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...

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Benoît Magimel Turns 50

by Eric Blume

A young Magimel in Benoît Jacquot's A SINGLE GIRL (1995).

This weekend, we’re celebrating one of French cinema’s greatest actors, Benoît Magimel, who turns 50 today. 

Magimel exploded upon the industry in the mid 1990s, making a string of pictures right after his 21^st birthday that involved collaborations with several big names.  Benoît Jacquot used his broad, handsome face and hooded eyes to great effect in 1995’s A Single Girl opposite Virginie Ledoyen.  The two actors have a truthful, easy spark between them that’s quintessential French post-teen.  The next year, he was featured in the excellent Thieves, by then-huge director André Téchiné, alongside two of the country’s finest, Daniel Auteuil and Catherine Deneuve...

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"Anatomy of a Fall" wins big at the Césars

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... 

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Will "Anatomy of a Fall" sweep the Césars?

by Nathaniel R

a snapshot from "Anatomy of a Fall"

The nominations for the 49th annual César Awards came out nearly simultaneously to the Oscar nominations so we accidentally missed them. Je suis désolé. As you would surely expect, Justine Triet's Oscar nominated Anatomy of a Fall is also a big deal across the pond. But it didn't top the nominations. That honor went to Thomas Cailley's mutant adventure The Animal Kingdom. Perhaps the biggest surprise / disconnect for those of us viewing from overseas is that France's unfortunately not-nominated Oscar submission The Taste of Things shows up in only two craft categories; if it wasn't well-loved at home, why did they submit it? But also: why didn't they love it? It's exquisite.

The ceremony will be held on February 23rd this year in Paris. The nominations, some trivia, and a few comments are after the jump...

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Review: "Madeleine Collins" confirms this is Virginie Efira's Year

by Cláudio Alves

Belgian-born French actress Virginie Efira has been on an upward path since around 2016, when she supported Isabelle Huppert in the Oscar-nominated Elle and dazzled as the titular lawyer in Justine Triet's Victoria. The latter part earned the thespian her first César nomination, followed by citations for Sink or Swim, An Impossible Love, Bye Bye Morons, Benedetta, and, finally, a victory thanks to Revoir Paris. And yet, beyond the Francoshpere, Efira is probably best known for Verhoeven's mad nun and little else. That's going to change fast. After 2023, there's no stopping her rise to international stardom. 

This week, American cinemas welcomed Madeleine Collins, Efira's third release of the year, following career-best work in Other People's Children and Revoir Paris. Just the Two of Us and All to Play For are still awaiting distribution making for a titanic body of recent work. In a just world, this next awards season would see Virginie Efira on critics' ballots everywhere.

For all that Madeleine Collins is the Virginie Efira show, the film begins without her...

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