South Korean director Park Chan-wook's film "Old Boy" received the second-highest award at France's Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

The movie, which attracted a total 3.3 million viewers at home, is a blood-soaked thriller about a man out for revenge after 15 years of inexplicable imprisonment. The Grand Prix award was presented by U.S. actors Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd.

"Violence has a visual appeal, beautiful movements and certain pleasurable aspect," Park told a post-press conference.

"But violence is awful, so I really try to explain why it has come about and to show its aftermath, what it leads to, because the changes that occur as a result of violence are very important," he said.

Asked by a journalist about the mixed canvas his film, he said, "With the advent of the DVD and other digital supports, the possibility to watch a film more than once exists. And I made this film with the intention that people would watch it again and discover new elements each time."

The picture features a memorable fight scene in which the camera pans down a long corridor in a single take as principal character Oh Dae-soo, played by veteran actor Choi Min-sik, mows down 20 thugs using just a hammer and his bare fists.

Meanwhile U.S. leftist director Michael Moore won the festival's highest honor of Palme d'Or for his controversial flick "Fahrenheit 9/11" that criticizes the Bush administration for invading Iraq.

Six out of 19 films in the festival's competition category are Asian films, among which many had won honors.