"Custody" and "Sink or Swim" Lead the César Nods
Friday, January 25, 2019 at 5:30PM
NATHANIEL R in A Faithful Man, Benoît Debie, Custody, César Awards, Elodie Bouchez, Isabelle Adjani, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Lily-Rose Depp, Memoir of War, Romain Duris, Sink or Swim, The Sisters Brothers

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


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

The best director list is an exact match for picture so not much to report here.

 

BEST ACTOR

Denis Menochet in "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"

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

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

 

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"

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)

 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY


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

 

BEST EDITING

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

 

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Dilili in Paris

 

BEST DEBUT FEATURE

the gay hustler drama "Sauvage"

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

 

Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).
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