“Amour” Big Winner at the Césars

At the 38th annual César Awards in Paris on Friday night, French cinema christened its most successful year ever with multiple awards for "Amour" and "Rust and Bone" on the eve of the Oscars

Michaeal Haneke’s “Amour” – a film that has managed to get under the radar of the American Academy and get nominated in five of the general Oscar categories even though it’s not in English – came away with all of the most coveted awards at a lively ceremony in Paris.

It was perhaps a mark of the strength in depth of the competition this year that two films with no fewer than 22 nominations between them (namely “Camille Redouble” by Noémie Lvovsky with 13 nominations and Leos Carax’ “Holy Motors” with 9) came away entirely empty-handed.

Young Guns: Izia Higelin and Matthias Schoenaerts with their Best Young Actors awards at Le Fouquets Restaurant

With no music and no special effects and punctuated only with the creaks of the parquet floor of a huge Parisian apartment, “Amour” lays bare the inexorable decline of an octogenarian couple: Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) becomes the victim of an episode that leaves her increasingly dependent on others while her husband Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) looks on helplessly but in love until the end.

The film won Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Actor awards. Veteran Austrian director Haneke was not on hand to receive his prize, however, having already already left for Los Angeles to be present at the Academy Awards in which he’s nominated.

Jean-Louis Trintignant wasn’t there either. The 82-year-old winner of the Best Actor prize was in Brussels and was reading poetry on stage at the very moment when his award was announced at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

Limiting his appearance to a telephone call via his son Vincent, the veteran of 130 films said in an interview with Belgian newspaper “Le Soir” that he wasn’t “one for awards. I think that there are two many prizes in general. That said, what do I care whether I win a César or not. I’m 82 and I don’t have any personal ambitions. As an actor, I never had any career plan or set goals” before adding that he saw the job of an actor as simply “making films, going on stage: just for the enjoyment of it.”

In her long red dress, a fragile Emmanuelle Riva – Trintignant’s co-star – confessed that she had “never conceived of the notion of receiving a prize” without sharing it “with the whole film crew”.

“I promise not to cry!” An emotional Kevin Costner cradles his prize.

“I find it difficult to stand here alone with this; it’s so precious,” said the actress who will celebrate her 86th birthday today in Hollywood where she is up for Best Actress Academy Award.

Jacques Audiard’s “Rust and Bone” – nominated nine times – was the other major winner at the ceremony with four Césars: Best Script Adaptation; Best Original Music; Best Young Actor (for remarkable Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts) and Best Editing.

American film “Argo” (a favourite for an Academy Award) won the Best Foreign Film award, while another prize went to America in the form of a César d’Honneur for veteran actor and director Kevin Costner, who emotionally expressed his “gratitude” to the French Film Industry for accepting him “as he is”.

“Bla Bla Bla…”: Jamel Debbouze waits for Margaret Menegoz’ acceptance speech to finish.

In keeping with film ceremonies these days, the whole thing was carried out with as much humour as possible. The compère for the night was actor/comedian Jamel Debbouze (who many Irish viewers will remember as the hapless greengrocer’s assistant in “Amélie”). He had some popular swipes at French cinema’s current bête noire and tax exile Gérard Depardieu, nominating him in his “government” as “Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism.”

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2013 César Awards

Best Actress
Emmanuelle Riva
in AMOUR
Best Actor
Jean-Louis Trintignant
in AMOUR
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Valérie Benguigui in LE PRÉNOM
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Guillaume de Tonquedec
in LE PRÉNOM
Best Young Actress
Izia Higelin
in MAUVAISE FILLE
Best Young Actor
Matthias Schoenaerts
in DE ROUILLE ET D’OS (RUST AND BONE)
Best Original Screenplay
Michael Haneke
for AMOUR
Best Adapted Screenplay
Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain
for DE ROUILLE ET D’OS
Best Original Music
Alexandre Desplat
for DE ROUILLE ET D’OS
Best Sound
Antoine Deflandre, Germain Boulay, Eric Tisserand
for CLOCLO
Best Cinematography
Romain Winding
for LES ADIEUX À LA REINE
Best Editing
Juliette Welfling
for DE ROUILLE ET D’OS
Best Costumes
Christian Gasc
for LES ADIEUX À LA REINE
Best Scenery
Katia Wyszkop
for LES ADIEUX À LA REINE
Best Director
Michael Haneke
for AMOUR
Best Short Film
LE CRI DU HOMARD
directed by Nicolas Guiot
by Fabrice réel-Cléach
Best Animated Film
ERNEST ET CÉLESTINE
directed by Benjamin Renner, Vincent Patar, Stéphane Aubier
produced by Didier Brunner, Henri Magalon
Best Documentary
LES INVISIBLES
directed by Sébastien Lifshitz
produced by Bruno Nahon
Best Foreign Film
ARGO
directed by Ben Affleck
distributors France WARNER BROS
Best First Film
LOUISE WIMMER
directed by Cyril Mennegun
produced by Bruno Nahon
Best Film
AMOUR
produced by Margaret Menegoz
directed by Michael Haneke
Honorary César
Kevin Costner