'American Splendor' takes prize

The story of a grumpy filing clerk, who achieved cult celebrity status in America by becoming a comic book writer, has scooped the Oscar favourites to win one of the most prestigious film awards.

American Splendor was voted best picture by the influential National Society of Film Critics - made up of 55 American reviewers - in a New York ceremony.

The film is based on the real-life story of Harvey Pekar, who worked as a clerk in a hospital and spent his spare time scouring thrift shops, poring over his huge collection of books and listening to jazz.

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King missed out in the awards, which were dominated by independent features, but it remains a firm favourite for the Oscars and Golden Globes.

Pekar, who appears in the film but is mostly represented by actor Paul Giamatti, first published his thoughts on American working-class culture in 1976. In the 80s his comic magazine American Splendor earned him cult fame.

The movie also won best screenplay at the society's 38th annual awards.

Another tale of American working-class life, Clint Eastwood's crime drama Mystic River was runner-up in the best picture category, with Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola's story of two Americans finding friendship in Japan, coming third.

Eastwood was named as best director, and Lost in Translation's Bill Murray was best actor.

Both Mystic River and Lost in Translation have a good chance of being among the nominations for best picture at next month's Oscars, but American Splendor is widely considered to be "too indie" for the conservative tastes of the judges.

The society voted Charlize Theron best actress for her performance in Monster.

Peter Sarsgaard was best supporting actor for Shattered Glass, and Patricia Clarkson took the best supporting actress prize for two films - The Station Agent and Pieces of April.

Director Aki Kaurismaki collected the award for best foreign language film award for The Man Without a Past.

Best non-fiction film was Nicolas Philibert's To Be and To Have.

The 55 critics gave two "film heritage" awards. One went to to Kino on Video for its DVD collections of the work of F.W. Murnau and Erich von Stronheim and the American Film Theater Series.

Milestone Film and Video won the other for its theatrical and DVD presentations of Michael Powell's The Edge of the World, E.A. Dupont's Picadilly, Andre Antoine's La Terre and Evgenei Bauer's Mad Love series.

- INDEPENDENT