After a somnolent week in which it appeared that IFC Films was the only US distributor making deals at Cannes, Sony Pictures Classics sprang into action and snapped up two pictures, with a third possibly on the way. According to Anne Thompson of Variety, Sony Classics has acquired North American rights to the latest film by French filmmaking brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Lorna's Silence, as well as Norwegian director Bent Hamer's comedy/drama O'Horten, and are also in talks to pick up James Toback's documentary Tyson.

Cinematical's James Rocchi felt "in tune" with Lorna's Silence, which he says has provoked polarized reactions in Cannes; he concluded: "It's a strong film from strong filmmakers." The titular character is an Albanian woman living in Belgium who has entered into a marriage of convenience that turns out to be a complicated, life and death affair.

Bent Hamer made the delightful Kitchen Stories before tackling Factotum with Matt Dillon, an adaptation of a novel by Charles Bukowski . As I wrote last summer, O'Horten represents a return to the director's roots in Norway; the film follows a train engine driver (Bård Owe) who "realizes that his future is a voyage without printed timetables and well-known stops. Horten has become an old-age pensioner, and the platform is no longer a safe place to be," according to the director.

Tyson is reportedly a fascinating doc about the turbulent life and times of former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, the ear-biting, high pitch-voiced ex-husband of Robin Givens. Variety says a distribution deal is expected to close in the next few days.