"Custody" and "Sink or Swim" Lead the César Nods
Friday, January 25, 2019 at 5:30PM by Nathaniel R
"Sink or Swim" leads the César nominations
Apologies that we're late in sharing the news of the César nominations! They arrive so hotly on the heels of the Oscar nominations that it's easy to miss them in the golden rush. This year, Custody (the critically beloved movie that France passed over for Oscar submission this year) and Sink or Swim lead the nominations with ten each but the English language western The Sisters Brothers, from reknowned French auteur Jacques Audiard is close behind with 9. It flopped hard in US theaters but it's reception in France is apparently much rosier. Famous people nominated include Isabelle Adjani, Adele Haenel, Audrey Tatou, and Johnny Depp offspring Lily Rose-Depp but fans of French cinema will recognize a lot more of the names than just those.
Nominations and commentary follow...
BEST PICTURE
- Memoir of War, dir: Emmanuel Finkiel
- The Trouble With You, dir: Pierre Salvadori
- The Sisters Brothers, dir: Jacques Audiard
- Sink or Swim, dir: Gilles Lellouche
- Guy, dir: Alex Lutz
- Custody, dir: Xavier Legrand
- In Safe Hands, dir: Jeanne Henry
Of these 7 nominees, only two were up for Oscar submission this year from France. They selected Memoirs of War which was a flop in US arthouses and passed over the more critically revered Custody (also a flop in US arthouses). Curiously though, Gaspar Noë's Climax (opening in the US in March) and a feature version of the Claude Lanzmann miniseries Shoah: Four Sisters , which were the other two Oscar submission finalists, received zero César nominations.
It might be worth keeping an eye on Sink or Swim for next year's Oscar submission battle. It was obviously a big favorite at the César's but missed the Oscar submission cut-off date last year, so it won't be eligible til next year if they feel like submitting it then. It's an all-star dadbods comedy about a group of middle aged men learning synchronized swimming.
BEST DIRECTOR
- EMMANUEL FINKIEL, Memoir of War
- PIERRE SALVADORI, The Trouble With You
- JACQUES AUDIARD, The Sisters Brothers
- GILLES LELLOUCHE, Sink or Swim
- ALEX LUTZ, Guy
- XAVIER LEGRAND, Custody
- JEANNE HERRY, In Safe Hands
The best director list is an exact match for picture so not much to report here.
BEST ACTOR
Denis Menochet in "Custody"
- EDOUARD BAER, Mademoiselle de Joncquieres
- ROMAIN DURIS, Our Struggles
- VINCENT LACOSTE, Amanda
- GILLES LELLOUCHE, In Safe Hands,
- ALEX LUTZ, Guy
- PIO MARMAÏ, The Trouble With You
- DENIS MÉNOCHET, Custody
This is the sixth nomination for hearththrob Romain Duris (of The Beat that My Heart Skipped fame), the fourth for Vincent Lacoste and Gilles Lelouche (of Tell No One fame), and the third for Pio Marmaï but none of them have ever won. The rest are first-timers.
BEST ACTRESS
Elodie Bouchez stars in the adoption drama "In Safe Hands"
- ÉLODIE BOUCHEZ, In Safe Hands
- CÉCILE DE FRANCE, Mademoiselle de Joncquieres
- LÉA DRUCKER, Custody
- VIRGINIE EFIRA, An Impossible Love
- ADÈLE HAENEL, The Trouble With You
- SANDRINE KIBERLAIN, In Safe Hands
- MÉLANIE THIERRY,Memoir of War
Fans of 1990s French cinema will be excited to see Elodie Bouchez (Wild Reeds, and The Dreamlife of Angels) back in the mix. She won the César both previous times she was nominated, those same international 1990s hits.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- JEAN-HUGUES ANGLADE, Sink or Swim
- DAMIEN BONNARD, The Trouble With You
- CLOVIS CORNILLAC, Little Tickles
- PHILIPPE KATERINE, Sink or Swim
- DENIS PODALYDÈS, Sorry Angel
True story: Jean-Hugues Anglade was my very first foreign crush growing up as a baby cinephile after I rented the very racy and Oscar-nominated Betty Blue on VHS (hidden from parents of course!). He's actually what led to our awards being called The Film Bitch Awards because in the mid '90s my college roomate and I chanced upon La Femme Nikita (1990) somehow (neither of us had seen it but we knew the American remake starring Bridget Fonda) and when the credits started I squealed out "Jean-Hugues Anglade?!? I LOVE him!" and my roommate, who had no idea what I was talking about, rolls his eyes, "You're such a film bitch."
