Haneke's 'White Ribbon' takes top prize at Cannes

May 24, 2009

Austrian Michael Haneke's "The White Ribbon," a chilling study of malice in a German village on the eve of World War I, scooped the Palme d'Or top prize at the Cannes film festival Sunday. Haneke beat off strong competition from a score of films by heavyweights such as Quentin Tarantino and Jane Campion to walk away with the award at the end of the world's top cinema showcase. The Austrian's previous films include "The Piano Teacher," "Code Unknown" and "Hidden," which have surgically probed the sick underbelly of the modern middle classes