"The Square," Joaquin Phoenix, Diane Kruger take top prizes at Cannes
"The Square," a surreal mix of mystery and satire about a museum curator whose life unravels after his cellphone is stolen, was awarded top prize, the Palme d'Or, at the Cannes Film Festival.
The film by Ruben Östlund, director of the 2014 Golden Globe-nominee "Force Majeure," stars Elisabeth Moss ("The Handmaid's Tale") and Dominic West ("The Affair").
"Oh my God! OK," the Swedish filmmaker exclaimed after he bounded onto the stage to collect the prize.
"The Square" beat out 25 other features for the festival's top award.
Acting honors went to Diane Kruger and Joaquin Phoenix, while Sofia Coppola earned the Best Director award.
The winners were announced on Sunday, the final day of the festival.
Phoenix was recognized for his role in Lynne Ramsay's thriller "You Were Never Really Here," playing a tormented war veteran trying to save a teenage girl from a sex trafficking ring.
Phoenix wore sneakers on stage as he collected the prize. He apologized for his appearance, saying the award was "totally unexpected" -- his leather shoes had been flown ahead of him.
Kruger was honored for her performance in Fatih Akin's "In the Fade." She told the star-studded audience she was "overcome" by the honor. "Thank you a thousand times," she said.
Coppola won for directing "The Beguiled," her remake of Don Siegel's 1971 Civil War drama, starring Colin Farrell, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman.
The jury also presented a special prize to Kidman to celebrate the festival's 70th anniversary. The actress, who wasn't at the French Rivera ceremony, sent a video message from Nashville, saying she was "absolutely devastated" to miss the show. Meanwhile, jury member Will Smith accepted the award for her, crying in her stead. "Merci beaucoup madames et monsieurs!" Smith said, choking back tears.
The French AIDS drama "120 Beats Per Minute" won the Grand Prize from the jury. The Grand Prize recognizes a strong film that missed out on the top prize.
Two-time Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain said she and other members of the jury led by Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar wrestled Sunday with "a very difficult choice."
The actress told broadcaster Canal Plus, "We saw beautiful films."
Smith was bubbly as ever, saying: "I'm ecstatic. This has been a beautiful experience."
Almodóvar told a French BFM television reporter who managed to squeeze a few words out of him that the award deliberations Sunday were "very fast."
The jury awarded two screenplay awards this year, for "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" and "You Were Never Really Here."
The jury prize went to Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev's "Loveless."
The Golden Camera prize to Leonor Serraille for her French movie "Young Woman."
The award for short films went to the 15-minute-long Chinese movie "A Gentle Night" by Qiu Yang.
The ceremony was hosted by Italian actress Monica Bellucci. In her opening speech, she defended the role of violence in movies, saying they only reflect the violence of the real world.
"Cinema takes its inspiration from reality," she said. "Nothing is more violent than reality. Cinema only plays its role as a mirror."
Bellucci also spoke out about the representation of women in the world of cinema. Three female filmmakers had movies among the main competition.
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