In a recent interview, Tilda Swinton, recalling her time on the Cannes jury in 2004 — led by Quentin Tarantino and responsible for the controversial decision to award the Palme d’Or to “Fahrenheit 9/11” — was asked about the choice more than 20 years later.
Many believed, and it has only become more apparent over the years, that honoring Michael Moore’s documentary was a politically motivated move. Swinton confirmed that was indeed the case.
“I’m very proud of that prize,” Swinton tells Vulture. “I was a very vocal advocate of that film getting the Palme d’Or. For a very specific reason, which was a political reason. Not necessarily party political, but my argument was, at that time, Michael Moore was making extremely important statements that were not admissible in any other medium. He wasn’t able to speak on the radio or on TV. He chose cinema to make the statements and to open up the territory that he wanted us to look at. It was cinema that came to his aid. For this reason, and I believe cinema is political, this was a political choice. It was cinema as a haven, as a refuge, a space where we all meet safely in order to have our lives changed. And to develop our own thinking. And that’s why I was very proud of that prize. I stand by it.”
This was the same year Park Chan-wook’s “Oldboy” screened in competition, with the Tarantino-led jury ultimately awarding it the Grand Prix (second place). Rumors have long suggested Tarantino himself wanted to give Park the Palme d’Or.
Stories of the jury deliberating for hours over whether to honor Park or Moore have since become part of Cannes lore. A THR piece marking the 20th anniversary of “Oldboy” confirmed what many already suspected: Tarantino fell madly in love with the film.
Members of Park’s team say they spotted Tarantino in the crowd at no fewer than three separate screenings of “Oldboy” during Cannes, including the international premiere. (Swinton, also on the jury that year, jokingly warned Park to watch out because Tarantino would probably “steal a lot” from Oldboy.)
That year’s jury clearly made the wrong decision. “Fahrenheit 9/11” felt like a spur-of-the-moment winner, a way for the jury to unite around a political statement against the Iraq War. Has the film aged well? Who knows. I haven’t had much desire to revisit it in the two decades since.
Meanwhile, “Oldboy” has more than stood the test of time. Its manic energy and feverish violence have been imitated countless times, but never truly replicated. Choi Min-sik’s performance remains astonishing, and the film still features one of the greatest twist endings I’ve ever seen.