“Amour” Big Winner at the Césars

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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

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 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.

“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

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