CANNES, France -- A Japanese film showing the 'universal' love between parents and children won the coveted Golden Palm award at the 36th International Cannes Film Festival, where U.S. entries fared poorly.
At a gala ceremony Thursday, actor-director Orson Welles presented Japanese actress Sumiko Sakamoto with the grand prize for the film 'Narayama-Bushi-Ko' -- The Ballad of Narayama.
She accepted the award on behalf of director Shohei Imamura, 57, one of Japan's most illustrious filmmakers. He did not attend the festival because he thought his work was 'too Japanese for the Westerners to understand.'
In Tokyo, at a hastily called news conference after receiving the good news, Imamura said, 'This is totally unexpected ... Perhaps the theme of the love between parents and children is universal throughout the world.'
Imamura's film, written by Shichiro Fukazawa, tells of an isolated village in old Japan where the elderly must go away to die on Narayama mountain at age 70, leaving scarce food to the young.
The film's producer, Goro Kusakabe, said: 'This film points out a problem all over the world -- old people have been rejected by the young and parents are being rejected by their children.'
The jury, headed by U.S. author William Styron, named Italy's Gian-Maria Volonte best actor for his role in 'The Death of Mario Ricci,' made by Swiss director Claude Goretta.
West Germany's Hanna Schygulla won the best actress award for her role in the Italian entry, 'Storia de Piera,' (Story of Piera) made by Marco Ferreri.
Except for a short subject award, which the U.S. film 'Too Much Oregano' shared with 'The Only Forgotten Take of Casablanca' from West Germany, the United States was noticeably absent from the winners' list.
The Grand Prix for creative cinema was awarded jointly to French director Robert Bresson for 'L'Argent' (Money) and to Soviet director Andrei Tarkovski, whose film 'Nostalgia' was entered by Italy where it was filmed and produced.
The special jury prize went to the zany British entry: 'Monty Python's the Meaning of Life,' directed by Terry Jones.
One of the most admired films, Spain's 'Carmen,' directed by Carlos Saura, won the prize for the best artistic contribution and a special award from the French Cinema Superior Technical Committee.
