he did great years ago, but has abandoned for years now. All that said, I think it’s wonderful that a filmmaker as idiosyncratic as Apichatpong Weerasetheakul winning the most prestigious prize in film.

Other Great Films in Competition: As I said, a pretty weak year, although there is a trio of great films in play. Another Year (Mike Leigh) is one of my absolute favorite Mike Leigh films – a film about a couple, and then friend group, over the span of a few years – with a heartbreaking performance by Lesley Manville. Certified Copy (Abbas Kiarostami) may just be my favorite Abbas Kiarostami film – a one-of-a-kind throwback to art house cinema of yesteryear, with two great performances at its core. Poetry (Lee Chang-dong) isn’t the film that Secret Sunshine or Burning is – but is still a masterwork by Korean master Lee Chang-dong, a sensitive study of an elderly woman, slowly sinking into Alzheimer’s, and taking a poetry class to hold on – and ignore the horrible thing her grandson did.

And the Winner Should Have Been: Personally, I think Certified Copy was the best film here, and I think Lee Chang-dong should be a Palme winner – but considering Kiarostami is a Palme winner (as is Leigh) – I think they probably made the right choice going with Uncle Boonme Who Can Recall His Past Lives – if for no other reason, then because people will continue to marvel at its weirdness.

 

5. Shoplifters (Hirokazu Koreeda, 2018) – This is probably Hirokazu Koreeda’s best film to date – and it’s a great career – a beautiful portrait of an adopted family of thieves, who have their lives upturned when their ways are discovered. Hirokazu has always been great at delivering portraits of family, and the underclass in Japan, and he does so brilliantly here – in an understated way, that clearly the Cate Blanchett led jury responded to. It’s hard to argue that Koreeda deserves a Palme – he’s been a fixture at Cannes for 20 years, and hadn’t won yet, so it was his time.

Other Great Films in Competition: It was a very strong year at Cannes though. BlackKklansman (Spike Lee) was the incendiary directors best film in years – a look back at America’s racist past, and a fuck you to its racist present, all wrapped in an entertaining package. Burning (Lee Chang-dong) was the film that made North American people finally realize what a master filmmaker Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong is, a masterclass thriller, with an ambiguous ending. Cold War (Pawel Pawlikowski) is a great looking, black and white love story, that builds its devastating portrait in under 90 minutes. Under the Silver Lake (David Robert Mitchell) is a difficult, neo noir set in L.A., which goes in many different directions, brilliantly, in its portrait of an asshole privileged “detective”. The Wild Pear Tree (Nuri Bilge Ceylon) is not Ceylon’s best film – but it’s still a wonderful one, a portrait of a young writer who thinks he’s a genius, and is brought low when it becomes clear he isn’t one (yet, anyway).

And the Winner Should Have Been: It’s hard to argue against Koreeda, a very deserving filmmaker, but for my money the clear winner should have been Burning – which was ignored by the jury, but was the best, most profound film in the running this year – and one of the very best of the decade.

 

4. Winter Sleep (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2014) – Turkish master Nuri Bilge Ceylon had been a fixture at Cannes for years before he finally won the Palme for his epic, three-hour-fourteen minute film about a man who believes he is beloved, and slowly realizes that he is asshole. For me, it’s not quite the masterpiece that Once Upon a Time in Anatolia was, but it’s close – an intimate epic where the main character sees himself as a magnanimous rich man, who over the course of the movie discovers what everyone else thinks of him. Ceylan was bound to win one of these eventually – and the Jane Campion led jury finally gave him one. It is a great film – and a fine choice for the win.

Other Great Films in Competition: It was a fairly good year for Cannes in 2014. Among the other fine films were: Clouds of Sils Maria (Olivier Assayas) my personal favorite of his films, a portrait of an actress and her assistant in the remote house going over their lines, whose identities begin to merge. Foxcatcher (Bennett Miller) is a slow motion horror film, where you see tragedy coming, and are powerless to stop it – with three great performances by Steve Carrel Mark Ruffalo and especially Channing Tatum at its core. Leviathan (Andrey Zvyagintsev) is a terrific film about the inhumane bureaucracy in Putin’s Russia – a brave film, and the best one by Zvyagintsev to date. Mr. Turner (Mike Leigh) is perhaps Leigh’s most beautiful film – a film that looks like its subject’s art work, with a wonderful performance by Timothy Spall. Two Days, One Night (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne) is one of the Dardenne brothers best films – a portrait of a woman who has to convince her co-workers to let her keep her job, and doesn’t have much time to do so, with a brilliant performance by Marion Cottilard.

And the Winner Should Have Been: I could probably be convinced that Clouds of Sils Maria, Leviathan or Two Days, One Night were all better than Winter Sleep – but it’s so close, and I’m such a fan of Ceylan, that I think Winter Sleep is probably the right choice.

