"Anatomy of a Fall" wins big at the Césars
Sunday, February 25, 2024 at 4:02PM
NATHANIEL R in Anatomy of a Fall, Chris Nolan, César Awards, Four Daughters, France, Justine Triet, Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, The Animal Kingdom

by Nathaniel R

the great Juliette Binoche announcing Best Actress at the César Awards on Feb 23, 2024 in Paris

This has not been an awards season full of surprises. The expected winners just keep on winning whether we're talking awards bodies in the US, UK, or France. The 49th annual César Awards took place Friday in Paris with the expected winner, Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall, taking home six prizes. The nomination leader, Thomas Cailley's mutant adventure The Animal Kingdom also won multiple prizes with five statues in total... all for craft awards.  As expected the stupidly maligned but brilliant Oscar submission The Taste of Things was shut out from any wins after a paltry nomination showing.

The winners of each category and a few comments after the jump... 

BEST FILM

Courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall is the big winner in the above the line categories while the sci-fi adventure The Animal Kingdom dominated in the craft categories.  

BEST DIRECTOR
(stats from all categories) 

Justine Triet (Sybil, Age of Panic, Victoria) is a regular at the Césars and now she's finally a winner. 

BEST ACTRESS

 

It probably didn't sting too hard for these French actresses to see German movie star Sandra Hüller win -- they're all previous winners. 

 

BEST ACTOR

One has to wonder at this point how long Romain Duris is going to have to wait before he becomes a César winner. He's been a headliner in French cinema for over 25 years.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

All Your Faces, a drama about victims and preperators of violent crime in a restorative justice group hogged 80% of the Supporting Actress category but the votes didn't split; Adèle Exarchopoulos won her second César for her role. Her first was for her breakthrough picture, the internationally successful lesbian drama Blue is the Warmest Colour (2013). 

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Swann Arlaud in "Anatomy of a Fall"

Swann Arlaud is clearly a César favourite. He's won for 75% of his nominations.

 

MOST PROMISING ACTRESS

Ella Rumpf in "Marguerite's Theorem"

You might remember Ella Rumpf for the cannibalism drama Raw (2016) which made small waves several years ago. Now she's a César winner. 

MOST PROMISING ACTOR

This is the only acting category that Anatomy of a Fall lost. 15 year old Milo Machado Graner, the youngest  nominee here for his riveting performance as the blind son, lost to Quenard who had the advantage of two nominations and two popular films this season.

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Anatomy of a Fall seems likely to win this category at the Oscars, too, given its awards run. It's won the screenplay prize at the Globes, the Gothams, the Kansas City Film Critics Awards, The London Critics Circle Awards, the European Film Awards, the New York Film Critics Online, Michigan Movie Critics Guild Awards,  the International Cinephile Society Awards, the Lumiere Awards, The Dublin Film Critics Awards, the North Dakota Film Society, the BAFTAs,  and now the Césars.

 

 BEST ADAPTATION

"Just the Two of Us" scores Virginie Efira a fourth consecutive Best Actress nomination

Just the Two of Us, starring TFE favourite Virginie Efira, is a thriller about a toxic relationship.

BEST FIRST FEATURE FILM

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

 

BEST EDITING

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

BEST SOUND

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

BEST FOREIGN FILM

In something of a surprise the lowest profile contender (internationally speaking) won the prize. It's worth noting that it's the only one of these pictures that's in the native language of César voters. 

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM

Four Daughters is only the fifth film to be nominated for both the César and the Oscar in their parallel doc feature categories. None of these double-dippers have ever won the Oscar but this is the third to win* the César. The other double-dippers were The Salt of the Earth*, Fire At Sea, I Am Not Your Negro*, and Faces Places.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

The winning short is about a suicide letter posted to Reddit and the search for answers on the internet.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Chicken for Linda is a comedy about a mom who can't cook making dinner for her daughter. It lost the European Film Award in this category to the delightful Oscar nominated Robot Dreams but it triumphed at home. It was not submitted in Oscar's animated category this season. 

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

The winner is a short about a family having their annual picnic on an island when they get trapped by the tide.

BEST SHORT

The winner is a lesbian-themed romantic comedy  about a couple having their first child. 

HONORARY CÉSAR

Interestingly enough Oppenheimer didn't win the "Foreign Film" prize even though Christopher Nolan was being honored with the Honorary. We like it when awards bodies spread the wealth so this isn't a complaint. 

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