The Count vs the Cartel Boss: The César nominations are here.

by Nathaniel R

Pierre Niney as "The Count of Monte Cristo" © Pathe

Since we've always loved French cinema, we follow along with the César Awards each year. Historical adventure The Count of Monte Cristo leads the pack with an astounding 14 nominations. Curiously the second most nominated film, Beating Hearts (13 nods) a romantic drama spanning 20 years, is NOT up for Best Film. It premiered at Cannes to some negative reviews before an October theatrical release. Among the nomination leaders the Oscar-bound trans cartel musical Emilia Pérez (12 nominations) came in third.

Let's look at the fields and discuss and jot down which films we'll have to watch out for in 2025 as they make their way across the ocean...

BEST FILM

• The Count of Monte Cristo
  This three hour long acclaimed adaptation of the oft-filmed classic novel by Alexandre Dumas has been a huge success at home and globally, raking in over $100 million to date. It opened in French cinemas in June 2024 and was up for the Oscar submission this year but France chose Pérez instead. [Available to rent on most platforms]
• Emilia Pérez
  Oft-discussed already. It opened in French cinemas in August 2024. [Streaming on Netflix]
• The Marching Band
  In what sounds like a melodrama an orchestra conductor with leukemiarealizes he is adopted and has a biological borther, who is a trombone player. We're not sure when it was released in France. 
• Souleymane's Story
  A drama about a Guinean immigrant (the titular character). Hit French theaters in October 2024.
• Misericordia
  A queer thriller from Alain Guiraudie (famous to Stateside cinephiles as the man behind Stranger by the Lake) about a man who conceals a killing and the man who provides him with an alibi. Hit French theaters in October 2024 and was a finalist for the Oscar submission this year, losing to Pérez. 

All five of the nominees premiered at Cannes where two of them (Emilia Pérez and Souleymane's Story) won prizes. We wonder if Emília Perez can still win in France. Different countries have much different reactions to scandals since racial tensions, scandal obsessiveness, tolerance for bad behavior, politics, sexual mores -- you name it -- vary considerably from country to country. 

BEST FOREIGN FILM

• Anora (US) - in theaters and rentable online
• The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany/Iran/France) - theatrical only still
• The Apprentice (Canada/Denmark/US/Ireland) - rentable online
• The Substance (UK/US/France) - streaming and rentable
• The Zone of Interest (UK/Poland/US) - streaming on Max and rentable

It's interesting that The Substance, which is viewed as such a French production here in the US, is considered Foreign at home in France though the writer/director and most of the crew are French. 

BEST FIRST FILM

• Ghost Trail - Jonathan Millet
  A drama about a Syrian man pursuing one of his torturers from Sednaya Prison (a military prison and death camp during the Syrian civil war
• Holy Cow - Louise Couvoisier
  A drama about a teenage boy in a rural town who is suddenly orphaned and must support his sister and find ways to make money. The cast is comprised of first-time actors. [US Release coming in late March, 2025]
• The Kingdom - Julien Colonna
  A drama about a teenager girl who is sucked into her father's dangerous criminal world.
• A Little Something Extra - Arthus
  A comedy about a father and son hiding at a summer camp for young adults with disabilities.
• Wild Diamond - Agathe Riedinger
  A coming of age drama about a young woman who is obsessed with social media.

BEST DIRECTOR
Statistics are from this category only

• The Count of Monte Cristo - Matthieu Delaporte & Alexandre de la Patellière (1st noms)
• Emilia Pérez - Jacques Audiard (8th nom / 3 wins)
• Souleymane's Story - Boris Lojkine (1st nom)
• Misericordia - Alain Guirardie (2nd nom)
• Beating Hearts - Gilles Lellouche (2nd nom)

Jacques Audiard, the only previous winner nominated, is a César favourite. He's won Best Director three times (The Beat That My Heart Skipped, 2005, A Prophet, 2009, and The Sisters Brothers, 2018) and received prizes in other categories as well since he writes, directs, and produces. His other Best Director nominations were for A Self Made Hero (1997), Read My Lips (2001), Rust and Bone (2012), and Dheepan (2015). It's so odd that with so many strong films under his belt --we can highly recommend Read My Lips, A Prophet, Rust and Bone, and The Beat That My Heart Skipped -- it is the mixed results of Emilia Pérez that finally clicked with the US film industry. 

BEST ACTRESS
Acting stats are for acting categories only at the Césars

• Karla Sofia Gascón (1st nom)- Emilia Pérez
• Zoe Saldaña (1st nom) - Emilia Pérez
• Hélène Vincent (5th nom /1 win) - When Fall is Coming
• Hafsia Herzi (3rd nom / 1 win)  - Borgo
• Adele Exarchopoulos (5th nom / 2 wins) - Beating Hearts

Finally an organization unwilling to play Emilia Pérez's category fraud game with its two leads. Congrats to Zoe for being the rare non-French actress to receive a César nomination. Even Demi Moore couldn't do it this year. 

The returning winners: Vincent won this category for Life is a Long Quiet River (1988); Herzi won Most Promising Actress for The Secret of the Grain (2007);. Adèle Exarchopoulous, the best known nominee stateside, won Most Promising Actress for the international hit erotic drama Blue is the Warmest Colour (2013) and then Best Supporting Actress for All Your Faces (2023).  

