The Oscars 2013 - Part 4: The Governors Ball

I have to confess I didn’t know about the existence of a thing called Governors Ball until the previous day, when I received the invitation to attend it. On the card there was written: Hollywood & Highland, Ray Dolby Ballroom, Immediately Following the Ceremony.

Once the Oscars were over, in fact, we have been invited to reach the top floor of the theater building: before entering the hall, there was the usual wall of journalists and photographers waiting for the stars, and those immense reflectors that, believe me, are the most annoying things on planet earth. The life of a star is a tough one…. how can you resist making an interview under those liquefying lights? The Governors Ball was taking place in an enormous, quite dark space, with an orchestra on the far left side, round tables elegantly set up everywhere and few big tables on the corners covered with food. I guess a place like El Morocco in the 20s should look like this.

I immediately understood that all the stars, sooner or later, would be passing by. And I was right. 
As a matter of fact, there were too many stars arriving. Helped by the first glass of champagne (at empty stomach), I started walking around: Jean Dujardin was the first in my line of vision. He was by himself, and I knew he doesn’t speak English super well, so I thought I could talk to him in French. Yes, good idea! but when I started walking towards him, Alexander Payne crossed my path. Oh, I love your cinema! I wanted to tell him. Yes, but just in front of him there was George Clooney with an absolutely irresistible beard, smiling.

What am I supposed to do now??! It was impossible to choose, believe me, so I just walked around enjoying the funny scenes I had the opportunity to look at, like Adele, Barbra Streisand and Shirley Bassey drinking and laughing all together, or Jason Gordon Levitt posing for pictures with Amy Adams and the-most-gorgeous-woman-in-the-universe, Ms. Charlize Theron (and her fabulous, new short haircut!).

 After a while, it was pretty clear that tables were naturally arranging around every Oscar movie: there was the Argo area, the Life of Pi area, and the Lincoln area, where I was. I was introduced to Steven Spielberg. My boss explained to him I was a cinema freak. Spielberg told me: "I love that you love cinema!" The second glass of champagne didn’t help: I felt like we were old friends and that it was actually normal talking to him.

Anyway, where is Daniel??! I wanted to scream. His family was there, all the actors from Lincoln were there, the director was there. And there he was, all of a sudden, the happiest man I have ever seen in all my life:

I looked at him, completely and utterly mesmerized by his smiling, his joyful expression, his way of walking and talking. Everybody wanted to say something, to shake hands, to compliment him. He was looking around, clearly enjoying every minute of it, distributing with equal magnanimity smiles and thank you. I could have stayed there forever. When I was about to approach him, Daniel Day Lewis looked around and said: "Could somebody bring me to my wife? I didn’t see Rebecca since I had the Oscar!" What a lovely and romantic thing to say… but the problem was that somebody actually brought him to Rebecca and soon afterwards they seated down at a table and started to eat. I was panicking. I missed my chance to talk to him. Definitely. So stupid of me! I was there with a desperate expression on my face when Heather, from the Academy, saw me and asked me what was going on. I explained. She said: "Let’s go, there is just one life, and we have to take advantage of it." And off she went towards Daniel. We arrived from behind him. She put a hand on his shoulder, and Daniel looked up at her: "I’m sorry to bother you Daniel, but there is an Italian woman who would like to tell you something." Day Lewis looked at me, smiling, and making a gesture with his hand, meaning: come, no worries. When I arrived, he gave me his right hand, I took it and I didn’t let it go until the end of my love declaration. Daniel listened carefully to my speech, having - I guess - a lot of fun. When I told him I have been following his career since I was 15 years old, he raised his eyebrow, and he commented: wow! He kept telling me thank you, smiling, and squeezing my hand every time I said something nice (basically every two seconds).

I don’t remember anything about the end of that scene. I was completely blown away by the events, and so I started walking around the place without a destination. 

And it was then that I saw Mads Mikkelsen walking in my direction. Alone.

Before I could even think what I was doing, I walked towards him.

He didn’t have a choice: he had to stop, because I went right in front of him saying: Hello!
Mikkelsen looked at me (down at me, because he is pretty tall): Hello!
- I’m a huge fan of yours!
- Oh, thank you!
- Actually, I have a cinema blog, and every year I give my personal Oscars, and this year you have won the award for Best Actor!
- Oh, really? For which movie?
(Is he really asking me this? I thought in a brief moment of lucidity)
- For Jagten! (are you impressed? – I wanted to add – that I quote the movie's original Danish title?)
- Oh, that’s a very good movie. Did you like it?
- Sure, a lot, this is also why I decided to give you this price.
Mikkelsend looked at me: And the price consists of...?
Dear readers, believe me or not, when he asked me that, I moved closer, I put my arms around him, and I kissed him on his right cheek.
Mikkelsen was puzzled: Oh, well… nice price! Thank you!
- You’re very welcomed!
- I have to go now, because I have friends waiting for me, but it was nice meeting you.
- The same for me! And while I was looking at him disappearing into the crowd, I thought: And you’re lucky I didn’t give you the Man of my Life Award…. Otherwise you wouldn’t make it out just with one kiss, darling!
To celebrate, I took a picture of myself as a real star:

The Governors Ball was over. On our way out we saw Christoph Waltz drinking coffee with the Oscar under his right arm and Tim Burton with a broken arm, and then we started waiting for our limousine to pick us up.