In other supporting actor news this is the only nomination for Christophe Honore's queer film Sorry Angel. We've already reviewed it here and it's supposedly hitting US theaters this year.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- ISABELLE ADJANI, The World is Yours
- LEÏLA BEKHTI, Sink or Swim
- VIRGINIE EFIRA, Sink or Swim
- AUDREY TAUTOU, The Trouble With You
- KARIN VIARD, Little Tickles
As a reminder you can watch Isabelle Adjani's new picture The World is Yours on Netflix! The Césars once worshipped her but she's worked much less frequently since her last true international hit Queen Margot (1994) twenty-five years ago.This is her 9th nomination overall and her first for supporting actress. She's won Best Actress five times: Possession (1981), One Deadly Summer (1983), Camille Claudel (1988, for which she was also Oscar-nominated), Queen Margot (1994), and Skirt Day (2009). Curiously she lost the César for The Story of Adele H (1975), the film that put her on the map all over the world with César and Oscar nominations, and NBR, NYFCC, and NSFC awards for Best Actress.
BEST NEWCOMER (FEMALE)
Louis Garrel and Lily Rose-Depp in "A Faithful Man"
- OPHÉLIE BAU, Mektoub My Love: Canto Uno
- GALATEA BELLUGI, The Apparition
- JEHNNY BETH, An Impossible Love
- LILY-ROSE DEPP, A Faithful Man
- KENZA FORTAS, Shéhérazade
A bit dumbfounded that this is the only nomination for A Faithful Man, which is an altogether charming and very French romantic comedy starring Louis Garrel as a man who has never stopped pining for his ex-girlfriend. But Depp is quite memorable in it as an obsessive young woman who has had a crush on him since her childhood and sees a new window of opportunity.
BEST NEWCOMER (MALE)
- ANTHONY BAJON, The Prayer
- THOMAS GIORIA, Custody
- WILLIAM LEBGHIL, The Freshman
- KARIM LEKLOU, The World is Yours
- DYLAN ROBERT, Shéhérazade
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- ALEXIS KAVYRCHINE, Memoir of War
- BENOÎT DEBIE, The Sisters Brothers
- LAURENT TANGY, Sink or Swim
- NATHALIE DURAND, Custody
- LAURENT DESMET, Mademoiselle de Joncquieres
Benoît Debie is so brilliant. His credits include Spring Breakers, Enter the Void, The Runaways, Irreversible, Rihanna's "Bitch Better Have My Money" video, and many more. He's never been Oscar-nominated which is annoying.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- Little Tickles
- Memoir of War
- The Sisters Brothers
- Mademoiselle de Joncquieres
- An Impossible Love
BEST EDITING
- Little Tickles
- The Trouble With You
- The Sisters Brothers
- Sink or Swim
- Custody
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- The Trouble With You
- Sink or Swim
- Guy
- Custody
- In Safe Hands
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Dilili in Paris
- Astérix - The Secret of the Magic Potion
- Dilili in Paris
- Pachamama
BEST DEBUT FEATURE
the gay hustler drama "Sauvage"
- L’Amour Flou, dirs: ROMANE BOHRINGER, PHILIPPE REBBOT
- Little Tickles, dirs: ANDRÉA BESCOND, ERIC MÉTAYER
- Custody, dir: XAVIER LEGRAND
- Sauvage, dir: CAMILLE VIDAL-NAQUET
- Shéhérazade, dir: JEAN-BERNARD MARLIN
We don't know much about this crop besides Custody and Sauvage, both of which got people talking at festivals, albeit for different reasons.
