THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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VENICE, Italy - Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" has won the top award at the Venice Film Festival.

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Joel Ryan

Actor Mickey Rourke, and actor Todd Barry, left, arrive for the premiere of the movie "The Wrestler" at the 65th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Friday, Sept. 5, 2008.

The film awarded the Golden Lion on Saturday stars Mickey Rourke as a wrestler forced into retirement who strikes up a romance with an aging stripper played by Marisa Tomei.

Russia's Aleksey German won the award for best director for "Bumaznyj soldat (Paper Soldier)," a story set in the early days of the space program in the Soviet Union.

Italian Silvio Orlando was crowned best actor for his role in Pupi Avati's "Il Papa' di Giovanna," (Giovanna's Father), about a father's relationship with his troubled adult daughter.

France's Dominique Blanc won best actress for playing a jealousy-struck woman in "L'Autre (The Other One)," directed by Patrick Mario Bernard and Pierre Trividic.