CANNES: The Cannes film festival ended with a popular winner in Austrian director Michael Haneke, but the starkest image at the world's biggest cinema showcase may be Lars von Trier's searing Antichrist. Haneke's The White Ribbon was awarded the coveted Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at the closing ceremony late on Sunday, and the jury praised the 67-year-old for his understated, subtle examination of the roots of Nazi terror.

Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper yesterday called the film "the most anomalous, profound and alarming of the festival", while France's Le Figaro described it as "superb".

Shot in black-and-white, and set in a north German village on the eve of World War I, The White Ribbon explores how an oppressive upbringing can shape the way children act and think.