The historical film “Lost Illusions” about press power becomes the best film, Cate Blanchett receives the honorary trophy and Xavier Dolan bursts into tears. Rarely has a César Film Award gala been so moving.
Tears of joy – and of sadness: There were plenty of both at this year’s award of the coveted French César Film Awards.
Xavier Giannoli’s Balzac adaptation “Lost Illusions” triumphed as best film. The gala was characterized by moving scenes between Cate Blanchett and Isabelle Huppert and an emotional homage by French-Canadian director Xavier Dolan to the deceased actor Gaspard Ulliel.
Giannoli’s “Lost Illusions” was honored with a total of seven awards. The film is based on the novel of the same name by the French writer Honoré de Balzac and is about a provincial poet who discovers the influence of the press in Paris. The drama by the 49-year-old director (“Madame Marguerite or the Art of Wrong Tones”) received the awards for best costume design and best camera at the 47th César Gala on Friday evening, in addition to the prize for the best adapted screenplay.
The rock opera “Annette” by Leos Carax went home with five awards, including best director. The music for the surrealistic melodrama about an unhappy love affair comes from the American duo Sparks, who received the award for the best original music. The old master’s film, in which Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard play the leading roles, has already received the award for best director at Cannes.
Valérie Lemercier won the Best Actress award for her role in «Aline», a fictional documentary about Celine Dion. Benoît Magimel was named best actor for his performance in the cancer film “Let In Love” with Catherine Deneuve.
The César for best foreign film went to the dementia drama “The Father” by French film director Florian Zeller, in which Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman play the leading roles. The Australian-American actress Cate Blanchett received the honorary César. The award was presented to the 52-year-old by Isabelle Huppert, who is a friend of hers. In a moving speech, Huppert paid tribute to Blanchett as a person and as a star.
Blanchett has appeared in many major film productions, including Martin Scorsese’s “Aviator.” In 2014, she received the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in the Woody Allen film “Blue Jasmine”.
There were also tears in the homage to film legend Jean-Paul Belmondo, who died in 2021, and to actor Gaspard Ulliel, who died in a skiing accident. French-Canadian director, actor and friend Xavier Dolan tearfully read a text he had written to commemorate the 37-year-old, who died in mid-January. Dolan had made the film “Simply the End of the World” (2016) with Ulliel.
The César, named after the sculptor César Baldaccini, has been awarded since 1976. (dpa)