Not Every Cannes Winner Becomes a Classic – These 5 Overlooked Gems Prove It, Ranked by IMDb

These days, Palme d'Or winners are almost always included on lists of the year's best films. They often participate in awards season, competing for Oscars and sometimes winning them – unfortunately, this hasn't always been the case.

Throughout the long history of the Cannes Film Festival, the top prizes have often been awarded to movies that have since disappeared from the public consciousness.

5. 'Under the Sun of Satan', 1987

IMDb Score: 6.7/10

A young Catholic priest named Donissan is plagued by doubts about his faith, a crisis he must navigate in a remote rural parish. Meanwhile, Mouchette, a local 16-year-old girl, kills her lover in a fit of rage and unsuccessfully attempts to evade justice.

One day, Donissan encounters Satan himself but resists the devil's temptations. Conversely, the priest is now convinced that he must save Mouchette – or at least her soul – at any cost.

4. 'Chronicle of the Years of Fire', 1975

IMDb Score: 7.3/10

Algeria, 1940s. A terrible drought destroys peasant Ahmed's home, and the French authorities mercilessly rob his family. Ahmed witnesses the forced labor of his neighbors, the colonial state's cynical promises, and brutal reprisals against protesters.

The peace-loving man becomes a key figure in the underground resistance and takes up arms.

Despite the epic scale of the story, the authors maintain a human perspective. Behind the gunfire and revolutionary slogans are living people who are exhausted and for whom national self-determination is a matter of survival.

3. 'Marty', 1955

IMDb Score: 7.6/10

Marty is a 34-year-old butcher from the Bronx who lives with his overbearing mother. His family constantly nags him about getting married. Marty realizes this himself – he just convinced himself long ago that no one wants him.

Everything changes after he has a chance encounter with Clara, a shy teacher who is equally lonely and insecure, at a dance.

Marty is a rare case of a movie that won both the Palme d'Or and the Oscar for Best Picture but then almost vanished from public memory.

2. 'Eternity and a Day', 1998

IMDb Score: 7.8/10

An elderly Greek poet named Alexandre receives a fatal diagnosis from his doctors. Before going to the hospital, he decides to find a new home for his beloved dog.

His attempts to find a new owner lead him on a journey through his hometown and places of memory. He wants to reach the family home that his daughter sold without warning.

Eternity and a Day is the most popular movie by the Greek filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos. It is the finest entry point into Angelopoulos's body of work – it features his signature long takes and meditative rhythm, yet the film is emotionally charged and dynamic.

1. 'The Tree of Wooden Clogs', 1978

IMDb Score: 7.8/10

Lombardy, late 19th century. Several peasant families live and work on the same farm. Among them is a peasant named Batisti who decides to send his son to school one day, even though it is located several miles away.

When the boy's shoes break, Batisti takes a desperate step: he secretly chops down the owner's tree to make new shoes for his son.

The sparse plot and slow pace may turn off some viewers, but fans of humanistic cinema will certainly appreciate this honest masterpiece about people who work tirelessly and find solace only in their close-knit community.