Zazie d'Or 2015

Dear Readers,
Yes, I know, this is the moment of the year you are all waiting for.
And I am aware that you don't give a damn about Oscars, Golden Globes, Golden Lions, Golden Palms, Golden Bears, BAFTAs and Césars when you can have the most important and most fabulous award of all: the ZAZIE D’OR! 
And here they are, the lucky ones...

The LITTLE ZAZIE D’OR (Best First Feature Film Prize) goes to 
VINCENT N'A PAS D'ECAILLES by Thomas Salvador (France)
If you think super-heroes are coming just from the US, well, you need to change your mind because France has his super-heroe too, and he is the funniest and the sweetest one you can ever imagine: Vincent. This was the most cheerful film of the whole year. 
Zazie can't wait to see the next adventures in cinema of Monsieur Salvador!

The Zazie d'Or for BEST DOCUMENTARY goes to
AMY by  Asif Kapadia (UK)
One of the greatest voices of music history and one of the saddest human stories ever.
Amy Winehouse tragically died at 27 years old and this intense documentary tries to relate her short but poignant life from the very beginning till the end, passing through all the different phases: young girl from the London outskirts having a great voice and a passion for jazz, the planetary success with Back to Black, the disastrous marriage to a very dangerous (and incredibly stupid) man, the abuse of alcohol and drogues.
It is almost a tour de force but a worthy one. Winehouse’s dad could win awards as Worst Father Ever, while Kapadia confirms himself as one of the most serious and accurate documentarists around.


The Zazie d'Or for BEST COSTUME DESIGN goes to 
JOANNA JOHNSTON for THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. by Guy Ritchie (UK)
This movie is set in Berlin and Rome in the '60's. This is why it was extremely easy for Zazie to go nuts about the dresses Alicia Vikander is wearing all along the movie. The men are dressed very well too. I wish we were living in a world where all this could be real and not just vintage. Joanna Johnston, please save us!

The Zazie d'Or for BEST CHOREOGRAPHY goes to
OSCAR ISAAC for his dancing number in EX MACHINA by Alex Garland (UK)
Not only Oscar Isaac is one of the most interesting and talented actors of these last years, but he's also an amazing dancer. I just can't get enough of this scene (very intriguing movie, by the way...):

The Zazie d'Or for BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY goes to  
ROGER DEAKINS for SICARIO by Denis Villeneuve (US)
Roger Deakins is the historical cinematographer of the Coen Brothers and in these last years he has started a fruitful collaboration with québécois film-maker Denis Villeneuve. Sicario's light is breathtaking and so fitting to the story: it follows the shadows, it enlightens hell on earth. Basically, it's one of the reasons why Sicario is one of the best (and also one of the most underestimated) films of the year.


The Zazie d’Or for BEST ACTRESS(ES) goes to
GÜNES SENSOY, DOGA ZEYNEP DOGUSLU, TUGBA SUNGUROGLU, ELIT ISCAN and ILAYDA AKDOGAN for MUSTANG by Deniz Gamze Erguven (Turkey/France)
I have adored the strength, the irony, the intelligence and the courage of these 5 Turkish sisters against the stupid, narrow minded, macho and oppressive world lead by men. And I think these five young Turkish actresses have been great to embody them. They have given me so much faith and hope in women’s future.
Girls Power!!! (fuck, it’s about time!)


The Zazie d’Or for BEST ACTOR goes to
GEZA RÖHRIG for SAUL FIA by László Nemes (Hungary)
When you appear for the first time on screen in a movie set in a concentration camp, and your face is in front of the camera for two hours, it probably means you’re a very good actor.
In Geza Röhrig’s case, this means actually more than that. It means that you become unforgettable.

 

but Zazie really loved also:

VINCENT LINDON in LA LOI DU MARCHE by Stéphane Brizé (France)

and DANE DEHAAN in LIFE by Anton Corbijn (US)

The ZAZIE COUP DE COEUR & the Zazie D'Or for BEST SCREENPLAY go to 
THE LOBSTER by YORGOS LANTHIMOS (Greece/Ireland)
In a not-so-far away future, singles are not accepted anymore. Men and women who can’t find their soul-mates within 45 days, will be transformed into animals. The genial idea of Greek film-maker Yorgos Lanthimos gives birth to one of the most unsettling, original and brilliant movies of these last years. One of those works that divides audiences in two. 
As the French say: ou ça passe, ou ça casse.
Zazie has adored it.

