Cannes Film Festival

CANNES, France, May 24 (UPI) -- A supernatural Thai film was awarded the Palme d'Or, the highest prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

"Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives," directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, tells of a dying man who is visited by several spiritual beings. The Telegraph's review referred to it as "more a floating world" than film.

Its other-worldly aspects drew a wide range of comments from reviewers, some of whom suggested "Uncle Boonmee" would catch the eye of Cannes jury leader Tim Burton, whose own films are often well off the conventional story-telling path.

"Uncle Boonmee" is a study of animism and reincarnation. The New York Times suggested viewers "shake loose all your preconceived ideas about how and why movies make meaning and just plunge in" when seeing "Uncle Boonmee."

Cannes' Grand Prix was given to Xavier Beauvois's "Of Gods and Men" while the Jury Prize was won by "A Screaming Man," which was directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun.

Javier Bardem ("Biutiful") and Elio Germano ("Our Life") shared Best Actor honors and Juliette Binoche ("Certified Copy") was selected Best Actress. The Best Director honor went to Mathieu Amalric for "On Tour."