 

3. Parasite (Bong Joon-ho, 2019) – Bong Joon-ho’s masterpiece became the first film since 1955’s Marty to win both the Best Picture Oscar, and the Palme D’or, and its very worthy winner of both. Bong had been to Cannes several times over the year, and didn’t ever get the big win – but his masterpiece of class warfare was undeniable for the Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu led jury to ignore. It became the film of the year, and they were ahead of the curve.

Other Great Films in Competition: It was a pretty good year – and there are still a few left to hit theaters over here. Atlantics (Mati Diop) was a haunting film about colonialism and sexism, with a strange ghost story. A Hidden Life (Terrence Malick) was Malik’s best film since his Palme winning A Hidden Life – a beautiful film about standing up for you believe, consequences be damned. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino) is Tarantino’s masterwork – a tribute to old school Hollywood, and a film that gives justice to victims of horrific violence in what was Tarantino’s most moving film. Pain & Glory (Pedro Almodovar) was Almodovar’s thinly veiled self-portrait, and his best film in years. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Celine Sciamma) is an incredibly romantic, sexy, love story about love, lust, desire and art.

And the Winner Should Have Been: While I can think it’s a shame that Pedro Almodovar has never won the Palme, or would have loved to see Celine Sciamma win for her incredible film, or even think that Tarantino’s film was my favorite in competition – I find it impossible to really think something other than Parasite should have won.

 

2. Amour (Michael Haneke, 2012) – For a long time, Michael Haneke was one of those filmmakers who was always in the conversation for the Palme – but could never win. And then, in the span of four years, he won twice – first for The White Ribbon, and then for Amour – both are masterworks, but Amour is one of his very best films (second next only to Cache for me). Haneke’s film about growing old, and the ravages it inflicts on the body, is merciless and cruel – and hugely emotionally, acted to perfection and directed with Haneke’s typical cold brilliance. This was really the end of Haneke as a great filmmaker (so far anyway) as he’s only made one film since, and its not one of his best (although it’s not as bad as its reputation suggests it is). You know they don’t like to give two Palmes so close together to the same director, but the Tim Roth led jury could not resist.

Other Great Films in Competition: This was a fairly solid year for Cannes as well. Beyond the Hills (Cristian Mungiu) is a haunting film, which like is Palme winning 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, is about two women in a difficult situation., Cosmopolis (David Cronenberg) is Cronenberg’s last great film – and I love it no matter what some people say. Holy Motors (Leos Carax) is Carax’s best film, a film that lashes out in many different directions, all brilliantly. Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson) is very close to top tier Anderson – a wonderful adolescent fantasy that quietly moves you. Mud (Jeff Nichols) was the real start of the McConaughsance, and is one of Jeff Nichols best films – a kind of Southern Gothic fairy tale. Post Tenebras Lux (Carlos Reygadas) is the very strange film from Carlos Reygadas, who for better or for worse, makes films only he can make.

And the Winner Should Have Been: I loved many of those other films, and yet Amour still stands heads and shoulders above the rest of the them, and was the right choice.

 

1. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011) – It has been rumored that the head of the Cannes Festival told Robert DeNiro, the head of the jury, that it would be embarrassing for them if Malik’s The Tree of Life didn’t win (he meant the jury, not Cannes itself). Whether or true or not, it is correct – it would have been embarrassing to see something as ambitious, from a filmmaker as celebrated as Malick, had something else won. It may never be a popular audience film, but who cares – it is a masterful film by Malick, a combination of the epic and the intimate as only he could do it – the pinnacle of his masterful career – and one of the great winners of the Palme ever.

Other Great Films in Competition: This really was a very strong year for Cannes. Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn) is the film he was born to make – a violent fairy tale, done to perfection. Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (Takashi Miike) may be the last time I truly loved a Miike film – a great remake of a masterpiece. Le Havre (Aki Kaurismaki) is an emotional film, and one that seems to have seen the immigration crisis coming earlier than most, and treated it with humanity. The Kid with a Bike (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne) is one of those oh-hum, another masterpiece by the Dardennes, that at the time we all took for granted. Melancholia (Lars von Trier) is half a masterpiece – as the first half is as good as anything I saw this decade, but whose second half doesn’t quite live up to it. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Nuri Bilge Ceylon) is Ceylon’s best film – a brilliant procedural about no matter how close you look, you can never quite see the truth. We Need to Talk About Kevin (Lynne Ramsay) is a film that only gradually has become seen as the great film it is – a masterclass of visual storytelling by Ramsay, showing everything, why remaining mysterious.

And the Winner Should Have Been: Hey, I loved several of these films, but it really is no contest – The Tree of Life – was the winner and should have been.