There was one more thing to do… the night was still young!

Zazie D'Or 2012

As every year... forget about Oscars, Baftas, Golden Globes, Golden Lions, Golden Palms, Golden Bears, Césars, Goyas, or any other Cinema award you can think of. The most prestigious and most exclusive one, the ZAZIE D'OR, is back again, ready to let you know what was the very BEST of Cinema in 2012! 
Ladies and Gentlemen, the winners are...

The Zazie D'Or for BEST PICTURE 2012 goes to
DE ROUILLE ET D'OS by Jacques Audiard (France)
A woman without legs, a man without words. 
Audiard brings them together and delivers us the most intense love story of the last years.
Simply breathtaking. 

The SPECIAL ZAZIE D'OR 2012 goes to
LAURENCE ANYWAYS by Xavier Dolan (Québéc)
as well as
The Zazie d'Or for the BEST SCREENPLAY goes to Xavier Dolan for the same movie
The story of a man who wants to live his life as a woman.
A revolt? No, more than that: a revolution!
And Zazie proudly co-produced it... In Xavier Dolan we trust!

The ZAZIE COUP DE COEUR 2012 goes to
TABU by MIGUEL GOMES (Portugal)

as well as

The Zazie d'Or for the BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY to Rui Poças for the same film

A modern and gloomy Lisbon versus a vintage and sunny African landscape.

The memory of a love story, of a paradise forever lost, and the magical sound of a silent movie. 
The most unexpected gem of the year.

The Zazie D'Or for BEST DIRECTOR 2012 goes to
JACQUES AUDIARD for DE ROUILLE ET D'OS (France)
Because nobody films as Audiard does: it is intense, captivating, magnificent.
I can't get enough of this. I want more!

The Zazie D'Or for BEST ACTRESS 2012 goes to

EMMANUELLE RIVA for AMOUR by Michael Haneke (France)

Everybody knows how much I HATE this movie, that in my opinion has nothing to do with love, but every time I think about Emmanuelle Riva, I can't help myself: she is undoubtly the one who (at 86) delivered the best female performance of the year. Riva, Mon Amour!

The Zazie D'Or for BEST ACTOR 2012 goes to
MADS MIKKELSEN for JAGTEN (The Hunt) by Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark)
Mikkelsen doesn't need to do much to show his skills. In fact, it is quite the opposite: the less he does, the better it gets. As an innocent man wrongly accused of the most ignominious acts towards a child, he is able to express the tragedy in a way that leaves no doubt about one thing: his talent. 

The Little Zazie D'or (BEST FIRST FEATURE FILM) goes to
RUNDSKOP (Bullhead) by Michaël R. Roskam (Belgium)
A man who tries to transform himself into a bull... not exactly the lightest subject for a first movie, but certainly an amazing story. Matthias Shoenaerts performance is as good as the one of Robert De Niro in Raging Bull. It's all said.
The Zazie D'Or for BEST DOCUMENTARY 2012 goes to
LE SOMMEIL D'OR by Davy Chou (France/Cambodia)
The heartbreaking story of a cinema that no longer exists, the Cambodian one, erased by the ignorant fury of the Red Khmers. A tribute to the everlasting power of movies.
Chapeau!

The Zazie D'Or for BEST COSTUME DESIGN goes to
Charlotte David for POPULAIRE by Régis Roinsard (France)
The woman already behind the fabulous '60s style of OSS 117: Le Caire, nid d'espions, absolutely deserves a prize for this cornucopia of marvellous vintage dresses from the '50s. I want them ALL!

The JEREMY IRONS PRIZE (Man of my life Award) for 2012 goes to 
MATTHIAS SHOENAERTS (Belgian Actor)
Having seen him in two of my favourite movies of the year (Bullhead and De rouille et d'Os) convinced me that this guy has got something special. Inside and outside.
If you know what I mean... (and if you don't, look at the picture!)

A special thanks, as usual, to Sergio "Saccingo" Tanara, the creator of the Zazie D'Or drawing!