The Zazie d'Or for BEST DIRECTOR & the SPECIAL ZAZIE D’OR go to   
LASZLO NEMES for SAUL FIA (Hungary)
The best movie about the Holocaust ever made.
You don’t spend two hours at the movies, you spend two hours in Auschwitz.
The experience is far beyond cinema, and it is almost unbearable. If you manage to arrive till the end, you’ll see what a man is capable of. When it’s over, you don’t know if you’re still alive, but you’ll see the world with different eyes.
First feature film of a 38 years old guy, László Nemes, who dared to film the most unfilmable thing of all in the most intelligent and subtle way. Mazel tov!

László Nemes on the set of Saul Fia

The ZAZIE D’OR 2015 goes to    
AS MIL E UMA NOITES - Vol. 1 O Inquieto
AS MIL E UMA NOITES - Vol. 2 O Desolado
AS MIL E UMA NOITES - Vol. 2 O Encantado
by MIGUEL GOMES (Portugal)
This is not a simple movie: this is a monster, a protean creature, a space oddity.
6 hours divided into 3 volumes, As Mil e uma noites is a new form of cinema, the weirdest mix of fiction, documentary, real life, poetic vision and mythological tale.
As you must have guessed, this is also a masterpiece.



And since Mr. Gomes came to Paris last January, Zazie seized the opportunity to advise him about the award (and also about the past awards he has received with his previous movie, the wonderful Tabu). This is the lovely dedication he wrote on the first page of a book dedicated to his cinema:  
To Le Blog de Zazie (that gives me prizes!). Thanks, Miguel Gomes
Isn't that cute???!

The JEREMY IRONS PRIZE (Man of my Life Award) 2015 goes to
JEREMY IRONS HIMSELF!
Because it doesn't happen every year that you actually meet your favourite actor of all time and you can give him the prize in flesh and blood! In 2015, this has happened.
And, hey, I can prove it:

As usual, thanks to Sergio Saccingo Tanara for the design of the Zazie D'Or Award!

Summer Movies

Summer is never considered a good time for movies: who wants to hide in the darkness of a cinema when outside the sun is shining and you can have a cocktail lying down on a deck chair? 
Well, I do. I like to go to the movies anytime, all year long. Sunny, rainy, snowy days, any day is perfect for a good film.
In case you have the chance to live in Paris and you want to relax and enjoy a couple of hours comfortably seated in a fresh spot (air conditioning, anybody?), here are Zazie’s suggestions for the best movies in town:

AMY by ASIF KAPADIA (UK)

If you are an Amy Winehouse fan, you probably don’t want to miss this documentary on her life and (tragic) death. 

The film-maker received a worldwide praise for his biopic on another famous figure, the Formula One pilot Ayrton Senna, and now he has pointed his camera towards this outstanding artist, victim of her own fame and self-destructive nature.
Kapadia had access to unseen archive footage of Winehouse (even from her teenage years), coming from friend and first producer Nick Shymansky. The parabola of the singer is clearly shown and it is easy to understand that behind her craving for love there was a lack of the same thing when she was child (thanks, mum and dad!). But the worst influence of all has been the one of her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, a real piece of shit. He is the one who introduced her to drogues such as cocaine, crack and heroine (thanks, honey!), not to mention all the rest. To witness the inability of Amy Winehouse to take care of herself and to sink into depression and any kind of addiction is painful and unbearable. And it is heart breaking to hear her incredible voice and to understand what she could have done with it if only things had turned out differently.
What a shame.

HILL OF FREEDOM by HONG SANG-SOO (KOREA)

If you are an Eric Rohmer’s fan or if you love movies where there is no much going on (I personally adore them), this is the summer flick for you. 

