Cannes Film Festival: 20 Best Palme D'Or Winners Ever

All Palme d'Or winners are character-driven works, really, brought to life by frank and challenging scripts and actors willing to give their all to create the best movie possible.

Few films better exemplify this than 1955's future Best Picture winner Marty, a sweet and honest romantic drama which stars Ernest Borgnine as Marty Piletti, a hopeless romantic who finds his one shot at true love jeopardised by his family's selfish intervention.

Markedly simple compared to other, more extravagant award darlings before and since its release, Marty is one of those rare slice-of-life dramas that has a universal, timeless appeal. At turns funny, sad and ultimately hopeful, it's a joyous film with a lovable relatability which makes it feel almost magical by the time Borgnine mutters its classic final line.

Other films have played with genre and tone with more gusto, but few Palme d'Or winners have been as outright lovely as Marty.