Top 10 of 2012

At the moment, everywhere, in magazines and on the net, it's raining TOP 10 movies of 2012.
I'm always curious to see which are the favourite films of other people, and I'm intrigued by the different points of view. Usually, I express my preferences in February, at the time of my award, the Zazie d'Or, but so many friends asked me about this that I decided to publish my Top 10 List now. 
In fact, I think it is a good idea, first because it is quite difficult to reward all the movies I have loved in one year, and also because I don't always have time to write about certains movies I adored. 
So, this could make some justice to them.
Here they are, Zazie's favourite 10 movies of 2012:

1. DE ROUILLE ET D'OS by Jacques Audiard (France)

2. LAURENCE ANYWAYS by Xavier Dolan (Québéc)

3. TABU by Miguel Gomes (Portugal)

4. CESARE DEVE MORIRE by Paolo & Vittorio Taviani (Italy)

5. OSLO, August 31st by Joachim Trier (Norway)

6. THE DEEP BLUE SEA by Terence Davies (UK)

7. LE SOMMEIL D'OR by Davy Chou (France/Cambodia)

8. TYRANNOSAUR by Paddy Considine (UK)

9. JAGTEN by Thomas Vinterberg (Danemark)

10. BULLHEAD by Michaël R. Roskam (Belgium)

And since I'm making lists, here's a short one of the movies that really really got on my nerves this past year:

1. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by David Fincher (USA)
2. AMOUR by Michael Haneke (France/Austria)
3. HOLY MOTORS by Leos Carax (France)
Sorry, guys, I didn't get your movies. I didn't get them AT ALL!!!

And you, dear readers, which are your favourite movies of last year?

As time goes by

Here we are again: the last post of the year.

I have been to the movies 83 times in 2012 (yes, I know, it’s a sickness!) and I have seen many interesting things. I’ll let you know about the ones I liked most next February, as usual, at the time of the Zazie D’Or.

Many cinematographic things happened as well, from the glass of champagne with Meryl Streep in a fancy Paris restaurant, to the dinner in New York with Norah Ephron (few months before she sadly passed away), to the meetings with some great film-makers: the master class of Francis Ford Coppola at the Gaumont Parnasse, the meeting with Emanuele Crialese and Donatella Finocchiaro for the avant-première of Terraferma, the one with Thomas Vinterberg for the avant-première of his Jagten (both in one of my favourite cinema in town, Le Cinéma des Cinéastes). 

And it was nice to bump by chance into French film-maker Christophe Honoré outside a theatre in Abbesses where we just saw Hiroshima, Mon Amour (ah, serendipity!).

I hope 2013 will be plenty of great movies and great things for you all, dear readers.

Let’s wish that all our dreams come true… or, at least, that all our dreams come true… in a movie.  

Happy New Year!!!

Sincerely yours,

Zazie

Jagten

Nel 1995, i registi Danesi Lars Von Trier e Thomas Vinterberg (39 e 26 anni, all'epoca), redigono e firmano a Copenhagen il manifesto cinematografico conosciuto sotto il nome di Dogma 95.
Di solito, i movimenti cinematografici vengono riconosciuti in corso di attuazione o più facilmente dopo qualche tempo: la Nouvella Vague francese, il Neo Realismo italiano, il Cinema Novo brasiliano, il Free Cinema inglese, sono diventati categorie soltanto dopo che un gruppo di opere aveva chiaramente manifestato lo stesso stile, lo stesso tipo di storie, lo stesso modo di girarle. Von Trier e Vinterberg, invece, decidono di fare esattamente l’opposto. Scrivono alcune regole e proclamano che qualsiasi regista al mondo voglia mettersi a fare film secondo quelle regole, sarà considerato un regista Dogma. L’idea alla base del manifesto era essenzialmente quella di promuovere un cinema più “puro”: via gli effetti speciali, via gli investimenti miliardari, via l’ego smisurato dell’artista (il nome del regista non deve mai comparire, tanto per dirne una). Il loro decalogo, per la verità, è al limite dell’estremo: no a luci artificiali, no a scenografie, no all’uso della musica. Non c’è da stupirsi se il Dogma viene ben presto soprannominato “Voto di Castità”. Per quanto assurdo tutto questo possa sembrare, il manifesto nei suoi 10 anni di vita (nel 2005 è stato infatti ufficialmente “chiuso”), ha prodotto un po’ dappertutto nel mondo una manciata di film molto interessanti, e anche un paio di piccoli capolavori.

Lars Von Trier e Thomas Vinterberg ai tempi del Dogma

Il primo film Dogma, ad esempio, è stato anche l’esordio di Vinterberg: Festen, film sommerso da una marea di premi ed enorme successo di critica e pubblico. Personalmente, Festen a parte, io ho adorato alcuni film dogma considerati minori, come Mifune di Søren Kragh-Jacobsen e Italian for Beginners di Lone Scherfig, due chicche che vi consiglio di recuperare.