Kwon comes back to Seoul after a period of illness recovery in the mountains, and she finds a bunch of letters from a Japanese guy, Mori, waiting for her. The two had a short affair a while before and Mori, who is in love with Kwon, has decided to surprise her and to visit her from Tokyo without any notice. Since Kwon is not there, Mori spends his days writing letters seated in a café, the Hill of Freedom. In the meantime, he gets to know people who live around Kwon’s place: the waitress of the café and the guests of the small bed & breakfast where he is staying. Will the couple be able to get together?
This is one of the sweetest movies I have ever seen in my life, and God knows if we need a bit more of tenderness and kindness in this world. The way the story is told (Kwon has dropped the letters in the stairs so she is reading them in a random sequence), the way the characters speak (in the most elementary English, since the Korean characters don’t speak Japanese and Mori doesn’t speak Korean), the funny and delicate dialogues, make Hill of Freedom an irresistible and incredibly poetic feel-good movie.
Zazie is crazy about it!

INFINITELY POLAR BEAR by MAYA FORBES (US)

If you love tenderness, then there is another movie you don’t want to miss: Infinitely Polar Bear. 
Written and directed by Maya Forbes, the film is autobiographical and infinitely touching. Forbes relates her childhood and teenage years spent in Boston with a manic-depressive/bipolar father who was taking care of her and her younger sister while their mother was studying and working in NY trying to provide a better future for her daughters. Cameron, the father, is as crazy as irresistible. He tries his best but life with him is a rollercoaster, both practical and emotional, where big crises mix with moments of bliss. Basically: it’s a mess, but a beautiful one.
I have to admit that I went to see this movie for one particular reason: Mark Ruffalo. I always loved this actor but since I am following him on Facebook, I’m just crazy about him. He genuinely looks like a fabulous human being and every time he is posting something I feel the urge to forward it to the world!
His performance is astonishing here, but also the rest of the cast is very good: Zoe Saldana as the mother and the two adorable young actresses Imogene Wolodarsky (who is Forbes’s real daughter… hello Mr. Freud!), and Ashley Aufderheide.
Please don't miss this tender thing!

LA ISLA MINIMA by ALBERTO RODRIGUEZ (SPAIN)

If you loved True Detective – Season 1, you’re going to adore La Isla Minima by Alberto Rodriguez. 

Set in 1980 in the marshlands of Andalucia (filmed as if it was Louisiana), the movie tells the story of two detectives, very different in age and style, who are called from Madrid to inquiry the disappearance of two girls. When the girls are found raped and killed, the investigation turns from complicated to grim.
Superbly filmed, this perfect film noir has been last year’s big hit in its own country (winner of 10 Goya prizes, the Spanish Oscars). The sticky atmosphere, the contrast between the older detective (who used to work for Franco’s militia) and the idealist younger one, the sense of oppression mixed with the difficulties of a country that is trying to switch from a dictatorship to a democracy are the juicy elements of this story.
The actors playing the two detectives are absolutely amazing: Javier Gutierrez and Raul Arevalo (if you think you already saw his face the answer is yes: he was one of the three dancing stewards in Almodovar's Los Amantes Pasajeros).
A seasonal must-see!

 WHILE WE'RE YOUNG by NOAH BAUMBACH (US)

If you like Woody Allen, you’ll probably love the new Baumbach’s movie. 

Cornelia and Josh are a married couple in their 40something, without kids, very wealthy and working in the documentary field (he’s a documentarian, she’s a producer). They met by chance a married couple in their 20something, Jamie and Darby, and they become friends. Jamie wishes to be a documentarian too and he declares to be a super fan of Josh’s work. Very impressed by the young couple’s life-style, Josh and Cornelia start to slightly change their own way of being. This is going to have consequences, of course.
I have to confess I was a bit disappointed by this movie, since I was so crazy about Frances Ha, Baumbach’s previous film. I think the screenplay has evident flaws: there is something missing here, as if the film-maker wasn’t completely sure of what he was trying to say. Pity, because it is an enjoyable movie, with some great ideas and some incredibly funny moments (the meeting with the guru that makes you puke your demons was my favourite one!). And the cast is super good.
So, even if it is not perfect, it’s still a very good Summer Movie. Go for it!