BEST ACTOR

• Pierre Niney (6th nom / 1 win)  - The Count of Monte Cristo
• Benjamin Lavernhe (5th nom) - The Marching Band
• Karim Leklou (3rd nom)  - Jim's Story
• François Civil (3rd nom) - Beating Hearts
• Tahar Rahim  (3rd nom / 2 wins) - Monsieur Aznavour

Monsieur Aznavour is a biopic about the legendary French Armenian singer/songwriter Charles Aznavour.

Niney previously won for Yves Saint Laurent (2014), one of two big YSL biopics in the mid 2010s -- the other starring the late Gaspard Ulliel, and Rahim won both of his prizes (Most Promising Actor and Best Actor) for the Oscar nominated prison drama A Prophet (2009). 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Anaïs Demoustier (6th nom / 1 win)- The Count of Monte Cristo
• Sarah Suco (1st nom) - The Marching Band
• Nina Meurisse (2nd nom) - Souleymane's Story
• Catherine Frot (11th nom / 2 wins) - Misericordia
• Éloudie Bouchez (5th nom / 2 wins) - Beating Hearts

Frot previously won Best Actress for Marguerite (2015) and best supporting Actress for Family Resemblances (1996). Demoustier previously won Best Actress for Alice and the Mayor (2019). Bouchez  was a rising star in 1990s US arthouses with her two early-career wins Wild Reeds (1994) and The Dreamlife of Angels (1998). The only newbie here, Suco, also writes and directs so she's not solely focused on acting work. 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Bastien Bouillon (2nd nom / 1 win) - The Count of Monte Cristo
• Laurent Lafitte (3rd nom) - The Count of Monte Cristo
• David Ayala (1st nom) - Misericordia
• Jacques Develay (1st nom) - Misericordia
• Alain Chabat (5th nom) - Beating Hearts

Bouillon won Most Promising Actor a couple of seasons ago. Laurent Lafitte, who hasn't yet won a César, is the most familiar face in the US because he co-starred in the controversial Isabelle Huppert sensation, Elle. 

BEST FEMALE REVELATION
They used to call these categories "Most Promising" but now they're called "revelation". Wouldn't it be interesting if Oscar had such categories? Would we see, as we do with the Césars that most of the nominees go on to regular category acting nominations? Or would it be one and done?  

• Maïwene Barthelemy - Holy Cow
• Malou Khebizi - Wild Diamond
• Megan Northam - Rabia
• Mallory Wanecque - Beating Hearts
• Souheila yacoub - Planet B

BEST MALE REVELATION

Felix Kysyl in MISERICORDIA

• Pierre Lottin - The Marching Band
• Abou Sangaré - Souleymane's Story
• Félix Kysyl - Misericordia
• Malik Frikah - Beating Hearts
• Adam Bessa -Ghost Trail

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• The Marching Band
• Souleymane's Story
• Misericordia
• Borgo
• Holy Cow

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• The Count of Monte Cristo
• Emilia Pérez
• The Most Precious of Cargoes

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• The Count of Monte Cristo
• Emilia Pérez
• Souleymane's Story
• Misericordia
• Beating Hearts

Paul Guilhaume is also nominated in the parallel Oscar category for his work on Emilia Pérez. This is his third César nomination after Adolesents (2020), and Paris 13th District (2021).

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• The Count of Monte Cristo
• Emilia Pérez
• Beating Hearts
• The Divine Sarah Bernhardt
• Monsieur Aznavour

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• The Count of Monte Cristo
• Emilia Pérez
• Beating Hearts
• The Divine Sarah Bernhardt
• Monsieur Aznavour

BEST EDITING

• The Count of Monte Cristo
• Emilia Pérez
• The Marching Band
• Souleymane's Story
• Beating Hearts

BEST SOUND

• The Count of Monte Cristo
• Emilia Pérez
• The Marching Band
• Souleymane's Story
• Beating Hearts

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC

• The Count of Monte Cristo
• Emilia Pérez
• Beating Hearts
• Holy Cow
• The Most Precious of Cargoes

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• The Beast [Streaming on Criterion]
• The Count of Monte Cristo
• Emilia Pérez
• Monsieur Aznavour

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• Flow
• The Most Precious of Cargoes
• Savages

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• The Belle from Gaza
• The Bertrand's Farm
• Bye Bye Tiberias
• Dahomey 
• Ernest Cole: Lost and Found
• Madame Hofmann

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

• Butterfly
• Gigi
• Yuck!

Yuck! is nominated for the Oscar this year. It's cute!

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

• Les Fiancées du Sud
• Little Spartacus
• A Lost Heart and Other Dreams of Beirut

HONORARY CÉSAR

• Julia Roberts
• Costa-Gavras

Comments

[Amy Camus]

Count of Monte Cristo is a terrific film. The fact that critics in America pretty much ignored it is disgraceful. It has the the sweep of a lavish epic, the kind that big studio films had in the golden era and still would have if they existed (sigh). Anyway, if it had been an English-language film, it would have been a major player at the Oscars, too. As it is, it is definitely in my Top 10 of the year, and I hope it will be discovered on the streaming networks.

[Fabio Dantas Flappers]

I bet "The Count of Monte Cristo" is so much better than "Emilia Pérez".

So "Beating Hearts" is the french version for "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?". 😂😂😂
(Laughing, but it's actually tragic.)

Nice to see lovely Adèle, so young, on her 5th nomination, and with 2 wins.

Also nice have Éloudie Bouchez nominated for the same movie.
When I was a kid, in 1990s, I watched "Wild Reeds" (on TV!) and I was extremely excited and fascinated.
Everything in the movie caught my attention, especially Frédéric Gorny. He was so cute, so handsome, so hot... 🔥🔥🔥