Vinterberg, colto alla sprovvista dal successo planetario di Festen, ha fatto fatica a proseguire con una decente carriera cinematografica. Quest’anno, è ritornato al Festival di Cannes con la sua ultima opera: Jagten (La Caccia), riscuotendo di nuovo un gran successo e portandosi a casa uno dei premi più importanti (e finora secondo me anche l’unico sensato dato dalla giuria), quello a Mads Mikkelsen (lo ADORO!) come miglior interprete maschile.
La settimana scorsa, in un’anteprima speciale al Cinéma des Cinéastes (il film uscirà in Francia il 14 Novembre e in Italia il 23 Novembre), Vinterberg ha incontrato il pubblico parigino per discutere del film.

La storia: Lucas, un quarantenne appena uscito da un doloroso divorzio, sta cercando di rifarsi una vita. Le cose sembrano andargli abbastanza bene: ha accettato un nuovo lavoro come aiuto-insegnante in una scuola materna, suo figlio Marcus sta per andare a vivere con lui e Lucas sembra anche aver trovato una nuova compagna. Questa serenità è però destinata ad essere spazzata via in breve tempo: Klara, una bambina di cinque anni (nonché figlia del suo miglior amico), confessa alla direttrice della scuola di aver subito attenzioni di natura sessuale da parte di Lucas. La direttrice, sconvolta da quello che ha appena sentito, mette immediatamente in moto la macchina infernale che rischierà di schiacciare la vita dell'uomo, del tutto innocente.

Come ha giustamente fatto notare Vinterberg durante la discussione seguita al film, Jagten è l’anti-Festen assoluto. In Festen, dei bambini innocenti erano costretti a subire le attenzioni morbose di un adulto (il padre), che la faceva franca fino alla famosa festa in cui il figlio si decide a raccontare tutto di fronte agli altri componenti della famiglia. In Jagten il problema è opposto: un uomo adulto viene accusato da una bambina di aver compiuto degli atti osceni, e deve passare attraverso le prove più dure per riuscire a dimostrare agli altri la propria innocenza. Il tema è ovviamente molto delicato, e Vinterberg dimostra un gran coraggio nel “mostrare” due aspetti davvero poco rappresentati al cinema: il fatto che i bambini possano e sappiano mentire, e il fatto che anche nei primissimi anni di vita possiamo provare un sentimento simile all’innamoramento nei confronti di soggetti adulti. Klara è chiaramente affascinata da Lucas ed è proprio di fronte al suo rifiuto (in quanto adulto responsabile) verso alcuni comportamenti inattesi della bambina, che quest’ultima reagirà “contro di lui”.

 

Costruito in maniera lineare e molto rigorosa, Jagten fa crescere la tensione a poco a poco, generando un sentimento di oppressione e ingiustizia che permea la pellicola in maniera costante ma dilagante. Lo spettatore, sapendo dell'innocenza di Lucas, soffre con lui, ed è inevitabilmente portato ad una grande identificazione con il protagonista, perché tutti potremmo essere vittima di un simile errore, e chi sarebbe pronto a crederci, contro la parola innocente di un bambino? Quali amici resteranno al nostro fianco? Chi continuerà ad amarci dei nostri familiari? Chi avrà ancora fiducia in noi? Senza mai dare giudizi morali, ma anzi facendo ben capire i drammi e i dubbi nascosti dietro ciascuno dei personaggi, Jagten impressiona per forza stilistica e capacità di non abbandonarsi mai a facili vie d'uscita o scorciatoie sentimentali. La sceneggiatura è solidissima, certo, ma qui come al solito gli attori fanno la differenza. Intanto, chi ha trovato una bambina di 5 anni così brava a recitare? Mentre su Mikkelsen, che volete che vi dica, per me è uno dei più bravi attori in circolazione. Se qualcuno di voi ha familiarità con il cinema di un altro grande regista danese, Nicolas Winding Refn, sa di cosa sto parlando: dalla trilogia Pusher al delirio Valhalla Rising, Mikkelsen dimostra una versatilità ed una capacità di cambiare registro di rara potenza. Qui è tutto in sottrazione, con rare esplosioni di rabbia che lasciano senza fiato. Semplicemente eccezionale.
Vinterberg, ritrovata la sua vena più personale, ritornato - se posso osare - più "dogmatico", dà vita ad un film dal quale non si esce indenni (magnifica, lo vedrete, la scena finale!). Non sono stupita che abbia citato come primo riferimento per il film Fanny e Alexander di Ingmar Bergman. 
Perché nella vita, si sa, dovendo avere dei modelli, tanto vale puntare in alto!