Cannes International Film Festival 2000

REVOLUTION ON THE CROISETTE Scandinavia was a clear winner at Cannes 2000. But the revolution on the Croisette took place elsewhere. After Lars von Trier's remarkable run of five previous entries (four times competing) in the Official Program -- to wit: Element of Crime (1984), Epidemic (1987) (selected for the Certain Regard), Europa (1991), Breaking the Waves (1996) (runner-up Grand Jury Prize), and Idiots (1998) -- the Danish director finally received the Golden Palm he so well deserved for Dancer in the Dark. Arguably he should have won it back in 1996 for Breaking the Waves and certainly he was the talk of the 1998 festival for proclaiming the merits of "Dogma Manifesto" to all and sundry who would listen to this magnificent ploy. No matter, this time Dancer in the Dark was the clear favourite from the very moment the film packed the Salle Lumière for the 8:30..