Quelle coïncidence! I don't usually turn on the television on the weekends, but since I had been sitting grading papers all afternoon, I decided to accompany my dinner with a little small screen entertainment. As luck would have it, I happened to switch on the set 10 seconds before the closing ceremonies were to begin. It's true that I am relatively easily moved to tears, but the scene was absolutely magnificent. The hall where the prizes would be distributed resembled that of the Hollywood Oscars, but the atmosphere was completely different. Firstly, Mélanie Laurent, the maîtresse de cérémonie was absolutely superb, both in her physical presence and in her approach to the presentation. Secondly, Robert Deniro, the president of the jury received a standing ovation and did his best to produce as much French as he could in his introduction of the other members of the jury. His effort was clearly appreciated and his humility was astounding.
The entire award presentation lasted a mere hour, and all of the recepients seemed sincerely humbled by the honor of receiving their respective palme or caméra d'or. It was truly a nice touch to see all of the members of the jury sitting on stage and seemingly assuming responsability for their choices rather than having the winners thanking an elusive "academy". The weeklong festival is certainly a great spectacle and perhaps overly extravagant at times. Nonetheless, the beauty of the setting as revealed on the evening news and in photographs as well as the sober glamour of the closing ceremony made the festival feel more like the celebration of great art rather than simply an overly extravagant display of great means.
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