SHORT TAKES : ‘Music Box’ Wins Golden Bear

The U.S. film “Music Box,” starring Jessica Lange as an attorney who defends her father against charges of war crimes, won a Golden Bear--the top award--as the 40th Berlin film festival came to a close Tuesday.

“Music Box,” directed by Costa-Gavras, shared its Golden Bear with a 1969 Czech work titled “Skylarks on the String.” The latter film, which criticizes the former Communist state, was banned by authorities there for 20 years.

Another Golden Bear went as a special anniversary prize to American director Oliver Stone for his film “Born on the Fourth of July,” starring Tom Cruise as a paraplegic Vietnam War veteran who becomes a champion of the anti-war movement.

A short animated film from Italy called “Mistertao” won the third and final Golden Bear awarded this year.

Seven Silver Bears were presented in various categories, including one to American actor Morgan Freeman and actress Jessica Tandy for the best joint performance in Bruce Beresford’s “Driving Miss Daisy.”