Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler," which set the Venice Lido abuzz after its world premiere Friday, won the festival's top prize Saturday.

Mickey Rourke, considered by many a favorite for the festival's best actor prize for his interpretation of an aging pro wrestler struggling to come to terms with the end of his career. The film, which may have sealed Rourke's acting comeback, had been a dark horse for the overall Golden Lion prize, however.

"Darren Aronofsky came here a couple of years ago and fell on his ass," Rourke told a packed Sala Grande crowd after the award was announced, referring to Aronofsky's "The Fountain," which flopped in Venice in 2006. "I'm glad he had the balls to come back. I don't think he wanted to come back but I told him, "You have to come back' and he did."

Russia's Aleksey German Jr. won Venice's Silver Lion, the best director award, for "Bumaznyj soldat" (Paper soldier), a Russian-made drama set in the period just after the birth of the Soviet space program.

Italy's Silvio Orlando won the best actor award for his role as a father dealing with a troublesome daughter in Pupi Avati's "Il Papa di Giovanna" (Giovanna's Father), while French actress Dominique Blanc won the best actress honor for her portrayal of a jealous girlfriend in Pierre Trividic and Partick Mario Bernard's "L'Autre" (The Other One).

The 65th edition of the Venice festival, the unofficial start to the following year's Oscars, was criticized this year for a relative lack of high-profile films and stars. But the criticisms seemed forgotten as the prizes where handed out Saturday.