BEST DOCUMENTARY
- America
- De Chaque Instant
- Le Grand Bal
- So Help Me God
- The State Against Mandela and the Others
Reader Comments (21)
Isabelle Adjani is brilliant in THE WORLD IS YOURS. An overall fine film, one you wish was all about her character. She’s my Supporting Actress runnerup.
Thrilled to see Isabelle Adjani nominated. She's a truly brilliant actress, and while I'm usually of the "spread the wealth" mentality when it comes to awards, I'd love to see her win César #6.
And thank you for using that still from 'Sink or Swin' to kick off this post--dad bod is my favorite male body type, tbh.
“when the credits started I squealed out ‘Jean-Hugues Anglade?!? I LOVE him!’ and my roommate, who had no idea what I was talking about, rolls his eyes, ‘You're such a film bitch’.”
Love this story so much!
Custody remains my Favourite not English speak film of the year. Would be a dream to see him and
Shoplifters
Capernaum
Burning
Birds of Passage
As the nominees! But the love for ROMA is ou$tanding and difficult to compare.
If Custody was France selection this year, Never Look Away wasn't nominated.
Anglade had a series of lovely frontals in Betty Blue. Yes, you're a bitch!
Why, hello there, French Bears!
I still don't understand how Custody barely made a blip with top 10 lists. It's an incredible film - the most gruelingly intense experience I had in a theatre since A Separation.
Thanks for the tip re Adjani on Netflix - I haven't seen her in a new movie in so long, I'm beyond buzzed.
I get a nostalgic thrill out of seeing a name that meant so much to my cine-childhood - Elodie Bouchez - alongside artists I've grown obsessed with only recently - Adele Haenel, Sandrine Kiberlain.
And I also loved the Anglade story.
Custody was probably better than every Oscar nominated film except The Favourite.
Anglade's bush in Betty Blue is thicker than my eyebrows.
Nathaniel: Thanks for this Césars post, which turned surprisingly but wondrously into a Film Bitch origin story!
This is Adjani's 9th nomination overall and she is now the 8th most nominated actress in Césars history, tied with Dominique Blanc.
No Adjani is the fifth most nominated actress now along with Blanc. Nathalie Baye,Catherine Frot, Miou-Miou, Juliette Binoche are tied for fourth with 10 noms each.
Oh! CUSTODY... I loved the Oscar-nominated short of Xavier Legrand’s. It should have won. I will try to check that one out if I can.
Adjani didn't win for Adele H because, believe me, there was an even better performance, by Romy Schneider in That Most Important Thing: Love. Almodóvar dedicated All About My Mother to Schneider in the final credits (along with Bette Davis and Gena Rowlands) because of this movie.
joy: If there are four actresses tied at fourth place, that would make Adjani the eighth most nominated actress, as there are seven with more nominations than her.
Love the film bitch origin story !!
I think my equivalent is a Canadian tv network used to play arthouse cinema late at night and I caught Antonio Banderas in gay Almodovar.
Wasn't there another film about middle age men taking up swimming?
Joseph -- i was also an early adopter of Banderas. I was already in love when Madonna's Truth or Dare came out so i totally related xo
Adjani playing a unconventional muslim woman (to say the least) who sports a burkini on the beach is priceless. I must say, however, Félix Maritaud (BPM, Knife + Heart) not getting a nomination for Sauvage is really baffling!
@Zachary Q
I saw the Canadian film Jesus of Montreal back to back with Betty Blue because they were both Oscar nominated that year, and, yes, the bush on Lothaire Bluteau & Jean-Hugues Anglade would make a nice set of eyes. What ever happened to pubic hair?
le film avance de passe sordide en méfaits de proxénète mais pourtant